I mean I get it. Yes yes, it's a criticism of the Catholic Church. And yes, yes, maybe it (the movie) thinks it's a criticism of totalitarian regimes (the whole business of fear of laughter and all that).
What I don't get is why this movie gets such rapturous reviews. Everything it's saying is trite and obvious. You're against totalitarianism? Find me someone who isn't. You think the Church did some bad things during the Middle Ages? You and about 8 billion other people.
The points it makes are trivial and obvious. What's interesting is why people keep falling into these patterns over and over, but that's never even considered. A work like, say, Darkness at Noon, or hell, even Fantastic Beasts or Game of Thrones, tries to grapple with that question. Simply assuming that some people are bad is cartoon morality, not something deserving 10 stars!
Is the book itself much better? I have no idea. It does seem like the author cared rather more about self-referential literature (cf The Wasteland) than in answering this question, so I don't imagine I will be reading it any time soon.
All I can say is that if you hope to be watching a thought provoking movie that will change your understanding of the world, think again. It's a lowbrow imagining of what a highbrow movie is like.
What I don't get is why this movie gets such rapturous reviews. Everything it's saying is trite and obvious. You're against totalitarianism? Find me someone who isn't. You think the Church did some bad things during the Middle Ages? You and about 8 billion other people.
The points it makes are trivial and obvious. What's interesting is why people keep falling into these patterns over and over, but that's never even considered. A work like, say, Darkness at Noon, or hell, even Fantastic Beasts or Game of Thrones, tries to grapple with that question. Simply assuming that some people are bad is cartoon morality, not something deserving 10 stars!
Is the book itself much better? I have no idea. It does seem like the author cared rather more about self-referential literature (cf The Wasteland) than in answering this question, so I don't imagine I will be reading it any time soon.
All I can say is that if you hope to be watching a thought provoking movie that will change your understanding of the world, think again. It's a lowbrow imagining of what a highbrow movie is like.