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Movieguide also found a film that captures a particular part of the Bible. Time Regained, based on French writer Marcel Proust's autobiography, "is ultimately nihilistic, but in the same sense that the author of Ecclesiastes despairs of life. … This is not an easy movie, but there are some very fine, moral points. … At all times, the vanity of these people's situations is clear: they are trapped in their own ennui." Movieguide also praises the film for its tactful dealings with the sexual betrayal and bisexuality that drive the story. "It is interesting to note that everything is extremely discreet, and most of the sexual references will only be understood by those sophisticated enough to pay close attention."On the opposite side of restraint stands Humanité, a dark story of a murder investigation. Movieguide was disturbed by the "lingering looks at an 11-year-old girl who has been raped with close-up depictions of her mutilated private parts," and calls the film "the most pretentious and boring piece of vulgar filmmaking ever made. … There seems to be no soul or spirit in this movie, man reduced to the lowest common denominator." In contrast, mainstream reviewer Arthur Lazere of CultureVulture.net finds the film distinctly Christian. The manner in which the investigating detective treats the perpetrator, with "a gesture of passionate feeling that is rooted in his inarticulate identification with and empathy for the humanity of the perpetrator, [is] as deeply felt as earlier when he screamed for the victim. It is a profoundly Christian response that now emerges out of the bleak, existential viewpoint with which the film is imbued up to that moment. [The detective] finally emerges as an Everyman, as a Christlike figure taking on the horrific sins of all humanity."Christian and mainstream critics were more united concerning It's the Rage, a dark comedy about the consequences of a trigger-happy culture. The Dove Foundation felt it made rather pedestrian points on gun control, remarking sarcastically, "Guns should definitely be kept out of the hands of gang members, thieves, murderers and whackos. Now, why can't legislators figure that out?" Jeremiah Kipp of FilmCritic.com echoes this, grousing that it "thuddingly hits the same numb point over and over again: guns are bad, guns can kill. That's about as resonant as It's the Rage will get."

Film Journal's Shirley Sealy argues that it's downright menacing: "Lurking among the laughs … is a distinctly sinister—and some might even say subversive—premise: Anyone who owns a handgun is either a criminal or a little crazy, or both."

Two intriguing essays, one Christian and one mainstream, probe the effects of explicit sexual content in movies, looking beyond the usual lust arguments. Sarah Barnett of Culture@Home feels that modern cinema is killing our imagination. "The depiction of sexual behavior in film [used to be] generally limited to screen kisses, sudden embraces and knowing looks. The techniques of doors closing and scenes fading out were used to intimate sexual activity. … In effect a film was not complete without the imagination of the viewer." A decrease in imagination leads to passivity, she says. "There is little doubt that westerners are more visually dependent now than we ever have been. … From the Internet to advertising, our gluttony for things seen is being fostered and fed." Passivity leads to a skewed perceptions, she argues: "The common portrayal of it as the single most important element of human character only serves to cheapen it and lessen its value." In the July issue of Movieline, the Editor's Note by Virginia Campbell delineates a similar theory. "While violence in the movies can have an undeniably pernicious effect on certain psychologically vulnerable individuals, Hollywood love stories seem to have a ruinous effect on just about everybody. … We asked several actresses how the movies had affected their view of love. Their answers were telling. Jennifer Tilly, for example, revealed, 'Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet made me think that love is more intense before it's consummated than after.' … Most candid of all was Jenna Elfman: 'Because of the movies, I always thought you had to breathe heavy and kind of grope at a guy's back when you're having sex.'" Us Weekly confirms that the intensity of movie sex is shaping real-life relationships. Dr. Joyce Brothers says "we've been conditioned to be voyeurs and not participants. In fact, many young couples today videotape their sex because it's more real if they can watch it afterward." All sources, however, were mum on what viewers might do to combat the pressure to be passive.

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July (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44