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nojam75
Reviews
Most (2003)
remake of the son-vs-train Christian allegory
Anyone who endured a Christian upbringing probably heard the terrible legend of the father who sacrifices his son to save a train. It's a heavy-handed allegory that attempts to make the crucifixion make more logical sense than the problematic concept of sin transference.
This version expands on the lives of the train people and the aftermath of the tragedy. The short also adds a drug storyline reinforcing the notion that drug addiction is simply a moral choice and not a mental health challenge.
The young son's awareness of the circumstances and heroic attempt to save the train is a major change to the morality tale which makes the son an inept Christ figure. Unfortunately the short doesn't explain how the young boy understood the bridge's mechanism as it's made clear that the son isn't a regular visitor to the bridge. I suppose it can be inferred that the son somehow knew about the bridge's mechanics, but it would have been nice to explain the son's actions.
It's also frustrating that the short strives to show that the train is not only early but also missed a stop signal. A train missing a signal - especially before a drawbridge - is not merely an accidental occurrence but a major dereliction that goes unexplained. Why add this element to legend without explanation?
The short has nice scenes and performances, but the story itself needed to be refined.
Jesus Camp (2006)
pointless documentary - info we already knew
I've previously complained about two recent documentaries, 'Who Killed the Electric Car' and 'This Film is Not Yet Rated', that were too lop-sided in advocating one argument. However, 'Jesus Camp' was a little too middle of the road to have a point or to be entertaining.
The movie's overall theme is about how evangelical Christians indoctrinate their children through insane youth groups. It takes an almost patronizing approach as if all viewers know nothing about white American suburban/rural culture or the religious right. As someone who grew-up going to conservative Christian summer camps and dabbled in Pentecostal Christianity, I can't say I learned anything new from the film. It basically confirmed my worst fears and stereotypes of mid-west, rural/suburban conservative Christians.
Over half of the movie focuses on an obese Pentecostal youth minister, Becky Fischer, and her relatively small summer camp ministry in North Dakota (there appeared to be less than 100 kids in the summer camp wide shots). Fischer's sermon, personality, and beliefs are interesting and entertaining, but the filmmakers don't really explain who she is, how she got into this business, or even basic biographical information such as whether she is married with kids. Instead, without explanation or transition, the movie leaves Fischer and follows a young camper, Levi, to a Colorado Springs mega-church and then to Washington, D.C., at a pro-life vigil in front of the US Supreme Court during the Samuel Alito confirmation.
I suppose what really irked me was how anonymous the filmmakers were. Instead of actively narrating the film, the filmmakers chose to have a radio talk show host from an Air America affiliate break-in with dire commentary about the religious right's indoctrination programs. Also, they tried to maintain the unbelievable premise that their film crew's presence did not have an effect on the subjects. This premise was broken in Colorado Springs when a prominent mega-church pastor spoke directly into the documentary's camera and addressed what he seemed to know would be a non-believing, skeptical, Left-leaning audience.
I was mainly disappointed that the filmmakers didn't bring new information. For example, who are these people who base their careers on indoctrinating kids? (The youth group leaders featured seemed to be interesting characters). Also, what is the REAL result of these youth camps? Do most kids actually follow-through in high school and after? Statistics tend to show Christian youth are not noticeably different than non-Christian youth -- at least in sexual abstinence. An interesting sequel to this documentary would be a five or ten year follow-up like the 8-up series to see whether the youth camp really affected these children's lives.