_**Character study of a flawed preacher**_ "The Apostle" (1997) is a film that I've appreciated more as I've matured. Writer/director Robert Duvall had to make it independently because studios wouldn’t touch the material. The story's a character study of a Southern Pentecostal preacher, Sonny (Duvall), whose wife wants to leave him (Farrah Fawcett) and more. Sonny reacts foolishly and is forced into exile to the backwaters of Louisiana. Wherever Sonny goes, he can't seem to part with his "calling" and "anointing" – to lead people to the LORD and motivate believers. If you can't handle Pentecostalism and all that goes with it – lively praise & worship, charismatic gifts, evangelism and prayer – I suggest staying far away from "The Apostle." I also suggest you stay away if you're not into seeing depictions of Southern poverty or nigh-poverty since large portions of the film take place in this environment. Duvall's idea was to do a modern take on the King David tragedy: A man of God who falls into adultery and, then, worse. Even so, Duvall stated in a 2010 interview that Sonny's sins aren't half as bad as David's since there are big differences between their transgressions. "The Apostle" is the best kind of character study because it evokes strong opinions and interesting discussions. Is Sonny a genuine but seriously flawed minister or just a phony who doesn't know it? Put another way, can a Christian be a "man (or woman) after God's own heart" and still commit serious sins? Does Sonny legitimately repent or does he evade repentance? Is the theology presented in the film shallow or heavy? Is resorting to righteous anger or corporeal punishment sometimes appropriate for the New Testament believer or should Christians always be lovey-dovey doormats? There's nothing like "The Apostle" in cinema. It's a unique and moving drama that gets better with repeat viewings because a lot of what is conveyed is subtle and wordless. There's just the right amount of ambiguity that keeps the viewer guessing and the movie open to interpretation. The film runs 2 hours, 14 minutes, and was shot in Collin County & Denton County, Texas (both just north of Dallas) and Lafayette, Louisiana. GRADE: A-
A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.
Young blonde translator Rebecca lives with her boyfriend ski instructor Marco in a mountain villa owned by her friend, nurse Laura. Rene, local cinema projectionist, steals Marco's car and gets into a car crash with local Theo, whose daughter, after being in coma for a time, dies. Rene suffers from partial short term memory loss and starts a relationship with Laura. Meanwhile Marco is looking for the man who stole his car and Theo - for the man who killed his daughter...
A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humour.
Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.
A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.
Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.
After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Talking about his father’s loneliness soon leads to a meeting with a young female journalist, who has flown to Seattle to write a story about the boy and his father.
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Shortly after David Abbott moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Masterson, who asserts that the apartment is hers - and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive.
At Christmas time, 19-year-old Simon returns home to visit his dysfunctional family with Louise, a fearless girl he met during his train ride. While Simon struggles to cope with the growing distance between him and his parents, he starts to examine his feelings when Louise develop a liaison of her own with his childhood friend Mathieu.