| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
C |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
N/A |
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Ye of so little faith...
by Adam (movies profile)
Jul 11, 2008
670
of
876 people found this review helpful
Take it from this Sunday School teacher: If your faith is so fragile that it cannot engage in a discussion about the virtue of free will and the potential abuse of power, this movie/book isn't for you. The irony being, of course, such close-mindedness is exactly what the author fears will be the downfall of mankind. If you can engage in the debate, however, you might find your faith strengthened by realizing you couldn't have true faith without freedom of thought. (Witness our frustrations with extremist versions of Sharia law.)
The film's moral is relatively simplistic: A society's populace must be vigilant to ensure the governing authority is honest and just, as those with power often fear its loss and will often fight to preserve their power. And as history has shown us religious institutions are not immune to this. In this case, a pseudo-religious/governing agency known as The Magesterium is working to maintain their power within a developing society. Questioning authority isn't smiled upon, so when a young girl arises as potential usurper to their status by revealing other truths about the world, the Maegesterium's Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) acts to ensure that doesn't happen.
That the story takes place in a fantasy realm doesn't diminish its relevancy to the real world. What it does, however, is reduce the debate to its core, as any and all commentary about faith and organized religion is not confined to Christianity, Judaism, Islam or so forth. The quest ultimately is about how each person should be allowed to make their own discoveries and choices about life (and, to wit, faith). Without this option we are in fact soulless, reduced to puppets merely doing the will of another master. Being so young the heroine hasn't the pretext to understand the force at play in her quest, she only knows that certain factions seek to support her, and others seek to control her. Reduced to her to animal instincts just to survive, she unveils both the best and worst aspects of human nature.
True faith cannot be achieved without an understanding of one's god and their beliefs. These beliefs cannot be achieved without learning and, most importantly, asking questions. Concepts should never be taken to heart if they are accepted blindly. As such, I hope people will not presume to judge this story as a matter of blind faith. |
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