The first thing I noticed: “The Visitor” – the word is singular, not plural. Watch the movie and indeed, you begin to wonder: who is the visitor here? While it is true that the theme of the square, stuffy, middle-aged white man in a suit who finds his soul with an infusion of Third-World soulfulness can come across as sentimental and condescending, McCarthy has created a believable world, setting up his despondent protagonist in a believable manner – the Man - is broken. And he finds his healing among immigrants – illegals for that matter. That is when the story takes an interesting political turn as he re-finds his voice, his anger, his passion, his life. One would think the charitable benefactor the hero of this story, thus repeating the condescending and predictable narratives that we’re used to. But remember: he is broken – so alone. He’s the hero, but he’s also the Visitor – which shows the helper / helpee distinction is blurred. No theology of condescension here; rather – a theology of ascent.
While I thought some of the acting was kinda kitschy and predictable, (yo holmes, I’m from the South Side, I represent) I found this movie pregnant with so many important themes. Faith, Place, & Race are three of them (and also happen to be the title of this blog) but it wrestles deeply with issues of urbanization, neighborhood, culture, and so many things. David Swanson gives a more complete review, titling it “urban exile” and I think that captures the essence of Gran Torino; being stuck in a place with people you don’t like and making the most of it. Staying put. And this is faith. What’d u think of the movie?
Intrigued that Clint Eastwood has chosen to tackle the subject matter of Asian-American racism; while it’s not his first venture into the Asian genre (Letters From Iwo Jima) I think this one will take a unique twist. I’m looking forward to watching Gran Torino. Above all, don’t visit the wikipedia page, the person who put it up completely spoils the film. At any rate, any body see it yet? What’d u think? And pls, – no spoilers… for those who might be interested, here’s the synopsis (sans spoiler): Read more…
It’s Time To Say “I Do” To Fireproof
Was surprised to see that Kirk Cameron made the Cascadia Weekly for his new feature: Fireproof @ the Regal Sunset. The brief synopsis: Kirk is a fireman. But his marriage is going up in flames. He takes a 40 days of purpose thingy. Probably saves his marriage in the end. There’s no hiding the subtle Christian overtones to this movie’s message, and the Cascadia was surprisingly tame in its review. The one star probably spoke enough damage to the movie. But it must definitely be a stirring challenge for many to fix our marriages in 40 days. I dunno. I don’t intend to watch it. Has anyone seen it? Intend to see it? Is it more star-worthy than the Cascadia gives it credit?
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