Stigmata …

Phew!!

I’ve got to admit.   Late night movie nights, can be quite fun.

Although I personally missed Adrian, tonight; Dave, Paul, and I could well have plundered his extensive knowledge of all sorts of stuff.

Which could’ve come in handy, in some sense, with tonight’s film; I’m fairly certain Adrian would’ve known more than I about some of the background material …

I think!

And, as you might have guessed, the three of us were watching “Stigmata”.

Which is definitely an interesting film; not a stunner, or a big art house movie, but definitely interesting, we all agreed on that.

And, despite it being notionally a horror film, I’m not sure that that’s a good description.   More a supernatural thriller … possibly …

The film follows the story of devout atheist, Frankie Paige, played by Patricia Arquette who develops stigmata, the wounds Christ showed when crucified, the subsequent investigation by Father Andrew Kiernan, played by Gabriel Byrne, and the conflict it produces with Kiernan’s boss, Cardinal Houseman, played by Jonathon Pryce.

Because the stigmata suffered by Arquette’s character are caused by the simple fact that her mother sends her a rosary that had belong to a dead priest.

And a priest who’d discovered a lost gospel; one that could well have undermined the Roman Catholic Church, by revealing sayings spoken by Christ himself …

•••••

Now, I confess, I liked this one.   I do.

But I also can agree with Dave, tonight, when he pointed out that it was a little disappointing that we do not find out more of Frankie’s life, after the events of the film.   I don’t know if there’s a planned sequel; I don’t think basic premise of the film demands one.   But it would have been nice.

And I also know that, a lost Gospel of Christ will prove a troubling point for many.

After all, the 1945 discovery of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls — including the Gospel of Thomas, which the film uses as its source material — did shake many.

But I can’t help but think that a film that helps us to re-examine our faith — if faith we have — can only be a good thing.

After all, it can only strengthen us, whatever our beliefs may be.

Or, at the least, get us talking about this things.

That’s no bad thing …

•••••

“Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”