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Jake's Movie Reviews Today I went to see the new Robert Zemeckis film, The Polar Express. Don't trust the synopsis given on the apple trailer website (You know better than to trust those Mac peeps ;)). They write, "A boy's faith is rewarded one Christmas Eve when he's awakened by a steam train that pulls up in front of his house and takes him and other children to the North Pole..." This is not what happens. The real story is about a boy who is rewarded despite his lack of faith.
My friend Jourdan and I got into an interesting discussion about how this film relates to salvation. It seems that regardless of one's faith, or agnosticism, everyone who gets on the train receives a ticket for admission. Yet, when one of the main characters finds that her ticket is nowhere to be found, the conductor (played by Tom Hanks--who also plays 4 other roles in the film) leads her away from the other children. The main character, afraid that the conductor is going to throw her off of the train, races to her aid only to find that she is the one driving the train. This has interesting implications for universalism, election and exclusion of the other. If/when you see the film, I'd be anxious to get your take on this. This film also promts me to ask, "What is the true meaning of Christmas?" The name Christmas seems to give the answer away. I'm curious as to why we don't call this "Santa's Day" or "Go Max out the Credit Card Day." After all, we changed our dating system from AD/BC to CE/BCE, why not change this as well? There have been flyers up all over campus advocating that we buy nothing for Christmas this year. Is that going to do it for us? One thing I especially enjoyed about this film was its emphasis on the spirit of Christmas. I remember with longing the days when Christmas season caused some change in me. I smiled a bit more, perhaps loved a bit harder. Last year I barely noticed Christmas. Here at PTS our semester ends in January. That means that the trustees of the seminary have graciously allowed us to feed our workaholism over the holidays. Amidst papers and final, can we hold on to the spirit of Christmas? I hope so! Overall, the film was quite entertaining. The special effects are in the spirit of Shrek (but without green ogres and talking donkeys). I have heard that some theaters are showing this film in IMAX theaters in 3-D. If you have a chance to see it there, I recommend it. This is a great film for those of you who need an emotional trip down nostalgia lane to recapture that Christmas spirit you had when you were a kid. Jake rates this film: 
posted by Jake at 12/01/2004 04:41:00 PM  
1 Comments: |
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you're right it is a great movie for nostalgia. The only one that I've seen that does it better is "Santa Claus the Movie" that came out years ago.
It does tell a story that leaves one, if you think about it-- wondering exactly about the things you noticed.
I'm not sure about the real story though. The apprehension of the main character only reflects where many folks find themselves. The sense that things are not what they seem as he tries to hear the bells...and finally coming to a point of understanding. Reminds me of that scene in Contact when Jody Foster's character first finds "order" in her search.
On a personal note...hang in there on your studies and enjoy what blessings come from above.