vesil_vesalier
And then, the non-religious film lover watched COME SUNDAY, and he was struck by the light of amazement. For he had seen a film about belief and faith that did NOT overwhelm him with cheesy imagery, flat dialogue, or flip-flopping character arcs that made no sense as the players struggled with the deciphering of the Lord's word... No, THIS was a film that impressed him.No, really. I mean that in every word.COME SUNDAY stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, an actor with a name that I have to copy and paste every single time I write it. He first impressed me when I saw him play the ruthless assassin in SERENITY, and ever since then, he's consistently been amazing in every role I've seen him play. Going into this film, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.As I said in my mostly joking opening, I am not a religious man. It's a topic I've struggled with for most of my life, and for the most part, I'm on the side of the atheists, believing that there's no proof, so there must be no "God". But I have to say. This film has me wondering.Having girlfriends that have been very religious seems to be a theme with me, and so far every one that I've been really serious about has loved "the Lord" in constant vigil. And, what you can expect goes along with that territory, for a man who's either on the fence or on the opposite side of the fence, there've been more than a few heated arguments over the years. None of which I've successfully won, because let's face it, even when you win a fight with your lover, you seem to lose. It is here that I have witnessed some very poor cinema, with regards to the Almighty.More on that in a bit, though.COME SUNDAY is about a preacher who has a moment of... divine intervention, it seems, when he watches the massacres of Rwanda on the television of 1998. It is here that his faith is most questioned, the simple argument being that those that are not saved must go to Hell, in this case being the 400,000 children that were murdered without question. How could children who had no chance in life be sent to Hell, simply because they were born in the wrong place? And thus, the preacher's dilemma begins. Because as he shrieks in pain witnessing such horrors, the voice of "God" speaks to him.Smartly, the director (Joshua Marsden, whom I regret to say I've never seen any other movies of--YET) chooses not to attempt to simulate the Lord's voice, instead simply showing our preacher (the real person, Carlton Pearson) simply struck by a thought in his head, without verbal acceptance or bolts of lightning. Instead, it ends up being more of a moment of enlightenment. A vision, if you will. A shift in his perspective. And when all is said and done, he declares to a church full of believers, that he no longer believes in Hell.This of course sits very poorly with his miraculous band of white and black worshippers, who cannot accept what comes from his lips, with even Martin Sheen (FINALLY given the chops that this fantastic actor is due, instead of just sliding him in for face value) playing the real Oral Roberts, telling our preacher that it is most likely the Devil that is doing the speaking in Carlton's head, not the Lord. And thus, the movie unfolds.This is not a Lifetime movie, where you get useless platitudes and patched-together stories fixed by quick writing adjustments, to stand in for real deliverance and destiny--this is challenging, believable fare, and wonderfully done at that.It's not perfect... There are moments when the pacing of the film slows things down a bit, but the absolutely BEAUTIFUL shots that pull the pieces together do a wonderful job of trying to keep things moving, and there are no actors who do not deliver one hundred percent in every scene they are in.When all was said and done, I was more than happy that I was able to watch, for the first time, a movie about faith and religion that made me want to believe that such things were real, and such people were possible. This is a true event tale, supported strongly by what I'm still trying to accept which is now a FILM STUDIO based off of the really incredible radio show and briefly done television show on pay cable that I used to watch, created by Ira Glass, THIS AMERICAN LIFE, which is about as close to real, HARD truth as you're ever going to get. It is as wonderful as it is painful to absorb, but certainly one of the greatest things that has ever been attempted or created.I will watch this again, and I did love this film tremendously. I recommend that everybody watch it, and make your arguments one way or the other, even if what you see shocks and/or offends you. This, after all, is the purpose of great art.And of great cinema.
Hellmant
'COME SUNDAY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A drama about Bishop Carlton Pearson, who was ostracized by his own church for preaching the belief that there is no Hell. The film was directed by Joshua Marston, and it was written by Marcus Hinchey. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Condola Rashad, Martin Sheen and Danny Glover. The movie has received mostly negative reviews from critics, and it was released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I found it to be really good in many ways, but it's still missing something. Ejiofor stars as Bishop Carlton Pearson, who was at one time very popular with evangelicals. Then one day he started preaching that there might not be a Hell, and everyone might be 'saved' by God, despite their religious beliefs. He was then ostracized by his own church, and rejected by many of his closest friends and family. This movie tells his story, and it's based on an episode of the public radio series 'This American Life'.I love the message of this film; about rebelling against authority, and what's accepted as normal, to always support what's right. It's also of course about inclusion, and challenging traditionalism and religion so that no one is ever left out, or oppressed, even if it means you yourself will be ostracized. You can't beat the message of this movie, and it's nicely shot and directed, plus Ejiofor is fantastic in the lead. Still, even with all of it's strengths, the film seems to be lacking something. It just doesn't quite live up to all of it's great potential, but it's still definitely worth seeing.
mmasonforever
Don't believe the lie, in the Bible it clearly states in John 14:6 Jesus said
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."You simply cannot get to heaven with out a relationship with Jesus Christ. Carlton Pearson has been spreading a false doctrine and Not everyone will go to heaven..Matthew 7:21 "not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."The Bible even warns about false prophets like Carlton...
Mark 13:22 For false massiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.I'm sure Carlton is a good man with good intentions, but he is far from the message of Jesus Christ on this one.This whole movie is to stir up a lie and its the reason why it ended up on Netflix.
