I did not consider this to be a Christian movie even though it appears that way. It is more of a spiritual film that explores a theme that is relevant to the whole of humanity and that is forgiveness. This is a content based film rather than one based on procedural expertise or artistry. Its power is in its message rather than the level of technical accomplishment, script or acting and with regard to this, I found it hit the spot very well.
Many people are extremely uncomfortable with movies that are spiritually centred especially those that are not historical or reportage based. This one deals directly with questions that affect us all; those of being able to put negatively perceived, traumatic experiences behind us and really move on. Films of such potent and pointed content can be threatening even to the most intelligent viewers because intelligence has nothing to do with the heart and it is a trend in our present society to belittle the spiritual heart in favour of more 'rational' thinking. So when a movie comes along with a relatively simple message, our suspicious minds can see it as manipulative.
This is one of the reasons this film has received so many negative reviews; namely because so many people cannot handle their own inner issues and so when confronted with films like this, they become angry and direct their anger at the film, using religion as an excuse to dismiss their message: it's largely an anti-spiritual thing and ironically defies logic.
It's a pity that so many people relate spiritual films like this one to their own personal, often negative experiences with Ministers and church when even Jesus said – in this film – "I'm not exactly what you call a Christian, am I?"
This movie had a profound effect on me and I woke up the next day suddenly needing to do a life review of all the people I had to forgive. After I did it, I felt a weight I had been carrying for years had been lifted.
That's the power of a spiritual film.
Many people are extremely uncomfortable with movies that are spiritually centred especially those that are not historical or reportage based. This one deals directly with questions that affect us all; those of being able to put negatively perceived, traumatic experiences behind us and really move on. Films of such potent and pointed content can be threatening even to the most intelligent viewers because intelligence has nothing to do with the heart and it is a trend in our present society to belittle the spiritual heart in favour of more 'rational' thinking. So when a movie comes along with a relatively simple message, our suspicious minds can see it as manipulative.
This is one of the reasons this film has received so many negative reviews; namely because so many people cannot handle their own inner issues and so when confronted with films like this, they become angry and direct their anger at the film, using religion as an excuse to dismiss their message: it's largely an anti-spiritual thing and ironically defies logic.
It's a pity that so many people relate spiritual films like this one to their own personal, often negative experiences with Ministers and church when even Jesus said – in this film – "I'm not exactly what you call a Christian, am I?"
This movie had a profound effect on me and I woke up the next day suddenly needing to do a life review of all the people I had to forgive. After I did it, I felt a weight I had been carrying for years had been lifted.
That's the power of a spiritual film.