Through a Screen Darkly , livre ebook

PRAISE FOR
Through a Screen Darkly
Jeffrey Overstreet is a spiritual bloodhound, rabidly tracking the voice of God through his own experience of the history of cinema. In Through a Screen Darkly , he leads the way for all of us, demonstrating how we can look closer and experience the divine invasion of film for ourselves.
Scott Derrickson
Writer and Director, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Jeffrey Overstreet has taught me a great deal not just about how to watch movies, but also how to glean truth, beauty and redemption from films of all types—even those that aren’t necessarily comfortable to watch. I am learning the art of looking closer, and this book takes that art—and that education—to even deeper, and thus more rewarding, levels.
Mark Moring
Editor, ChristianityTodayMovies.com
Jeffrey Overstreet is a witness. While habituating the dark caves of movie theaters, he gives articulate witness to what I too often miss in those caves—the contours of God’s creation and the language of Christ’s salvation. In these theaters, assumed by many to be unholy temples in a wasteland of secularism, he writes what he sees and hears. I find him a delightful and most percipient companion—a faithful Christian witness.
Eugene H. Peterson
Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College
God the Maker made us to be makers as well. That is why, as Chesterton said, “Art is the signature of man.” Filmmaking is an art form that is the unique invention of the twentieth century. Nothing quite like it had ever existed before, and through it, millions have had powerful, even profoundly spiritual, experiences. Jeffrey Overstreet is a guide eminently qualified to show us how to see the way in which films both illumine the terrain of the human spirit and probe the eternal mysteries of God.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor, CatholicExchange.com
Jeffrey Overstreet understands the art of understanding art and believes it is too important a task to leave to the experts. Through a Screen Darkly is a trustworthy guide as you sort through the enriching, exhilarating, messy, dangerous and important business of loving God and film.
Dick Staub
Author, Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters and The Culturally Savvy Christian
Through a Screen Darkly constitutes a milestone in Christian reflection about contemporary film. This is not simply because it is full of insightful analysis and a generous, open spirit, but because its vision grows out of a passionate, personal journey. This is film criticism with a soul and a sense of urgency growing out of the conviction that faith and the imagination need one another—the better to open our eyes to the flickering of God’s grace.
Greg Wolfe
Publisher and Editor, Image Author, Intruding Upon the Timeless: Meditations on Art, Faith and Mystery

2007 Jeffrey Overstreet
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Baker Books edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-2428-6
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us and molds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, whereas in fact we live steeped in its burning layers.
T EILHARD DE C HARDIN , T HE D IVINE M ILIEU
The world speaks of the holy in the only language it knows, which is a worldly language.
F REDERICK B UECHNER, A R OOM TO R EMEMBER
T HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
My parents, Larry and Lois, who taught me that you can never read too many stories;
Michael Demkowicz, the educator and photographer who showed me that “things mean things”;
Linda Wagner, the guardian angel over my journeys in the territory of arts and faith; and
Uncle Paul, who first took me to see Star Wars in 1977.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: How We Watch
Chapter One How a Camel Made a Grown Man Cry
( The Story of the Weeping Camel, Dances with Wolves, Chariots of Fire , and more)
Chapter Two Viewer Discretion Advised
( Don’t Come Knocking )
Chapter Three A Feast of Movies
( Babette’s Feast )
Chapter Four Wonders of Heaven and Earth
( Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Wings of Desire )
Part Two: Saving the World
Chapter Five Coming to the Rescue
( The Empire Strikes Back, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Raiders of the Lost Ark, A Man for All Seasons, Gosford Park )
Chapter Six A Personal History of Violence
( Man on Fire, Unforgiven )
Chapter Seven The Least of These
( Born into Brothels, The Motorcycle Diaries )
Part Three: Fools and Jokers
Chapter Eight Suffering Fools Gladly
( The Fisher King, Forrest Gump, Amadeus, Ordet )
Chapter Nine Laughing at My Reflection
( Saved! )
Part Four: Art of Darkness
Chapter Ten One Is the Loneliest Number
( Taxi Driver, Punch-Drunk Love, Code Unknown )
Chapter Eleven Making Darkness Visible
( Alien, The Exorcism of Emily Rose )
Chapter Twelve Judgments of the Heart
( Apocalypse Now, Titanic, Dead Poet’s Society, Ikiru )
Part Five: Summoned by Music and Light
Chapter Thirteen Pours Forth Speech
( Three Colors: Blue, The New World )
Chapter Fourteen Chasing the Light
Additional Resources
Recommended Titles for Film Discussion Groups
A Word from the Author About Post-viewing Discussions
Acknowledgments
Many people have inspired me with their art and have contributed their time, wisdom and editing to make this book a reality. I owe them my gratitude. To name a few: My beloved Anne, for her patience during the madness and her sharp editor’s eye; Don Pape and Lee Hough, my agents at Alive Communications, for their affirmation and amazing work; Marsha Marks, who literally dropped out of the sky to answer my prayers; Alex Field and everyone at Regal Books, for inviting me to share; Mike Demkowicz, Brian Friesen and Margaret Smith, who volunteered hours of reading, volumes of insight, long telephone discussions and meticulous corrections; Fritz Liedtke, Danny Walter and Wayne Proctor, who critiqued first drafts; Ted Olsen, Mark Moring and Steve Lansingh at Christianity Today; Greg Wolfe and Image journal; Scott Derrickson and Ralph Winter; Jonathan Bock and Ted Gartner at Grace Hill Media; My teachers, Luke Reinsma and Rose Reynoldson; my supervisor, Jennifer Gilnett; and my patient coworkers at Seattle Pacific University; Promontory Artists Association, for laying the foundation; Critics Steven Greydanus, Peter Chattaway, Doug Cummings, Alan Thomas and the artsandfaith.com gang; The Milton Center Workshop, for helping to keep my instruments in tune; Luci Shaw and John Hoyte, for their generous hospitality; Nathan and Sarah Partain, Will Uppinghouse, Henrik Lind, and Pastor Michael Kelly, for prayer and encouragement; And, finally, the artists whose work lit my way: Wim Wenders, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Terrence Malick, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L’Engle, C. S. Lewis, Sam Phillips, Over the Rhine, and U2, to name just a few.
Introduction
“You didn’t like it? Why not? That movie changed my life!”
“How can you call that piece of trash your favorite movie of the year?”
Over the last decade of writing film reviews for magazines such as Christianity Today and websites such as LookingCloser.org, I’ve received all kinds of questions, some of them charged with emotion: “How can I know if a movie is safe for my children?” “Aren’t you taking this too seriously? Isn’t it just entertainment?” “ American Beauty is the best movie ever —so how can you say that it’s flawed?” “How could you recommend something that moves as slowly as The New World ? It bored me to tears.” Many of these questions require more than short answers, more than an argument.
Movies inspire passionate feelings. And those feelings, once expressed, can inspire strong bonds between us or cause us to clash. As I sort through my e-mail and talk with moviegoers at work, church or film festivals, I find that once we get past these initial emotional responses and begin to explore our shared experiences and differing interpretations, we can learn a great deal about each other and ourselves.
Because I am a Christian and a movie critic, I wrestle with certain questions that other film reviewers may never face. Religious readers are particularly interested in what filmmaking and faith have to do with each other. Viewers raise questions about “worldly” or violent movies, or films in which they perceive a political agenda. One asks, “Is it okay for Christians to watch R-rated movies?” Another writes, “You gave that Bruce Willis film a good review, but what about the foul language?” Some are troubled by depictions of sex in Cold Mountain and Little Children , or unflattering portrayals of Christians in The Da Vinci Code and Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby . Some are worried about witchcraft in the world of Harry Potter, while others declare that Hollywood is preoccupied with attacking traditional values. “The Bible says we should have nothing to do with darkness,” a reader reminded me. “So how can you justify spending so much time at the movies?”
I’ve wrestled with many of the same questions in past years. The answers did not come easily. While other Christian moviegoers were quick to instruct me on which movies were good or bad, backing up their argument