The Da Vinci Code Movie
A group of us went to see one of yesterday’s matinee showings of the Da Vinci Code. I had already read the book two years ago, so I was not sure how much of the book Ron Howard (the Director) was going to include in the movie. Much to my surprise, Howard stayed fairly true to the book. However, this caused the movie, as far as movies are concerned, to not work well at all. What I mean by this is that there is so much story content in the book that it does not translate into movie format too well, so the movie came across as stale, shallow, and quite lacking in so many various things.
However, the content of the book was still present in the film, so all the theological nonsense, all the historical inaccuracies, and all the outrageous claims were made in the film. Which, by the way, after seeing the film, made me realize even more so how ridiculous the overall thrust of this film (and book) really is. Granted, I can see how someone who was completely uninformed about certain historical or theological issues could fall prey to the spectacular claims made in the film, but anyone even a little informed could, and should for that matter see right through the ridiculous content.
Nonetheless, at the theatre around the corner from our house, when the film opened this past Friday, there were about 20 or so people (I’m assuming these were Christians) standing outside the theatre protesting the movie (with signs and such). To be perfectly honest I’m not sure what I think about this. On the one hand, it seems a bit over the top to be protesting a movie which is clearly based on a work of fiction, but on the other hand, I can certainly see how someone would want to be informed about the book and film in order to supply a response to anyone who might fall prey to its contents. Has anyone seen the film or read the book for that matter? What do you think about all the hype that seems to be developing around it?
However, the content of the book was still present in the film, so all the theological nonsense, all the historical inaccuracies, and all the outrageous claims were made in the film. Which, by the way, after seeing the film, made me realize even more so how ridiculous the overall thrust of this film (and book) really is. Granted, I can see how someone who was completely uninformed about certain historical or theological issues could fall prey to the spectacular claims made in the film, but anyone even a little informed could, and should for that matter see right through the ridiculous content.
Nonetheless, at the theatre around the corner from our house, when the film opened this past Friday, there were about 20 or so people (I’m assuming these were Christians) standing outside the theatre protesting the movie (with signs and such). To be perfectly honest I’m not sure what I think about this. On the one hand, it seems a bit over the top to be protesting a movie which is clearly based on a work of fiction, but on the other hand, I can certainly see how someone would want to be informed about the book and film in order to supply a response to anyone who might fall prey to its contents. Has anyone seen the film or read the book for that matter? What do you think about all the hype that seems to be developing around it?
posted by T.B. Vick | 3:55 PM
1 Comments:
Although The Da Vinci Code story is put forth as fictional, the background is not. In the book, author Dan Brown sets forth as fact several of the historical gaffs he makes in the novel. The issue here is one of historical fiction and just how far that fictional element extends. The difficulty is that those ignorant of the subject matter do not have the tools to tell the difference between the fictional foreground and the equally fictional background.
If you have read the book this won't spoil the story but it will highlight some of the significant details of the movie that changed the message somewhat. In the book the hero, Langdon, and the historian, Teabing, are completely in agreement with one another and we are never given even a hint of contrary evidence or opposing theories (of which there are many of much higher quality!). In the movie, however, Langdon is somewhat skeptical of the whole Grail legend. Further, Teabing is not portrayed as a master historian in the movie, but more of an eccentric old rich guy. At the end of the film, however, comes a dramatic "conversion experience" with Langdon kneeling before Mary Magdalene's tomb. Thus, although the film started out as more of a balancing act between truth and error, it ends with an almost stronger affirmation of error than the book.
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