“Constantine” the Movie

The movie Constantine opens today. Should be a conversation piece among bloggers. Not this blogger, of course, confined to the monastic wastelands of remote Scotland, stranded in broadband desert, a WiFi parched land, an island cursed with a single movie theater dedicated to mainstream tastes and devoid of anything left of center . . . or right of center . . .. ah hum . . . where was I?

Constantine: What people are saying.

“The film engages longstanding spiritual themes that are grounded in the Christian tradition.” Justin Bell, ReelSpirituality site and Conference

“Rare is the film that captures the raw material of books like Revelation and Daniel (what we have termed ”Christian apocalyptic cosmology“), specifically Christian themes of redemption and judgment, and basic notions of the afterlife. We don’t need to agree with all of the specifics to be able to have a dialogue with the film; getting bogged down in the details might make us miss the possibilities for Spirit-infused dialogue that Constantine evokes. How does the film Constantine speak to you? ”

(From the Leaders Guide (PDF) that you may want to download.

Portion of the Email from Justin Bell:

“Greetings Friends of Reel Spirituality,

We have just posted up a new resource on our website,

www.reelspirituality.org. It’s a free group discussion & Bible study

leader’s guide for the upcoming film CONSTANTINE, which opens in theaters

nationwide tomorrow (Feb. 18).

Starring Keanu Reeves (The Matrix trilogy) and Rachel Weisz (About A Boy,

The Mummy), CONSTANTINE tells the story of John Constantine, a man who has

the ability (or curse) of seeing angels and demons here in Earth. He is

also a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with

skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious

death of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world

of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary

Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the

two become inextricably involved and seek to find peace at whatever cost.

The film is based upon the popular HELLBLAZER DC Comics book series.

CONSTANTINE is not for everyone. Rooted in the comic book and

horror film genres, the film leverages images of heaven, hell, angels, and

demons very viscerally. We encourage you to discern for yourself whether

this film would generate meaningful dialogue in your community. Certainly,

not everything in Constantine is theologically sound; yet, the film engages

longstanding spiritual themes that are grounded in the Christian tradition.

You may find its treatment of heaven/hell, salvation/damnation, and the

nature of God helpful in discovering what the Scriptures and others have to

say about these themes.”