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Without seeking to be a spoiler, I want to mention two scenes that I think might be on my all-time favorite list: 1. There is a scene where Eli prays over a meal. In normal circumstances, this sounds completely mundane, and unworthy of screen time. But in the ultra-barren landscape of a post-apocalyptic desert, both spiritually and verdantly, this scene almost brought me to tears. There was something so completely holy about a man, a man of violence and faith, teach a young girl, entirely post-christian, completely post-faith, how to pray to God. The prayer is one of astounding simplicity and gratitude. My own mealtime prayer carried greater weight that evening. 2. There is one scene when Eli recites Scripture. He quotes Psalm 23 in it’s entirety. You know it, probably by heart. But you’ve not heard it in the dusty, desperate, Mad-Maxian world Eli inhabits. The hope it provides is palpable. There were additional scenes that touched my heart…times when Eli stood honorably and un-tempted by his appetites, times when he listened to the Spirit of God leading him. He’s different, and everyone knows it. Rarely does Hollywood produce a film that honors the Bible, rarely does it portray a man of simple faith and profound conviction. The whole movie was an incredible reminder of the POWER of the Words of God…an incredible valuing of the memorization of the Word, and reading the Word, and living the Word. In the movie Eil poured over the words of God. “I read it everyday.” Eli says simply. I actually don’t think The Book of Eli will do well in the box-office, because it’s a paradox. While it doesn’t go completely over the Tarantino/Kill Bill line, my guess is that it’s too violent for the typical Christian movie-goer. (I anticipate some negative feedback from this post.) I want to warn you, if you thought Braveheart was too graphic, you need to skip this one. However, it’s also far too Christian for the typical agnostic, sci-fi, movie buff who went to see some standard negative-utopia film. Friends, in all fairness, I must tell you that my wife hated this movie (not a good date choice). But I am smitten. And here is why: I’ve got eight Bibles on my shelf in my church office. I’ve got three that I work from at my home office. I’m a guy who values the Word, who reads it daily, and who memorizes it periodically. But, the sheer value of Scripture that Eli carries. Is. Emotionally. Stirring. And I want to value God’s Word that much. |
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Okay, I'll admit that I am not the one "without sin" who can cast the first stone. However, I've been reading Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love - Overwhelmed by a Relentless God" (http://crazylovebook.com/) and I'm getting my socks convicted off, so I really feel like I can't keep silent either.
I haven't seen Eli and I consciously chose not to see it after reading the Plugged In Online Review (http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/). No matter how wonderful the background message may be, I just can stomach paying for a movie where the F-bomb is tossed about and more importantly, the Lord's name is taken in vain. I've tried to never go to a movie that I wouldn't be comfortable taking my kids to. Though I've stumbled more times than I'd care to admit, the acid test for me is would I stay in the movie if Jesus was watching it with me...because He is!
Now I know Jesus did a lot of things that the "religious" people of his day didn't expect or approve of, but I can't imagine that sitting through a movie where His name is used in vain would be one of those things. I worry that in some of our striving to become "relevant" to the world, we've made ourselves irrelevant or ineffective for God. He has called us to be set apart and holy in every aspect of our lives, from our work to our relationship with Him and other people as well as our choice in entertainment.
Ephesians 5:3 says "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
There are plenty of great resources out there to make informed choices before you lay down your hard-earned dollars. Plugged In Online or ScreenIt.com will tell you exactly what you'll be seeing and hearing in the movie before you find out the hard way in front of your children.
I read Movieguide weekly to learn exactly what is in every movie that is showing. It gives detailed descriptions and synopses. Movieguide praised Book of Eli for its theme while giving very strong cautions becasue of violence and language. I'd have taken my teenage grandsons to see it except for two scenes where it is implied that men are trying to rape a woman. As for the language . . . they are in public high schools and hear it all around . . . doesn't mean they'll ever use it. If I can ever buy the film and delete those scenes I MIGHT let them see it. It actually is a moving film. Like Michael said, it makes you go "hmmmmmmm". It reminded me of the absolute power of and need for God's word, even among the barrenness and depravity of an evil world. Even the evil men in the movie recognized that power
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And to you, Michael: I went to the movie by myself because I wanted to see it. I did like it. And most of the people in the theatre were in a awed hush by the end of the movie. It won't be shown or recommended in churches, but I believe a mature Christian who is already working IN the evil world (I work with teens: I've heard it all) can see something inspiring. I'm proud of Denzel Washington for being in this film.
Sharon
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your honest feedback about that film, which I have yet to see, but plan to... Have you seen "The Road", which was a far better book than movie? Cormac McCarthy's novel about "the man" and "the boy" is essentially humanistic, but they share an essential bond and carry "the fire" which seems to translate into something transcendent, perhaps akin to a deep respect for human dignity: they don't care to hunt and eat other post-apocalyptic survivors; instead, they travel along roads in search of... well, it's not clear, but life is a journey, right?
We live in an era when most people, it seems to me, are so estranged from the natural core of their lives, from God's creation, and from each other that we crave a world (even if it's merely one of the imagination) where humans are stripped of their so-called civilized ways and forced to confront their primal (and sinful) selves. We wonder: what would it be like to have to cope without the material comforts and cultural trappings we have come to accept and expect on a daily basis? If push really came to shove, however, I fear few of us would know how to cope in such conditions. Perhaps only a mythic Eli could retain a sense of wonder and the vestiges of faith to pass on to another generation...
You know I'm a fan of Wendell Berry, so a few quotes by him seem fitting here:
"Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire."
"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do."
"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."
"When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."
Shalom, brother. God's grace and peace to you and your family.
-Rob Lamb
Thanks for this thoughtful review, Mike. Those key scenes moved me as well. I actually wrote a downloadable study guide for THE BOOK OF ELI that includes clips from the movie. Get it here: http://www.screenvue.com/eli/
So I just saw the film and I really liked the plot twist at the end and the scenes you described. The whole concept was intriguing to me. That it's a Hollywood film is also remarkable. Beyond its gratuitous violence and the sepia-toned wasteland Eli inhabits, there's a very clear message about the power of our words and the Word of God, and what sort of reading material, what basic media, and what values really matter in our over-stimulated, over-analyzed, over-fed society. If the medium is the message, then Eli represents a sort of pophet of the lost and and Scripture-less. He is an agent of the Lord who embodies, in both figurative and literal ways, the Gospel and Faith as gift.
I have seen the film about the book of Eli and it impress me I saw the main character of the movie. The production is awesome. mayweather vs pacquiao tickets