MovieChat Forums > Priest (2011) Discussion > Anti-catholic? (NO TROLLS PLEASE!)

Anti-catholic? (NO TROLLS PLEASE!)

posted 14 years ago by Zackery-Arbela
99 replies | jump to latest

Hi there,

just read a quick article about this on io9, and not having ever read the original manga on which it is based (from what I hear, they took more than a few liberties with the plot....) I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this movie is supposed to be anti-Catholic, which is something I'd rather avoid. Movie tix are pricey where I live, so to be forewarned is to be forearmed, or words to that effect...

I'm not a troll, just a guy looking for a little clarification. Anyone with an ax to grind about religion please avoid this thread.

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[–] DUKEJBM 14 years ago

I saw this thing but I'm glad it didn't cost me any money.

It's not anti-Catholic but it is anti-religion and anti-organized religion. The plot is so bad and the writing so poor that it's hard to tell exactly what they are trying to say but one thing is clear, they hate any organized religion and treat it as the bad guy almost as much as the bad CG vampires.

Save your money, avoid this crap.

[–] EMME30 14 years ago

LOL I love the arguments made as to my "not being a Christian" because I'm fine with ass-kicking. Hey, I'm fine with a Priest/Minister/Normal human being kicking a vampires ass any day. LOL That's the premise of the movie isn't it? I know I shouldn't feed trolls, but I had to reply to that one.

Go shake down the 7-11 for a day old wiener. Melvin- As Good as it Gets

[–] IAmASquirrel 14 years ago

Pointing out that being anti-catholic isn't a bad thing isn't trolling. Religions in general, Catholicism and Islam especially, should be seen as sicknesses and dealt with appropriately.

[–] mega_duex 14 years ago

Pointing out that being anti-catholic isn't a bad thing isn't trolling. Religions in general, Catholicism and Islam especially, should be seen as sicknesses and dealt with appropriately.

just to point out something here, i am a atheist, and as a atheist i can rightfully say, religions are utter *beep* because that is their very nature, religion is faith taken and twisted by man into something to suit their own needs, and man is fallible, so if a almighty created faith, why would it take man to give it to the people?

each individual human has the right to faith, believe in whatever almighty you want to believe in, but religions are *beep* retarded, why does it take a human to tell you about faith?

[–] GreatWhiteApeofBarsoom 14 years ago

I'm Catholic and just came from watching this movie. I didn't find it anti-Catholic. The Priests were protrayed as deeply religious types who disobeyed the Church's orders only as an absolute necessity. Unfortunately there are higher-ups in the Church who use its teachings to further their own agenda (as there are in all real religions). This is an important subplot in the movie but occupies relatively little screen time. Thus, no, I don't find Priest to be anti-Catholic. I considered the scenes dealing with the Church's blindness to the impending threat more of an heavyhanded satire of religious hypocrisy and use of religion for self-aggrandiement than anything else. It didn't seem as if the filmmakers were trying to say the Catholic Church is evil but only that there are those in it who use their power and influence wrongly. This is true of Catholicism and all other religions.

Carthago delenda est.

[–] sir-montag 14 years ago

You can see my review http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822847/usercomments-28 here, but in short, no.

[–] jimathan 14 years ago

It's fiction. If a movie is all it takes to offend your religious sensibilities, perhaps you should reexamine your faith.

[–] dio52 14 years ago

The film is anti-catholic, and generally anti-religion, but pro-god.

"The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

[–] RedFoxVertigo 14 years ago

Yes and no...
Yes because it did seem to portray the institution of the catholic church in a negative light.
No because it's not anti-catholicism, as in, I didn't find that it tried to discredit the catholic religion's belief system.
I'm only basing my opinions on my studies of the catholic religion and the institution of the catholic church, as for myself, I'm atheist and therefore can't judge how offensive it might be to a catholic person.
Regardless... I wouldn't recommend it.
There are some interesting visuals but the plot was weak and overall it wasn't very entertaining. If I were you, I'd save your money and wait till it came out on DVD.

One person's crazyness is another person's reality.

[–] primogen18 14 years ago

I don't understand what the problem is, it's a fantasy thriller. You should be able to enjoy it for what it is instead of picking it apart and somehow feeling offended. If it looks interesting then just go see it. I am not "attacking religion", just the fact some people seem to think WAY too much into things until it limits their perception of a FANTASY movie.

You shouldn't feel offended or threatened by fantasy if you actually have true faith in your beliefs is what I am saying.

[–] greeneyesmykel 14 years ago

If you are a Catholic, the film does not slam the Catholic faith. It is pro-God in that the film makes a plot about not only believing because of a church but because of what you feel inside you're heart.

The "church" in the film is totalitarian and has shades of gray but it itself isn't portrayed as the be all evil. It shows the flaws of men in power.

Also, the film is so extreme what with Vampires and the humans living in cities and such that it doesn't resemble anything in modern time.

[–] SloberDon 14 years ago

I saw this thing but I'm glad it didn't cost me any money.

It's not anti-Catholic but it is anti-religion and anti-organized religion. The plot is so bad and the writing so poor that it's hard to tell exactly what they are trying to say but one thing is clear, they hate any organized religion and treat it as the bad guy almost as much as the bad CG vampires.

Save your money, avoid this crap.

That sums it up best. It's anti-religion and worse, anti-good taste.

[–] James2912 14 years ago

Guys if you were gay would you want to see a movie that portrayed gays in a bad light? If you were an atheist would you want to see a movie that portrayed atheists as evil? if you were a woman blah blah blah. Come on people the OP is fully is fully justified in not wanting to give money to a movie that attacks an important part of him, whether its your religion, race or country. Its really not hard to understand so certain people should stop being *beep*

[–] jconde 14 years ago

This is the point. I like people who say things like "well if it offends you maybe it reflects on your beliefs." It's not like that at all. If you were Black would like to spend your money on something that spends the next two hours insulting Blacks? He's intrigued by the plot but doesn't want to support something that he finds offensive. Not because he's afraid or unwilling to confront anything but because he doesn't want to support those kinds of movies and presumably the people who profit from them. That's totally fair.

And to anti-religious folks out there: Religion itself is fine, nothing wrong with it. It's just it doesn't make the news unless someone is using it the wrong way. Millions of people congregating, preaching, and trying live better lives and read scriptures doesn't make the news, only the freaks like Islamic Terrorists and that Baptist church that screams at soldier funerals. So people with no religious affiliation only hear about religion when some fringe weirdo group does something like burn Harry Potter.

Most of us religious folks are fine, we like our neighbors both theist and atheist. We disagree about certain things, this is true, but most of us are quite content to disagree without being disagreeable.

And to be fair, you can get lunatic jerks in every grouping of people, it doesn't have to be on matters as significant as politics or religion. I once was on a Mystery Science Theater 3000 board and the debate was Joel or Mike as the best main host. I've never seen so much cussing in one thread.

[–] greeneyesmykel 14 years ago

i'm gay and i've seen MANY films that portray gay people poorly but you know what... i always let it slide simply because it is THAT gay character and they don't represent ALL gay men.

i really hated the gays in CHUCK AND LARRY but the over all film had a decent message.

PRIEST doesn't insult anyone for being Catholic anymore then KINGDOM OF HEAVEN insults all religions...

[–] jconde 14 years ago

So you want to promote movies that bash gays even though you are gay? If so, that's your choice. He doesn't want to support a movie that bashes his religion, and that's his choice. IF I made a movie where the black people jump around and act like monkeys I don't think I'd get very far with "It's just these particular Blacks who like to impersonate monkeys, this is a NOT a commentary on Black people." I think the movie would rightfully be called racist.

In turn, I can watch a show like Big Love (yes, I am Mormon) and say "well, it's just these particular characters who act like this and it's not a slam on my religion as a whole" but I don't because I feel the show has a strong anti-Mormon agenda and I don't want to support it. Conversely, a friend of mine who is also Mormon watches the show from time to time because their are some things he does like about it, even though he also feels it's got a lot of inaccuracies. His choice, my choice.

So I respect the OP trying to learn more about this movie before making a market decision. The kinds of movies that get made in Hollywood often depend on what's making money (like the slew of Superhero and Vampire movies out now) so he doesn't want to support something that is anti-catholic. That's a fair point.