Director: Stephen Hopkins
Main Casts: Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb
Watched: 30th April, 2007. Monday 5.15pm
Cinema: Cineleisure, The Curve (4:C7)
The brief synopsis reads: … (this story has got something to do with)…10 plagues of Egypt… (and the rest of the story).... That got me pretty curious & excited; I thought to myself “Biblical based movie!” When someone has a piece of message about God, what they’re gonna say and how they say it, matters for me, and I believe for other Christians too. It matters because that metaphorical message blown up onto the big screen points to something in the real. And having that reference in mind, I believe that the thinking audience usually engages in more reflections upon the argument that the movie is making, especially in this case, about God. Through encountering the visual experience and the later reflections, anything that could be remembered is then added to our worldview inventory.
The movie left for me a very interesting effect. As a Christian myself, I think we should celebrate the success of this story. As I’m writing this, the intricate plot, the surprising twists, muscle-twitching suspense… all meshes into the blur; leaving the message of God’s character and power, embossed in my mind. Is that not God glorifying?
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Image Credit
Image CreditStory Set
The story sets its audience up as the skeptic – Katherine opens the initial scenes as a university (good place to associate with spiritual escapism huh?) lecturer, going to bizarre places, debunking and revealing the industrial polluting wastes that causes what people believe as miracles – rivers turning red, people getting sick… In the name of secularism, she even spelled out 10 scientific causes and connections regarding the 10 plagues in Egypt recorded in the Bible. Gradually we know that, in fact, she was a missionary herself, with her husband, a son and a daughter – All, but her, died in the mission field.
One day after a lecture, Katherine got invited –no– begged to investigate a miraculous occurrence at a village called ‘Haven’, where its river turned red like blood. She declined, then accepted when she heard a girl child was to bear the blame and might get killed if the villagers are convinced about her so-called magical crime. So off she went with Ben to Haven.
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Image Credit
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Image Credit
Image CreditThe Invisible Character
The way director Stephen structured the movie gave me a feeling that aside from the visible character, there’s another character that’s being talked about. One we cannot see, but it’s there, and that’s the real one Who’s causing things to happen, yes – God, and His opponent, Satan.
For a good 3-quarters of the show, the plague-like events revolve around Loren, girl in her early teens, as if proposing that she, the satanic villain, caused them – Villagers saw her by the bloody river, a boy saw her at the field where the cattle died, a great mass of locusts seem to attack, at her command, those who tries to shoot her. A cultic altar was also found in her family’s basement, indicating that some satanic rituals were going on.
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In the midst of panic flee from the mass of locusts, the complete and abrupt turn, comes when Katherine faced Loren in the middle of the plague of Darkness. With a dagger, and a Christian priest’s advice, she lunged at Loren, pinning her to the ground, swooped the dagger at Loren when she said –
“I thank God, because I have you…” – The exact words Katherine said to her daughter while she was at the mission field.
There and then, she understood it all, as she saw visions of Loren about to be sacrificed at satan’s altar according to the long tradition of the villagers’ satanic worship. She escaped to the nearby river, when her own brother shoved the same dagger into her chest. Yet, she didn’t move a bit, while her brother shriveled to death. Her wound healed and closed, but her blood flowed out, and filled the entire river – Satan tried to kill her, but they failed. God is protecting her. God has turned His wrath towards the perverted village, which turned to Satan worshipping when their livelihood was threatened.
And as the entire village gathered at the ruined church, browbeating Katherine to kill the God protected girl, God Himself made His grand appearance. The last plague was announced – Death of the First-born. Thunders and torrents of enormous hail with fire struck down at the villagers hitting and burning them to death. Fire licked up the man who invited Katherine to the village, and took him off the ground. He held Katherine hostage, threatening her to kill Loren; only to have her say, “Don’t be afraid Loren, it is God’s will.” God’s Holy Fire scorched and swallowed the man together with Katherine in a grand final Blast… And as it turns out, both Katherine & Loren were saved, with not a scratch of injury inflicted on them (See the streaming featurette below).
I sense, in the resolution, a very strong and vivid presence of God (it helps when the cinema loud speakers boom and vibrates the seat under me). The ending allows me to say, “God is Sovereign. He rules over all circumstances, makes things piece together in a perfect manner, and He triumphs over evil. God protects those who genuinely love Him, and gives second chance to those who are confused.”
And I’m very; very glad the movie left it at that. God’s just punishment (signified by the plagues) meant God’s just punishment – period – no further explanation needed. And mind us, God always triumphs at the spiritual battlefield, even at Satan’s every deceptive turn…
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Sharon Chong, published 1st, May 2007
Cineleisure Damansara, Cathay MY
:o)
Cineleisure Damansara, Cathay MY
:o)
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