You have some strange ideas about the Christian religion; I wonder if the Rev M.L.King would agree?
Read Bogle's book, by all means, but recall: many people have had a simple faith in simple images, like ten cent seegars. No one 'has to be kidding you' it was so. The rev. Sydney Smith, a napoleonic wars parson in England, famously described some of his countrymen's idea of heaven as 'eating pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets'. All white people there, you notice.
As I watched the film, the simple images ( and smiling a little at them) faded away, and the message took over ; God's anger with sin, and finally being reconciled with man through the Crucifixion. Now, whether you believe it or not, this is serious stuff, and black folks are treated as serious players in it. Ultimately, there are few films made then that so uphold human dignity as this one. I was surprised to find it so, because I was expecting something like the execrable 'heaven on a mule' number done by Al Jolson in 'Wonder Bar'(1934).
If this film is on the Library of Congress' list, so it should be.
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cmashieldscapting
10 years ago
Mixed feelings. I was charmed by the story, Bible tales told through the perspective of a child imagining them in a way familiar to her as expressed by a Sunday School teacher or preacher. Look at Renaissance paintings which show Biblical characters in clothing contemporary to the time. I see no anachronisms here, only an updating to an early 20th Century time and place. I hung around to see if they'd have the nerve to show a black Jesus, or worse, have him be the only whitey, but no! A few things made me squirm uncomfortably, but overall I voted it an 8 due to the imagination and excellence of the story, acting, and especially the music! I may not want the movie on DVD but would buy the soundtrack!
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