Brother Emsworth Fri May 3 00:22:27 2002
Joshua - 8.2
Saw this little film last week with the aged parent, largely because there seemed to be little else showing at that time of the evening, we both wanted to go out and have popcorn, and a friend of the pater's had read the book and recommended. Stars Tony Goldwyn as a wood carver who comes to a small town, befriends the locals, helps rebuild the church... and, it is soon suspected, may be the second coming of Christ.
[SPOILER (though I'm not sure how many people here are likely to see this anyway): In fact, he *is* the second coming of Christ. Somehow, this disappointed me ever so slightly, and also raised the problematic question of exactly *why* He chose to come back at that time to that one town (oh, and He also visits the Pope.)]
That aside, while hardly great cinema, the performances were agreeable. Former El Pasoan F. Murray Abraham plays a suspicious local priest with aloofness. The depiction of the small town and such vignettes as the other local priest coming to services in fishing boots were gentle and amusing. Wasn't loud or taxing, just fine for a sleepy Friday evening viewing, very relaxing.
And despite some reservations about the film's conclusion, I'm increasingly amused by the implications of that in light of an earlier minor incident. Thus, the film can be summed up as follows: Jesus has returned... and He's a member of the Columbia House music club!
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mouse Fri May 3 16:23:34 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> and He also visits the Pope.)]
_that's_ one i'd like to see - although somehow these meeting in cinema never seem to come out either the way i would like them to come out, or the way i suspect they actually _would_ come out in real life.
[SPOILER: anti-religious sentiments following the reaction i really want to see in the real world is the one the leaders of various fundamentalist sects (and i mean everyone from baptist to islamisists) to the discovery that there _is_ life on other planets - and it not only doesn't look like us, it has totally different religious beliefs. (this is not that outrageous - there any number of cultures right here on earth whose belief systems have nothing in common with the judeo-christian-moslem axis). sorry - my religious tolerance levels have been way down since september END SPOILER]
> Former El Pasoan F. Murray Abraham
i never would have guessed f. murray abraham was from el paso. (nothing against el paso - he just always comes across as a more east coast/metro kinda guy. guess it's the roles)
> Thus, the film can be summed up as follows: Jesus has
> returned... and He's a member of the Columbia House music club!
careful with that - columbia house is likely to grab it as an advertising slogan.
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Michael Fri May 3 23:47:18 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> my religious tolerance levels have been way down since september
Ha. You ought to hear my wife, then. Once a Communist, always a Communist.
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mouse Sat May 4 14:31:22 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> Ha. You ought to hear my wife, then. Once a Communist, always a Communist.
actually, tolerance is probably not the right word - i _do_ try to hold a live and let live sort of philosophy, so if people really feel religion helps them, i try not to trample on it. it's just getting harder and harder to understand how anyone can possible believe in religions, especially in all the petty little factions they've divided themselves up into.
was your wife actually a real, card-carrying communist? (did they actually get cards to carry? - i always wondered about that) that would be pretty cool. i considered myself a communist (or at least a marxist-leninist) in my younger days - but now that i actually own property, my views have moderated somewhat.
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Michael Mon May 6 11:05:25 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> was your wife actually a real, card-carrying communist? (did they actually
> get cards to carry? - i always wondered about that)
Communist youth organization. Her generation wasn't too keen on Communism as such. Although now that she sees the way we run America, I think she's a lot more Communist than she used to be.
And instead of a card, she had a little booklet.
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mouse Mon May 6 13:43:54 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> Communist youth organization. Her generation wasn't too keen on Communism
> as such. Although now that she sees the way we run America, I think she's
> a lot more Communist than she used to be.
funny how the republicans can do that to you.....although one could argue that they fit the stalinist model of government pretty well. (laying aside the fact that 'stalinism' was only peripherally related to communism as a philosophy, and was more directly descended from the tzarist/secret state police model).
> And instead of a card, she had a little booklet.
to wave during demonstrations? i thought it was just mao's people who got to do that. remember when all good hippies had a copy of mao's little red book? - probably not. *sigh*
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Brother Emsworth Sat May 4 21:38:52 2002
Re: Joshua - 8.2
> i never would have guessed f. murray abraham was from el paso. (nothing
> against el paso - he just always comes across as a more east coast/metro
> kinda guy. guess it's the roles)
Well, he was actually born in Pitssburgh, but he lived in El Paso for several years. He graduated from El Paso High (around the same time as my father, in fact, though he never really knew him), and even attended UTEP for a spell. Debbie Reynolds, Irene Ryan, and character actor Guy Kibbee, on the other hand, were all born in El Paso.
> careful with that - columbia house is likely to grab it as an advertising
> slogan.
Hee.
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