> Eric you loved the movie.
>
> That's great. I posted a scathing review to this list because I didn't
> love it and I hope it hasn't deterred people from going to see it.
> Siskel and Ebert both gave it a thumbs up. Those who are even marginally
> interested in seeing it should not necessarily wait for the video as
> many of the special effects sequences in the "machine" plotline are more
> impressive on the big screen.
Yes, go see the special effects in the theatre.
But the real reason to see it is it's support for my Church.
For people who have seen the movie (spoiler warning), my Church is
*also* "the first step"... small steps, dear, small steps.
My Church is about the realization that ultimatly *meaning* is
*subjective*. That is, the objective sciences can never replace the
subjective religions, and we are naive to think they can. I can't
*prove* there is no God, just like Evelyn can't prove He exists. And
that is becuase God is a *subjective* feeling in the heart of the
beleiver. Like "love", it is something we try to express to each other,
but ultimatly, any understanding of what the other is talking about must
come from within yourself. (the most we can acheive is
*intersubjective* agreement).
The "first step" is this. No "evidence" is given in the movie becuase
we must learn that evidence for *subjective* things must come from
within... despite the avoidance on the womans part, it *IS* "faith" that
allows us to transfer subjective experiences from person to person.
There was only *one* word in the entire movie I would change. In the
final scene, when "God's diplomat" is talking to the crowd, he sais "but
our goal is one and the same: the pursuit of Truth"... no. Both pursue
*meaning*. That was, after all, the subtitle of his book: "Losing
faith: the search for meaning in the age of reason"
But the parts of the movie I liked the most were the little things. The
continual passing of the compass back and forth. The grains of sand --
the contrast between the huge and the tiny.
That, and the complex personality and life of the woman -- her
insecurities are the exact problem both I and "God's diplomat" are out
to fix. The pursuit of meaning in the age of reason.
ERiC
... it's on my Church's "must see" list.