Related articles and links |  1 of 3

Moviegoers got a double dose of Catholicism this weekend as Kevin Smith's comedy Dogma and Luc Besson's biopic The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc hit theaters. Strangely enough, Christian critics found more value in the foul-mouthed indie flick than in the tale of the virgin saint. Meanwhile, Pokemon: The First Movie trounced the competition to take the box-office crown.

Pokemon: The First Movie ($32.4 million)
Kids love Pokemon. Kids are good at bugging parents until they give in. Pokemon: The First Movie makes gobs of money. Any questions? You'll be hard-pressed to find a positive review of this movie, Christian or otherwise; presumably because no one's hiring 6-year-old critics. The movie was chastised most often for presenting the hypocritical message that fighting is wrong, since "this frenzied film is filled with violent confrontations, battles, [and] threatening destructive forces" (Preview's John Evans).

The Bone Collector ($12 million)
A couple of new Christian reviews trickled in for The Bone Collector this week, taking up opposing viewpoints on the movie's entertainment value. Christian Spotlight guest critic Gabe Rodriguez calls it "a heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that ... is also one of the most original, cunning thrillers in years," while the U.S. Catholic Conference says the movie "slides from engrossing to disappointing with its unsatisfying revelations and gory wrap-up." Considering the film is about a paralyzed forensics specialist (Denzel Washington) who once again feels useful when his expertise is needed to track down a serial killer, it's strange that reviews have avoided wrestling with questions about the nature of evil and the need for redemptionﾗeven to say if the movie ignores such questions.

Dogma ($8.8 million)
A year of controversy over Dogma prepared most Christian critics to be shocked at the movie. What turned out to be shocking, however, was the vulgar film's very clear support of God as sovereign, and of Jesus as savior. Dogma is a kind of comic fable that centers around a lapsed Catholic (Linda Fiorentino) whose faith is gradually restored when God calls her to stop two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from trying to reenter heaven, thereby negating all existence. "What we find is that Mr. Smith has not pointed his judgmental finger at God," writes Michael Elliott of Movie Parables, "but rather at how men have chosen to worship God via the frameworks they have constructed for that purpose." Hollywood Jesus agrees, saying the movie "dares to explore and question the Christian faith without restraints of any kind. Martin Luther would be proud. The bottom line is: God cares about you and will stand on her head to prove it." For others, it wasn't enough that the film had some solid theology, because it also presented some shaky theology. "Although the film is not anti-God," say Preview's John Adair and John Evans, "it explicitly promotes religious pluralismﾗmany ways to God. An overall theme surfaces, as well, of God dealing with humanity unfairly." MovieGuide catalogs both the theological truths and inaccuracies of the film, and ultimately is concerned that "the spiritually immature or biblically ignorant may not be able to tell the wheat from the chaff." A lack of clear answers, however, didn't stop the film from provoking several mainstream critics to examine their spiritual nature. "I personally haven't thought this deeply about the religion of my birth since being confirmed," writes USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna, and Charles Taylor of Salon.com says, "if Dogma can move an old agnostic like me, it can move anybody."

next page... |  1 of 3

share this page

November 15 1999, Vol. 43, No. 13