Stigmata

Giving comment after a few days after I seen it, I must say that in this picture lays something that, in my opinion is one of the most biggest issues of modern, or should I say, of Christianity itself; what Jesus had had in mind when he talked about God in us? Do we really need mediator between Him and ourselves? -Very good crew and scenario had make this movie very interesting. Byrne is really good, though sometimes is rather 'inconvincible', but, as a priest-scientist, maybe he has right on some 'perplexities'. Patricia Arquette is one of my favorite actresses, and I love her in this movie, or any else. Director is unknown to me, I must confess it, but, from what I have seen in this movie, it has some interesting views on filming, and I would really like to see his other works, or future ones. Rade Serbedgia in this film look like his not interested. It's a loss. Film has some frightful scenes, but in major, it's very good movie which gives us some new perspective on Jesus words that the God is in us. People who has no idea, or been religious fanatics should avoid this film. This film, also, is not the most intelligent topic that has been ever recorded, but it has some good points. Try figure it out. It's not shallow. And, please, use your own head, and don't be molested by religious fanatics; they would first crucifix Christ just for the way he looks.

"Stigmata" is not a horror movie, but it is a religiously-centered suspense thriller that makes you think about your own faith. If you don't, then this movie is not for you. I loved this movie because I was able to sit through it and it made me think about my own walk with Christ. I think there are so many negative comments for this movie from Americans because it is easier for modern audiences to sit down and flame a movie for what THEY WANT IT TO BE rather than WHAT IT IS. This movie is about a lot of things; love popping up in the strangest places, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and finding the truth for yourself through your own hard work. On a personal note, I think Arquette (Frankie Paige) and Byrne (Father Andrew Keirnan) did a fine job bringing their characters to life, and Pryce (Housman) was truly convincing as the Cardinal who wants to keep everything secret. Byrne was the true treasure of the piece- his Father Keirnan was very convincing as a questioning religious scientist. The confrontation scene at the end between the spirit of Father Alemeida and Keirnan was very poignant and intense. Some people claim that the garden scene from the end is a let down (What did you expect, a mad tongue war in the garden of the church diocese?), but maybe you didn't see the statue of St. Francis and notice the parallelism to Frankie's clothing. She was dressed a lot like St. Francis. Something to remember is that St. Francis was a radical... like Frankie, an atheist who eventually comes to have faith (so says the spirit of Father Alemeida) in Christ and God. The DVD has an alternate ending that is especially touching. I am glad that they didn't use it, though- it would have made me cry. This movie made me investigate more into Stigmata- you should too. I'm not even Catholic, but I found a lot of insight into deeply spiritual people through my research.

Stigmata is at the very least controversial. I feel that it's really struggling to find a genre, so it's harsh to compare it to the Exorcist as many have. This is a film based somewhat on truth, and somewhat on legend with a little Hollywood finesse to bring it all together. It doesn't stay completely true to either a Christian audience or to mainstream Hollywood, but I think that's to it's credit. I don't know many people who knowingly make this kind of cross-over in their normal rental choices, so in that way, it helps to reach the largest possible audience. The way that the film afflicts it's heroine with the stigmata through the rosary is just typical screenwriting, and the romance aspects are predictable. The film, based upon the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, assumes that the discovery of that scroll had never been know to the public, and that personal vendettas within the Vatican had helped to suppress it. In reality however, there have been numerous translations of that Gospel, although I rather doubt that the modern bible will be amended. (Due to it's debated authenticity.) In short, the film is thought-provoking, yet not heavy-handed in it's message. It leaves you asking questions as to your own faith, and to the nature of the established "church" far after you've reached the final credits. As an action-suspense-thriller I'd rank it about a 7 out of 10, but in terms of it's religious nature it succeeds greatly in the find-the-truth-for-yourself message that it conveys.