Frailty, Christian films, and TFC…

As I’m doing a complete database update on a couple sites (more like waiting for the automated script to finish processing almost one gigabyte of data), I am re-watching Frailty on DVD with the producer commentary on.  This has to be one of my favorite films, because of the subject matter and the treatment of that subject matter.

Frailty has to be one of the most underrated films in recent times, and one of the best films pertaining to religion that I have ever watched.  It has a lot of Hitchcock elements to it, and they weren’t squeamish about how they treated the general theme of the film, either.  Dark, foreboding and deceptive, the last few minutes hit me like a sledgehammer.

The underlying question in this film was "how far would you go for your God?"  And even those who are not religious at all would totally like this film.  Those who like a good murder/mystery would appreciate it, but those who easily get offended by anything that goes against their fundamental beliefs should treat this film more as a parable, a tale of faith and how far one might go to exercise that faith…

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I myself am not that religious, but being raised a Catholic, and
spending my entire grade-school and highschool years in Catholic
schools, I am aware of the scriptures, the passages, and the teachings.
I’ve read the Good News Bible from Genesis to Revelation during those
years… TWICE!  But I treated it more as literature rather than a
manual or guide to holiness.  Sometimes force-feeding faith to children
can have the opposite effect.  Take note of that, Religion teachers!

I have always enjoyed films pertaining to religion (rather, Christianity) in an unconventional way.  It was a nice excursion from those cookie-cutter gospel films usually shown during Holy Week.  How many versions of the Last Supper, the march to Golgotha, or the Crucifixion have I sat through during those growing years?  How many versions of Moses and the exodus?  How many stories about saints?

I’m not saying I hated them.  But there comes a time when you watch one too many and just mutter, "Alright, I GET it!"  Some of these "holy week" films I genuinely enjoy, like Jesus of Nazareth (still the best "Jesus" film ever made, in my opinion), which was treated like a work of art rather than a mere translation of scriptures.

Nowadays, the only films that I watch that deal with religion or faith are the unconventional ones - films that either get shunned by Christians or by critics.  They include The Last Temptation of Christ, Touch, Se7en, Dogma, Frailty, etc.

As for the much ballyhooed The Passion of the Christ?  No offense, Passion lovers, but my christian schlong didn’t get a rise from it.  It was like any other holy week Christian film, only with more blood - MUCH more blood.  I didn’t learn anything new, didn’t get any introspective thoughts - it was a big, extended trip to the cross on the mound.  I wouldn’t say that those who watched it were suckered by the shock factor.  I guess I’m just saying that it didn’t affect me as it did them.  Too bad for me, I guess…

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Many people I know have TFC (The Filipino Channel).  I catch them talking about the latest soap opera, the latest variety show, or the latest teenage idol.  When they see me with my confused look, they ask me why I don’t have it and why the hell don’t I get it…

Well, first of all, I don’t watch much TV.  The only time I ever turn on the TV was to watch the Daily Show with John Stewart at Comedy Central during 11PM, and sometimes check out the Sci-fi Channel for possible new series that won’t get cancelled so soon.  I only have basic cable - no HBO, no Showtime, no Skinemax… It would be a waste to add yet another channel at premium price and not watch it.

Second reason is, well, the Filipino shows are too… mainstream for me (I’m sorry, I am having a hard time translating "baduy" and "bakya" in a non-offensive way, y’know).  Back when I was still living in the Philippines, I never watched Filipino soap operas.  I never watch variety shows, unless my mother or my grandmother has control of the remote.  I never watched noontime shows except those very few instances when I was eating lunch and wanted some background noise to help with the digestion…  The only programs I watched on Philippine TV back then were PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) games, the nightly news (TV Patrol, to be exact), some TV documentaries (remember Mel & Jay?) and the occassional primetime comedy series (Home Along da Riles or Palibhasa Lalaki).

Ironically, even back then, I enjoyed watching American/foreign TV shows and series rather than local ones.  Call me unpatriotic, but I just can’t take some of the shows being aired during that time.  Parang bumababa ang IQ ko!

Yeah, this may offend true blue watchers of TFC or other Filipino channels being made available overseas, but I’m just being honest, and this is just my own opinion.  Your mileage may vary, so don’t blame me for saying what I think in my own blog :)

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Wow, that’s quite a mouthful.  More than makes up for the slow two days, huh?  Well, just wanted to let you know that I added a link to "active" blogs of people from my friends list.  They on the right, below the Archives.  Check them out if you have the time, okay?

And if you’re my friend, and you have a blog, and you didn’t find it there, well, update yours and I’ll put it there!  You don’t have to be overzealous like me, just post once a week at least!

Hmmm, wow, the database update is done… back to work!