Posted on 06/24/2007 12:27:08 PM PDT by It's me
Scheduled for release in August, Bella bucks the desire to provide a neat and painfully obvious Christian message in favor of a realism and moral complexity that may affect the lives of women struggling with abortion.
In Passion: Films, Faith, and Fury, a recent British documentary on the tumultuous relationship between religion and film, a Christian filmmaker was interviewed concerning his involvement in the 1979 epic film Jesus. Also known as The Jesus Project, the film has been translated into hundreds of languages and show at gigantic screenings across the globe. The filmmaker described the project as being inspired by Christ’s own example of reaching the crowds through parables. Neither the documentary or the interviewee heeded the glaring paradox: Jesus isn’t a parable at all, but a literal retelling of Luke’s Gospel.
This anecdote highlights an established trend in Christian filmmaking. Rarely do Christian filmmakers produce films which are actually parables, metaphors, or otherwise lacking in overt Christian values or agenda. The emphasis on explicit message over subtle metaphor has impoverished many Christian films; realism and moral complexity are often lost beneath the desire to provide a neat and painfully obvious Christian message. Rod Dreher summed it up best when he described the moral blandishments of the Left Behind series as “The Gospel according to Ned Flanders.”
Metanoia Films, a new production company, has bucked this trend in their debut film Bella, which is slated for release in select markets mid-August. Its artistry and depth makes it a powerful testament to the culture of life, though paradoxically it’s not clear whether it will be lauded by many pro-life Christian viewers. Starring Mexican soap opera star Eduardo Veràstegui, Bella traces a day in the life of Nina, a young waitress who contemplates having an abortion. Nina’s position is a compelling one and her suffering is real and intense. So convincingly has Metanoia rendered Nina’s existential crisis, that many of the less observant abortion advocates see it a as movie that lies within the purview of their ideology, though uncomfortably so. Their short-sightedness can be forgiven — since when has a Christian movie’s message been transmitted without fuzzy treacle?
Conflicted, alone, and steeped in a culture that lacks faith and a firm grip on natural law, Nina’s initial choice of abortion is obvious. In an age guided by the value of personal autonomy, Nina sees the birth as doubly destructive to both herself and her child. What can possibly penetrate the ideological and emotional wall that circumstances have erected within Nina’s tortured heart? The answer is clear for many pro-life activists: love, mercy, and God’s grace. The circumstances faced by many women in Nina’s position is more often than not complex, rarely alleviated by logical argument or fear of damnation, though many still try to use these to dissuade women bent on abortion.
Bella derives its power from its depiction of God’s grace working subtly and mysteriously within Nina’s troubled heart. In one particular scene, a blind man asks Nina to describe what she can see; he forces her to concentrate on the beauty she doesn’t feel like perceiving. This scene sums up the whole action of the movie: the opening of Nina’s soul and heart to grace, love, and beauty. The primary instrument of grace is Eduardo Veràstegui’s character Jose, a character rarely seen in today’s cinema: a truly virtuous and self-sacrificing soul. He is present for Nina in her hour of need and creates the haven of love and mercy that opens her heart to the possibility of life. For those women who identify with Nina, it presents a similar opportunity for grace to penetrate their desperate and hardened hearts. At the Toronto Film Festival, whose prestigious People’s Choice Award Bella won, a woman was so moved by Bella she decided to keep her child and name her Bella.
Surprisingly, many Christian pro-life advocates are not receiving Bella with open arms. At a recent screening of Bella, the MC tried to rally the Christian crowd by asking everyone who supports Metanoia Film’s efforts to stand up: barely half the crowd rose from their seats. Secondly, I received an acerbic e-mail from an intelligent Catholic film critic which lambasted me for a passing comment on my blog which identified Bella as a pro-life movie. The critic’s main objection to Bella was its ambiguity. “The film,” the critic bristled, “never mentions the life of the unborn child which seems to me inexcusable for a film made by Catholics . . . People who are pro-life see the film as being pro-life, because they are told going in that the film was made with pro-life intentions. But people who are pro-choice think it is an affirmation of a pro-choice worldview.” In other words, this critic would only be placated if the movie had had an explicit Christian message.
A truly pro-life movie then is one which resembles a logically incisive pamphlet; this approach might score some points in the perpetual political power struggle, but its doubtful that it would have any effect on the Ninas of the world. Bella is powerful because it resonates on an emotional and spiritual level, penetrating through the half-baked NARAL arguments inculcated in so many women. Ultimately, reality doesn’t reflect tidy messages, and God’s grace is a mysterious reality. This movie, by not following the trend of Christian films which double as propaganda, will affect the lives of women struggling with abortion.
Martin Harold is Adjunct Professor of Visual Story telling at John Paul the Great Catholic University.
mharold@JPCatholic.com
http://www.jpcatholic.com/
I avoid propaganda like the plague.
I enjoy entertainment.
Then let those who complain make their own movie.
I don’t know how many Christians who already accept the idea that abortion is wrong are going to see a soap opera film about abortion to reafirm that position.
But this movie may speak to those who “don’t care” about the issue. Is it supposed to be inspiring and uplifting?
“Is it supposed to be inspiring and uplifting?”
I think it must be well made. I’ve read about it before, and as this article states it did win a prize at the film festival. The other thread I read was more about the fellow who made the movie. He is a big TV star in Mexico, but he’s become very religious, that is why he made this movie. And he is really very handsome, so that’s good too!
It’s very well made—it goes way beyond expectations, that’s why no one can adequately review it. See it once and you’ll want to see it again.
That aside, I hate reviews/articles that have to reveal plot details like this!
Pro-life ping!
Casablance was good propanganda. So was the Green Berets..
Having said all that, I understand that abortion as a reality can be tempting, as all sin is. When your faith is tested, as all faith is, will you pass the test or fail as so many do. If the girl chooses life, she chose correctly and the movie could be an eye opener for someone having to face the grim realities of life. If she chose abortion, I pray for the film that shows the grim reality of the deed on the mother.
If you notice, the only thing we aren't able to see, ANYWHERE, is abortion. Not on Discovery channel, the web, nowhere. The suicides, divorces, torment, drug addiction, and mental depression caused by the realization that you murdered your own child hits every woman sooner or later. It's hard to see that coming when you are 15 and the world is saying it's OK.
I have no clue if the movie is bad or good, but I think the subject deserves a closer look since 40, million abortions have been performed in the US since Roe vs. Wade. Even "Roe" changed her mind. It's like being a German and forbidding any discussion of the Holocaust.
Making a movie about abortion doesn't require an approval from the Vatican, but it should be truthful and reflect reality, not propaganda. After 40 years of abortions, all of us have our own tales of someone we know or that is in our own family that can attest to the truth. I don't think that's propaganda. Some of my in-laws and some of my family's friends can all tell of how they regret their decisions in some way or another. It has caused alcoholism, drug addiction, divorces, and even suicide in my own extended family circle. It has also caused women to seek forgiveness, and repentance and brought them to Jesus Christ as Saviour. I'm sure if I had the talent, I could get 2 or 3 movies out of the experiences I've seen in my lifetime. Praise God, I have been able to reach my own conclusions about abortion from observing others pain. When you finally find out that children are a gift from God that are on loan to you, you tend to respect their lives as individuals and not property. God wants to know what you will do with a gift He gives you and puts you in charge of. If you kill your children, why would you expect another blessing form Him?
PS. This also goes for the parents that abuse them, beat them, and molest them. God is watching. If having a child doesn't change you in a positive way, there is something not human about you.
FMCDH(BITS)
A truly pro-life movie then is one which resembles a logically incisive pamphlet; this approach might score some points in the perpetual political power struggle, but its doubtful that it would have any effect on the Ninas of the world.
Seems like a contradiction to me
This adjunct professor is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Amen to that!
What are your favorite films that are not propaganda?
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