Stigmata

Let me start off by saying that I love the beginning of this movie. I love the opening scene to the cruci-fixion scenes. Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne both do good acting jobs. The film is about a young girl with no faith in god who begins to recieve the wounds of the crucified Christ, the Stigmata.

I must say that I was very disappointed in the ending. It was not the climax that I was hoping for. But I was still enthralled enough to keep watching until the film ended. If you are totally into the religious horror movies, like me, I suggest that you also see END OF DAYS, LOST SOULS, BLESS THE CHILD, and I'm sure there's some other movie like those out there. STIGMATA gets 4/5.

I do admit this movie really questions catholic morals but thats not what its about... the film was about showing a diferent a view on catholosism and therefore shouldnt be viewed by catholics who aren't into that type of thing. Its odd but for some reason a book all about the universe and someone who knows all about the universe is written only by onlookers and bystanders. The people who made the movie are not saying that it did or didn't happen but it is possible that these onlookers might have made a mistake on how Jesus and God want us to be. All this movie does is try to make you think deeper about religion, and I love it for that. If your like me you would really like "Dogma" too ;)

Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) is a hip 20-something New Yorker who faces a nasty wake-up call when she gets randomly attacked by an unseen force, puncturing her wrists. While the hospital calls it a suicide attempt, the Vatican thinks she may be showing signs of stigmata and sends a priest (Gabriel Byrne) to investigate.

This is one of the more clever "religious horror" films that I've seen. Using a young atheist girl as the recipient of stigmata is an original and intriguing concept. The various violent scenes where the fabulously stylish Arquette is attacked are gory and horrific, but so gorgeously shot that you cannot take your eyes away. Unfortunately, there are too many boring scenes of babbling priests. There was a bit of controversy when this was released because it hypothesizes about some very horrific skeletons in the closet of the Catholic church. The DVD features the Director's alternate ending that is decidedly less Hollywoodized than the theatrical release, but leaves the story in a confused, contradictory space. Recommended for fans of religious and stylish horror. My Rating: 7/10

The "stigmata" is a Christian religious term that refers to the spontaneous appearance of wounds corresponding to the wounds on the Christ's body when he was crucified. This religious experience is most typically associated with deeply religious people and, I believe, is not one that is widely taken seriously. What makes this movie interesting is that it portrays the appearance of these wounds as a terrifying, extremely painful and ultimately humiliating experience. There's nothing conventionally religious in the experience portrayed here -- in fact, the victim is an athiest.

But, having bypassed the conventional, the movie is only partially successful in bringing the experience of the stigmata to the screen. The movie is a victim itself of a conventional portrayal of the evil bureaucratic Vatican desk jockeys suppressing "true" religion. And I have to admit that, as I was watching it, I found myself thinking, "Hmm, that sounds like the Gospel of Thomas," -- a famous Gnostic Gospel. Surprise.

But, overall, I'd recommend it as a decent movie and a departure from the generic, bland portrayal of Christian religious experience a la the Hallmark channel or "Touched by an Angel." It is a movie that can make you think about the nature of religious experience and its impact on an ordinary life.

Really i am not that type of man who believe on such religious movie but this was one of few good movie about the religious and moral thing. somehow I can accept part of the story that "The true church of Jesus Christ is so much more, not in buildings made of wood and stone."