Stigmata

Rating:
Summary: "Anabe non importante!"
Review: where should i begin? the explicit yet appropriate content of this film or it's characters?the movie is based on an atheist named frankie(patricia), she is in her tub when she recieves her first of several painful to watch but obviously more painful to experience stigmata(hence the title). yadda yadda yadda, catholic priests(byrne), yadda yadda yadda, the quote: anabe non importante which loosely translate to: the messenger is not important, yadda yadda yadda, conspiracy, yadda yadda yadda, room of fire, and then we get to the end. i loved this film, not a perfect film but great. now, wether youl believe in stigmata or think it's just the proof of hysteria( i will explain later), this is a film to see. i loved the way how the segments of scenes merge together by phasing.

now, the controversy, stigmata as you know must have heard is not only the bleeding of MY LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, but the actual puncture wounds, yeah i know its very disturbing but MY LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST died on the cross for our sin's.

back to the topic, hysteria is what skeptics claim stigmata is. now im not the best to tell you what it is but i can give you the basic theory behind it. it is when a person that really believes that something physical is happening to him, BUT ISN'T, actually does, you know what i mean? like lets say a man is dreaming and he truly believes that someone stabbed him, and when he wakes up he bore the wound that he believed he has. now don't freak out or anything just because you have weird dream, its for the people who truly, deeply, and thinks with his heart and soul that he has some physical injury upon him.

finally, im a christian, i'm asian, and i loved this film, what christ went through is very painful, yet so full of meaning, he is so strong and focused and the pain he had to endure is of course not really felt but the actress, patricia, is very good in this film, it takes on hell of an actress to act out the pain and suffering of a cruxifiction. she is very talented and so is byrnes, very good cast, plot, twists, and leaves you with a satisfied feeling.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliance
Review: This DVD features a gorgeous 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, capturing all of the films beauty. STIGMATA is probably the most gorgeously filmed movie EVER, and the DVD edition is great. The added scenes are great, the alternate ending is VERY interesting, and the Natalie Imbruglia music video, for the truly haunting "Identify", is moody and luscious. For open-minded viewers, Stigmata is a great pick. And for the record, it does NOT rip off The Exorcist, as the Exorcist did not INVENT "possession signals", such as talking in a strange deeper voice, speaking different languages, or facial contortions; these have been documented phenomena in MANY TRUE POSSESSION CASES. Just wanted to clear that up. Patricia Arquette is brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad but a bit too preposterous
Review: Gabriel Byrne is Andrew Kiernan, a scientifically trained priest employed by the Vatican to go off and investigate alleged cases of miracles. He's really keen to look into a case he came upon in Brazil where a statue of the Virgin wept blood following the death of some local holy man. Instead his rather unpleasant boss, Cardinal Houseman (Jonathan Price), sends him to Philadelphia check up the case of Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) who is having some strange hallucinatory experiences and has strange inexplicable wounds appearing on her wrists (as if made by nails) and her back (as if made by being whipped). What Kiernan doesn't yet realize is that these two cases are directly connected...

Like Gregory Hoblit's "Fallen" a year previously, this tries to breathe new life into the old "Exorcist" formula - mainstrean Hollywood films that deal with the theme of possession while taking themselves terribly seriously. Like "Fallen" this works quite nicely when it's a mystery but when the mystery is stripped away and we see what our hero and heroine are up against, it all turns out to be a bit silly and a whole lot less scary and disturbing than it's intended to be. The nice bits are the opening hour or so where we get a nice feel for Frankie's terrified confusion about what on earth is happening to her, complemented nicely by a more sophisticated bafflement from Kiernan, who has studied all this stuff for ever, but can't see why on earth a phenomenon associated exclusively with people of extreme sanctity should suddenly be manifesting itself on the person of this entirely unbelieving young woman. I certainly got intrigued by this point to understand what was going on. But the solution turned out to be decidedly lame. Expect to be mildly entertained but not particularly scared.

Rating:
Summary: Jesus' Vision
Review: The movie did a commendable job in getting across what Jesus' message was to mankind: That the "church" is all around you and more than a building, either fancy or plain, and a bureaucracy of men. A bureacracy that not only reads His Word to the flock but forms "its" opinion (not His) of what He intended us to learn from His coming and then in effect voices this opinion to the flock as His Word.

I frequently ask myself this question when the organized religions, governments, etc. take a position or action on some matter, be it war, be it same-sex marriage, be it "Holy War", be it the Crusades, be it the Inquisition, etc. etc.: "If Jesus were a man(or woman) and if He was here today, would He behave this way and want us to behave this way?" The answer I always come to is "NO". The Jesus I've read about is a loving and forgiving Diety - not a "fire and brimstone Tyrant" nor a "picky benevolent Diety". In today's world, He would be The Expert on Compassion, Forgiveness, Tolerance and everything Else that is good and right.

If the Stigmata and the Jesus Scriptures truly exist, then this will be a threat to most of the religious bureaucracies throughout the world. It will also be a threat to those governments and those leaders that proclaim their actions are in accordance with and necessary under "Gods Laws" and in accordance with "Allah's wishes" and all the other references to our Divine Creator to justify their positions and actions.

And, those institutions - be they a "Church" or a "government" or some "other" and the individuals who believe the "word" of those institutions, will not only find themselves subject to judgement the same as the rest of mankind, but they will also be subject to judgement on the consequences of their actions taken and in justifying their actions in the Name of The Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Jesus, Allah, and Others.






Rating:
Summary: Headache inducing disaster
Review: I sat down to watch this movie, and I was very relzxed and comfortable. Five minutes later my head was pounding, the introduction set a scene for a disorganised and painful film that I wish I never saw.

The story line was often confusing and there were many unnecesary scenes. An attempt at "style" is worth mentioning but the key word is ATTEMPT. There were times when you were amazed by the sheer beauty of a shot, but that was soon eclipsed by overpowering music, graphic violence or sporatic camera movement.

There were far too many holes in the plot, very few if any questions are ever answered. The ending does not succeed in passing it's message to the viewer. You feel virtually no sympathy for any of the characters and you even grow to hate them

Finally the movie leaves you with a feeling of dread and you feel drained It is not a pleasent experience

Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric Movie But Factually Misguided
Review: When I first saw the movie in 2000, I was moved by the central theme propounded by the Gospel according to Thomas: "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you and all around you...", not least taken by the special effects in the scenes where stigmata was inflicted upon Patricia Arquette, the protagonist personifying modern-day St. Francis di Assisi. While the movie may come across to some as contrived, church-bashing, irreverent and blasphemous, it was artfully filmed and conveyed the meritorious theme that it was more important to look upon Jesus' teachings and how much God loves us all, not didactic doctrines which, if misapplied, may veer towards downright propaganda supporting the ongoing financial needs surrounding much of organised religion.

But a caveat: being more exposed to biblical and extra-biblical research written on the subject matter now, I would like to share with viewers the possibility that the premise of the movie could be flawed. As per suggested by John P. Meier's 'A Marginal Jew', the volume of three books touted by scholars as one of the foremost studies ever written on the historical Jesus, the weight of evidence is suggesting that "the Gospel of Thomas did depend, directly or indirectly, on some if not all of the canonical Gospels (of Luke, Mark, Matthew and John)", thereby debunking the misguided belief that it was independently written, not least being the definitive source recording of the sayings of Jesus written without any narrative structure.

So enjoy the good and ignore the spoils - whatever you do, don't take the movie's presumptions as gospel truth.

Rating:
Summary: A Clash of Forces
Review: British director Rupert Wainwright's "Stigmata" presents sharply clashing forces of good and evil in which petite blonde beauty Patricia Arquette, a professed atheist, is attacked by spiritual elements in the same manner that Linda Blair was so plagued in the seventies in "The Exorcist."

Gabriel Byrne, an Irish actor who initially gained fame on stage with Dublin's famous Abby Playhouse group, is an idealistic young priest working out of Rome's Vatican. He had just investigated a case of stigmata, namely evidence of reopening the wounds Christ sustained on the cross at Calvary, in the case of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at a church in a small Brazilian town. He observed the evidence of blood appearing in the appropriate places on the statue.

Byrne is stymied when his immediate superior, Jonathan Pryce, a cardinal stationed at the Vatican, dampens his enthusiasm and then sends him on to a case in Pittsburgh, which involved Arquette, whom he meets at her place of employment, a beauty parlor. Initially he states his conviction that future investigation is unnecessary. His reasoning is that in former cases of individuals bearing the stigmata, such as St. Francis of Assisi and, more recently, the Italian Catholic priest Padre Pio, were all devout believers.

Byrne and Arquette become strongly attracted to each other, and the priest concedes that he became a priest in later adulthood and had enjoyed conjugal relations before that point. Eventually Pryce comes to Pittsburgh, and, behind Byrne's back, begins to perform an exorcism. The drama heightens as does the clash between Byrne and Pryce over the direction of the Roman Catholic Church in regard to manifestations of stigmata and what they ultimately mean.

The camera work is brilliant, as are the special effects revealing Arquette's experiences, but considering the importance of the doctrinal clash being posed, the issues could have been better fleshed out in the script.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Movie, Beautifully Done
Review: This movie is one of my absolute favorites (and I've seen a lot of movies). It is all about conflict - the conflict that Frankie experiences with the stigmata (fighting for her life, essentially), the conflict that Andrew faces within himself because of his attraction to Frankie and the vow that he took for the church, the conflict between authority and subordinates (the church's attempts to suppress information). The film is beautifully directed with amazing angles, and a lot of work was put into production (view with director's commentary - he'll explain a lot in it).
The actors are also amazing - I am really impressed with Gabriel Byrne's portrayal of Father Kierning. He is very expressive and is able to relay emotion without speaking, which is a great gift. (And he's really easy on the eyes, too, lol.) Patricia Arquette also is amazing - she makes Frankie a very strong woman and someone who isn't in the "mainstream" but who is very logical and intelligent. Despite the bad rap that ravers get, most are thinkers, which I see in Frankie. The supporting role by Nia Long is extremely well-done. As the best friend, she brings to the role a caring person who's always by Frankie's side; she's concerned without being cheesy, which is a touch of realism that I'm glad was included in the movie.
The look of the film, the colors, the way that the film was processed (with "skipping," which is explained on the DVD) also give it a dark yet light and ethereal look which I think was essential to making this movie work.
As far as the topics of the movie (because there is more than one), they are all thought-provoking and should be examined closely to really be absorbed. If you like make-you-think movies, you will definitely love this movie.
The one beef I had with this DVD was the director's alternate ending. I think that the theatrical ending is much better because it leaves more to the imagination. The viewer can see the ending however he or she pleases; interpretation is at the hands of the viewer. The movie itself however, is awesome, and had I been able to give it ten stars, I would've. I cannot say how amazing I think this movie is (because I don't have the space, lol), but I just think that it's very worthy and deserving of 5 stars. An AMAZING film.

Rating:
Summary: Wish I didn't waste my time on this one...
Review: This movie was just dumb. Anyone who know anything about stimatists knows that they don't experience what Frankie did in this movie (there are people today that receive the stimata). This was more like demonic possession than a gift from God. The film lost me here... why would such a gift manifest itself in such a evil and demonic way? Even if she was "channeling" the dead priest, was he not a holy man, and not the devil?

Also- I hate the way they portrayed the Catholic Church. Are there really police in the Vatican library watching over the priests who are engaged in research, threatening them if they seem to be doing anything "suspicious?" Give me a break. And for all the claims of the church subverting this "dangerous" document, it is widely available for all the read on the internet. Funny, the Church still exists in spite of that. I read some of this "gospel," and it reads alot like the Bible... I hardly see where saying "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you and all around you" is very scandalous..... Jesus told us that He lives within each of us, and His spirit is wherever 2 or more are gathered in His name. It sounds alot like when Jesus told folks in the Bible that "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Anyway.... it seems like just another Hollywood attack on the Catholic Church, which is used to such attacks, since it's the only Christian church that has been around since Jesus founded it himself (and promised that the Gates of Hell should not prevail against it.) In spite of all of these attacks by secular media, the Church will be here forever... and stronger for having endured.

Rating:
Summary: One Of My Favorite Movies
Review: I borrowed this from my brother when i first got a DVD player. A week later, i purchased my own copy. Not as gory as alot of movies out thre today, and for that i'm grateful. There is blood, but it could have been alot worse.

The story: A young woman named Frankie recieves a gift from her mother, whos vacationing. Weird things start to happen. Soon, Frankie, who states she doesn't believe in God, is manifesting signs of the stigmata. Much to the confusion of Father Kiernan, since only deeply religious people have ever gotten the stigmata. It starts a chain of events as they both attempt to figure out what's going on. It gets alot better from there.