Change Your Image
Father-Tiresias
Reviews
United 93 (2006)
Prayers
When this film was over a silence hung over the theater unlike any I had ever heard. My eyes watered as I left the hall, and I said a quick prayer as I exited; simply in honor of all the people who died on September 11th.
There is a sequence in this film where the passengers are portrayed praying, as are the terrorists. The languages and prayers are spliced together through a series of short scenes that depict the emotional impact that everyone was feeling.
That is what this movie is about. It does not deal with conspiracy theories. In fact, to do so would be more untrue than any other lie that the film-makers have been accused of telling. This movie is about what the people around the country were feeling as the tragedy of that day unfolded. No one was sitting there thinking, 'I wonder if our government was in on this?' All the people on that plane were thinking of only one thing: survival. That is what this movie portrays, and it addresses several themes in doing so, such as god, faith, unity, and the will to survive. These are not 'American' themes. They are human themes. The terrorists in the film are not portrayed in a horrible, demonizing light. In fact, the audience is ushered to feel sympathy for them in certain scenes. This movie was not made as propaganda, or as a means to make money. If one simply views the film, this becomes apparent. If any 9/11 movie is an attempt to make money, I would say it is Stone's 'World Trade Center.' This film was a prayer, not propaganda, and not propagating falsities. It was something that came from the heart, and after viewing the intense performances and believably real reactions, that also becomes apparent.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
A Work of Art
I am not a religious person. My family is Christian, maybe some people would choose to hold that against me. I will say, I love movies, and this movie is fabulous. First let me say this: all movies can be propaganda in some way. All movies can be offensive. The best artworks are the ones that raise controversy. That said, "Passion" is a perfect work of art. Whether you believe in the story or not is beside the point. This is a fiction story, and a beautiful one at that. It is the same thing as a book being made into a movie. Mel's reworking of characters and the plot line is called artistic license, Jackson did the same thing with "The Lord of the Rings." Mel Gibson is NOT antisemitic, and neither is this movie. The techniques utilized in the film are brilliant. The Lucifer character (portrayed as neither male nor female) is chilling (it is not laughable, as some might say). This is a symbolic work of art, and it does not preach hate. Pay no heed to the liberal whiners who would have the film boycotted and ignored. While not an easy movie to sit through, it should be viewed by all people who love movies for what they are; a story told in a work of art. "Passion" is a wondrous work of art, and very moving.