Jesus Camp (2006)

An indie documentary looks into a charismatic camp where young children and teenagers are taught to be "warriors" in the battle to reclaim America for Jesus.

    This was an interesting movie to watch as a Christian. Part of me thought that the documentary was unfair as it was of course biased in some way, but the other part was absolutely horrified that this sort of thing goes on in churches.

    Religion should not be mixed with politics. That is not something I will back down on. No where in the Bible does it say that Christians should be taking over government. Jesus didn't do it. These kids are being taught to battle against "extreme liberals," they pray over a cardboard cutout of George Bush, and they are all home-schooled by their mothers, free from an environment where some of their beliefs might be tested. Indoctrination is the only word for it. The minister who leads the Jesus Camp of the film, Becky Fischer, openly advocates for indoctrination in the movie while debating a radio host. I was deeply troubled by her statements.

    The only other thing that bothered me was the use of "tongues." The children are told, "Come on, we're going to speak in tongues now." They then begin speaking illegibly, weeping, and waving their hands. I have nothing against passion for Jesus. I know that people speak in tongues. But children of this age? Upon command? I'm not convinced. I just don't think that an eleven-year old, an eight-year old, a five-year old, can possibly comprehend the nature of spiritual warfare and be fluent in tongues. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there's no way to tell when people like Becky Fischer are instructing them so intently. 

    This movie is hard to understand if you are not a Christian or a Christian who leans more toward the charismatic. There were a lot of things that I noticed and I thought, "Oh, I do that. It's really not that strange." But when you're on the outside capturing it through a film lens, it can look strange. 

Devil (2010)

Five strangers are trapped in an elevator. All of them have corrupt pasts. One of them is the devil, seeking their souls.

*Contains minor spoilers* 

    This was a fascinating movie. It took what is best about M. Night Shyamalan (his ideas) and got a director and screenwriter who could do it justice. It reminded me of "Signs" with its use of religion as a story thread but was much more like "The Happening" and "The Sixth Sense" with its gore and suspense. It is certainly a step up from M. Night's past three films. Having separate people write the screenplay and direct seem to a good idea for M. Night.

     I loved how this was filmed. Many of the shots are highly symbolic and besides being just visually "cool," as a viewer with a religious background, bursting with meaning From the beginning upside down sequence to the ending right-side up sequence, you enter the movie with a tingling sense of "something being wrong," and then it is resolved at the end. There are random shots of cross-shaped objects, such as the top of the elevator during the opening credits. There's at least two places where the name "Bethel" is used, which means "House of God" in Hebrew. The idea of the absence of action is used perfectly - the elevator is often flung into complete darkness and the audience can only hear what is happening. When the lights come on again, we face the aftermath of what occurred. 

     The writing was quite good. It was generally very natural and not overly-dramatic. The only character in particular I had a problem with is one of the security guards, a Hispanic man, who has to play the part of the "religious guy." His lines are pretty shallow, he gets to sound crazy most of the time.  There were a couple of lines that really hit me. When the devil is finally revealed at the end, the dialogue is strikingly but also subtly religious, one character says, "Take me instead." The devil responds by shrieking, "STOP SAYING THAT!" It stroke me because that it what the devil hates to hear because it is what Jesus did when He died, He was a replacement for mankind. The last line of the film is also very powerful. I won't print it here, but I will say it offers hope during an otherwise terrifying movie. 

    As a Christian, this movie affects me differently than it will a non-Christian. I am not terrified of the devil, but I appreciate the movie addressing him as he is to a non-believer: terrifying. He is very real. He comes in many forms. However, there were people in the theater who chuckled at the speeches about the devil taking revenge. There were people who proclaimed loudly, "That was dumb." One couple left during the climax. I think your personal beliefs about the devil and God will affect your opinion of the movie. I thought it was well-done and powerful because I do believe in the devil. I believe in God. I don't expect everyone to see the movie the same way.