No spoilers, please and thank you.
I've not read the book and I'm Agnostic. I was curious if any other non-theists had seen this...
I was just wondering if there is any underlying theological message put forth by this. Being who I am, I don't want to waste my time on this if it does.
I'm not getting that vibe from the trailer, but you never know.
Thanks in advance.
[deleted]
Are you also agnostic about Santa and the Tooth Fairy??
Also, your question is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on these message boards!
Just watch the movie and try and enjoy it.
I saw no theological or religious message in this film at all. It is solely about dealing with grief and loss and one's reactions to them--whether or not they are the "right" reactions.
shareI'll take your question seriously (if that is how you mean it) and say that this movie is about as real as a young adult film about grief, death, and becoming an adult can get, maybe even more so. I urge you to see it, it's excellent.
Trying to create a channel based on interpreting, reviewing, and even giving you something to laugh about film. Hope you enjoy what you see. Thanks in advance.
Review of the film here-https://youtu.be/ZxZwCR72QvA
This is a really strange question for so many reasons. I consider myself Agnostic but I would have no issue seeing movies that contain things that I don't necessarily believe are true, especially when said film has fantasy elements including a talking tree monster.
In response to your frankly absurd question, though, no there are no theological or religious messages or references in this movie. It's about grief and dealing with loss.
Also, I would add, being Agnostic is supposed to mean that you're open minded towards religion and other ideas and beliefs even if you're unsure if you believe in it or not yourself. So your entire post is even more confusing.
shareTo be fair, there's plenty of different kinds of Agnostics. For me, I consider myself Agnostic-Atheist, I can't prove or disprove any religion and I wouldn't want to try to do so, but my personal belife is there isn't enough evidance to support religion. I personally, would not want to see a film if it had religious undertones.
shareI consider myself Agnostic-Atheist
I like how you responded like you are some sort of authority on the matter, well guess what, you don't get to tell me what to do.
It's a thing, and a simple Google search is enough to show that it is.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism
Now go get bent.
I won't fall back on mocking Wikipedia as I take it as a source of information too. But I will trump it...
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/atheist
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/agnostic
No entry for your bastardised terminology though. Please do however pay attention to the definitions of each word and how they provide zero room for overlap.
you don't get to tell me what to do
I disagree with you. The ending has a very religious overtone. His grandfather was the tree for goodness sake, acting as a guardian angel of sorts.
I'm an Atheist and I found no offense in any of this movie, people can believe in whatever they like as long as they do no harm in the name of it.
I disagree with you in terms of the ending. I don't think the grandfather was the tree or that the grandfather was acting as a guardian angel at all. The picture of Liam Neeson as the grandfather I just viewed as a little easter egg for the viewer or thought the filmmakers just thought it was easier to use a picture of an actor that they had already hired for the movie rather than adding someone else to the cast list just for one photo. However, my view on that is probably biased due to the fact that I read the book first and in the book there is no reference at all to what the grandfather looks like or to whether or not he may be the tree, so him being the tree never even occurred to me or crossed my mind. Although, maybe they decided to hint at it in the film as there was also never any reference in the book that the mother had called the monster before. I still didn't think it was the case, though.
So to me, or as far as I was concerned, the ending also doesn't have any religious overtones but I guess it's down to interpretation. I think the movie has a lot about faith itself, but faith and religion are two different things.
Cheater! It's really not fair to bring the book into this since as you said they did change some stuff. I can only comment as to the film, using him because he was hired already is nowhere near a plausible argument. Easter egg - perhaps. I'll keep fighting my original point.
Your right about faith and religion being separate though. It's the discussion about a hot tub and a Jacuzzi (from Hot Tub Time Machine) all over again.
Fair point. This is about the movie and not the book so it is unfair to bring it up. I was just trying to explain my thought process because I'm certain my views on the film are affected by the book. Yeah, I don't think that's a very plausible argument either, even though I suggested it, but I think I was just trying to come up with something. I stand by the Easter Egg comment, though.
shareThat's a classic folktale trope. European tales are full of fairy godmothers, animal helpers, and yes, trees, that turn out to be or to contain the spirit of of a dead parent. There's nothing religious about a story including such a figure, any more than a story with ghosts in it would be 'religious'.
shareI remember a lovely TV serial (one of the Eastern European ones that the BBC used to show with dubbing in the '70s) of Three Gifts for Cinderella, where her gifts came via hazelnuts from a tree that seemed to be linked up with her dead mother. It's on IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397629/reference
"Active but Odd"
There were terrific films and TV programmes made in Eastern Europe in the 50s-70s based on folk tales. This was at least partly because folklore was by definition ideologically OK in Soviet-dominated regimes, and creative people could get on and make that kind of film or programme without the continual interference by censors that present-day or historical subjects routinely got. Sometimes they actively sneaked a subversive message in, but as often they just enjoyed the relief of not having their project constantly prodded and niggled with.
But their troubles were the British child's gain, since their output was relatively cheap for British TV stations to buy and show.
I now discover it's out on DVD and on YouTube. It was a beautiful series (Czech/E German co-production)! It's a pity they're not shown on TV here nowadays...
The magic hazelnuts contained a hunting outfit, a ballgown and a wedding-dress.
"Active but Odd"
I totally understand and assure you this is definitely not along the lines of "God is real" or that horrible one with the little boy who saw heaven or whatever.
I understand where you are coming from and I can say without reservation that there is no underlying religious message. The only time "faith" is mentioned is it referring to faith in oneself or an outcome. Faith in hope, if that makes any sense. If you would like to know more, I just posted my review
http://www.hikeeba.com/meviews
I am prickly about that kind of slant in a movie and did not get that feel from A Monster Calls.
Definitely NOT for under 13.