I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis; reading Mere Christianity was one of the turning points of my spiritual life and of all the chapters in that book, the most revelatory one to me was his chapter on "the great sin":"There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves [...] the vice I am talking of is Pride".
I am also a huge fan of film, and while I keep separate blogs for my film-related thoughts and my Bible/Christian ones, this is one of those occasions where I feel justified in putting a film recommendation here. Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood is the greatest illustration of pride that I have ever seen committed to celluloid. It also happens to be one of the best films I have seen in a very long time and one that has stuck with me even weeks after seeing it - twice! (update: three times)
So despite film recommendations from cinephiles being a dime-a-dozen I'll still go ahead and say that I think this is a must see for any Christian and particularly those who think that the movies have nothing to offer but immoral entertainment. There Will Be Blood is likely one of the most powerful, intelligent and spiritually reflective films I have ever seen in my life. Go and watch it! And even if you've already seen it and didn't feel like you quite "got it", sit yourself down, read Lewis' chapter on pride, then go and watch it again!
(and if you're looking for someone to watch it with, I'm sure I'd be up for another viewing, and another, and another...)
No comments:
Post a Comment