Resurrection

I recently rediscovered this brilliant film. I saw it when it was released in 1980 and had not seen it since. I was taken aback at how well it has held up to the test of cinematic time. Melodrama, to be sure! Offbeat, yes a little. But when all is said and done the performances of Ellen Burstyn and the great Eva La Gallienne stun! Many films have visited this subject matter, but none with the emotional impact that we recieve from the climax of RESURRECTION. The last scene is worth the view.

A woman suffers a nearly fatal automobile accident and loses her husband. In her recovery, she discovers miraculous healing powers. "Resurrection" does not directly address the scientific or the spiritual explanations of faith healing. Rather, it focuses on the healing properties of love.

While there is much to say about the powerful message of "Resurrection," this review will focus primarily on the acting. The entire cast effortlessly and perfectly portray their characters even in the smaller roles. Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, Richard Farnsworth, Roberts Blossom, and Eva Le Gallienne evoke especially memorable performances that ring true emotionally with many layers of raw feeling exposed.

Twenty-five years have passed since the release of "Resurrection." It is especially instructive to compare this film with movies in the twenty-first century that are action-intensive with sound tracks that overwhelm both the drama and the spoken word. In "Resurrection," it is refreshing to hear every word and syllable articulated so clearly by the performers. Eva Le Gallienne, a luminary of the American theatre, is a revelation in her small role, with beautiful, crisp speech along with powerful emotional nuances.

The healing scenes in the film were sensitively portrayed. Director Daniel Petrie and screenwriter Lewis John Carlino deserve kudos for this work. However, their contributions would not be realized without the incandescent performance of Ellen Burstyn. Again, it was her sensitive vocal characterization that was so effective in the powerful moments of healing. Her character Edna Mae was able to reach out to people and to make deep personal connections primary through her vocal inflections and her powerful aura of love.

When this film first appeared on the big screen in 1980, it did not receive much acclaim. And through the years, it has been difficult even to locate a copy on video. But "Resurrection" is a minor masterpiece and in its message of love, it is a film for the ages.

Ordinary woman, recently paralyzed in a car accident that left her husband dead, drives with her father through the California desert and meets a wily, warm old coot running a service station; he introduces her to his two-headed snake and then, without provocation, touches the top of her head affectionately. Soon thereafter, she finds she can heal the ailing--including herself--which frightens her distant father as well as the new man in her love-life. Occasionally overwrought or slow, "Resurrection" has a solid screenplay to fall back on, and a terrific actress in the leading role. Ellen Burstyn, feisty, flawed and fed up, creates a three-dimensional character here who often makes bad choices but never loses our respect. Fighting with her father for the last time, she tells him, "I am sick...to...death...of trying to get you to love me." Fine supporting performances by Eva Le Gallienne, Richard Farnsworth and Lois Smith, but Sam Shepherd isn't well cast as the new love-interest (he's supposed to be a sexy bad boy, but instead he just seems villainous, in a perpetual foul mood). The movie lays on the hick-charm a bit heavily (our heroine is Edna Mae, her grandmother is Grandma Pearl), but it has a great deal of heart and some very moving, sensitive moments. *** from ****

This beautiful movie is a wonder to watch...After a near-death experience, Ellen Burstyn discovers she has healing powers and proceeds to do good work in a quiet, unassuming way...which, nevertheless, gets her into trouble.

It is odd that I would like this film so well since 1) I am an atheist with zero belief in an afterlife; and 2) had my own near-death experience where I saw nothing...no light, no tunnel...just nothing. Still, this film taps into my spiritual side...whatever that is...perhaps the acceptance that things go bump in the night for no good reason.

My pleasure in watching this film is enhanced by it's firm insistence that the gift of healing is not rooted in any one religion or even in religion itself. In these troubled times where religion often does more harm than good, the message of this film is both rewarding and healthy. Couple this with fine performances and slow, but well-paced direction, and you have an unusual movie which can movie even the most jaded of viewers (me!)

This movie has been a favorite of mine since it came out. I find it very moving, and inspirational, and I am such a SUCKER for movies that have an ending where the last two minutes hit you right in the heart, or the head, or both. (RE: Shawshank Redemption and Working Girl as two examples)

See this movie! I am sure it will hold different pleasures and bring different insights for different people, but no one will NOT feel something. Wonderful performances by all, and sadly this is truly an underrated and little known film. I hope this will come out on DVD someday.

I think I am going to go hunt up my nearly worn out VHS version and watch it again today. Oh, and when you do get a chance to see it, make sure you share it with a friend. This is a great movie for discussion after. I think you, like me, will want to see it again.