When this movie came out in 1997, I was a young man who had just found his way into church for the first time in my adult life. I specifically was someone who had always been turned off to church and faith because I had grown up in a place where often times churches were charismatic, a style that never interested me very much.
When I was nineteen I started attending a Presbyterian church that was a whole different atmosphere than what I had always known. The service was very structured and organized, and a long story short I found myself at home in a place with a much more reserved style of worship experience.
But with that going on in my personal life at the time, it made it difficult for me to want to see "The Apostle", a film that to me looked like it was promoting the style of religion that I had struggled with all my life. So I never saw the film when it was in theaters or while it was still popular.
Fast forward to 2014, and I've matured a fair bit. I still have my own preferences about church and religion, but I am not as judgmental as I once was. And so with that in mind, I sat down to watch this film on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.
What I found in "The Apostle" was a delightful film, one that is evangelical in its own way, and one that certainly does portray the charismatic church style that I struggled with so much in my youth. But whereas in 1997 I might have had a visceral reaction to that, in 2014 I was able to sit down and watch the film and view it as art. And boy am I glad that I did.
Robert Duvall gives a dynamic performance in this movie. It's impossible to see him as himself, because he completely becomes the character. As the movie progresses Duvall has several extended scenes where he's preaching in church, and the performance is amazing. Regardless of whether one appreciates the Christian faith or the charismatic movement, Duvall makes the viewer believe that he is the preacher. It's a bit eerie in a sense, and some might find it uncomfortable given the subject matter--but then you realize that this is the same guy from "The Godfather" movies, and that's when it hits you that this is an amazing feat of acting in a well made film.
All that said, "The Apostle" may be a bit foreign and hard to watch for some people who have an averse reaction to matters of faith or who are uncomfortable with Christianity. But even those folks should be able to appreciate the film for its artistic expression, if they can just get past the religious element (which is of course the dominant theme of the film).
If you are able to appreciate the film, either as a work of art or as an evangelical film in its own right, then you may agree that it deserves a high rating. Thus my 9/10 stars.
When I was nineteen I started attending a Presbyterian church that was a whole different atmosphere than what I had always known. The service was very structured and organized, and a long story short I found myself at home in a place with a much more reserved style of worship experience.
But with that going on in my personal life at the time, it made it difficult for me to want to see "The Apostle", a film that to me looked like it was promoting the style of religion that I had struggled with all my life. So I never saw the film when it was in theaters or while it was still popular.
Fast forward to 2014, and I've matured a fair bit. I still have my own preferences about church and religion, but I am not as judgmental as I once was. And so with that in mind, I sat down to watch this film on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.
What I found in "The Apostle" was a delightful film, one that is evangelical in its own way, and one that certainly does portray the charismatic church style that I struggled with so much in my youth. But whereas in 1997 I might have had a visceral reaction to that, in 2014 I was able to sit down and watch the film and view it as art. And boy am I glad that I did.
Robert Duvall gives a dynamic performance in this movie. It's impossible to see him as himself, because he completely becomes the character. As the movie progresses Duvall has several extended scenes where he's preaching in church, and the performance is amazing. Regardless of whether one appreciates the Christian faith or the charismatic movement, Duvall makes the viewer believe that he is the preacher. It's a bit eerie in a sense, and some might find it uncomfortable given the subject matter--but then you realize that this is the same guy from "The Godfather" movies, and that's when it hits you that this is an amazing feat of acting in a well made film.
All that said, "The Apostle" may be a bit foreign and hard to watch for some people who have an averse reaction to matters of faith or who are uncomfortable with Christianity. But even those folks should be able to appreciate the film for its artistic expression, if they can just get past the religious element (which is of course the dominant theme of the film).
If you are able to appreciate the film, either as a work of art or as an evangelical film in its own right, then you may agree that it deserves a high rating. Thus my 9/10 stars.