Resurrection

After so many years (last saw it in 1980) and thousands of films later, I still recall scenes - usually triggered by some circumstance - and wish I could see the film again. Because of my background in film and television, I can say I have seen an above average amount of films and I can state that this is one of those films that stay engraved in your memory in a very specific way, like very few films do or ever will.

Like numerous stories dealing with the (supposedly) supernatural, this one requires the audience to take on faith that which cannot be justified "scientifically." So there are loose ends, and matters that will leave some of us asking, "How could that happen - even in this story?" But to accept the premise and the events on their own terms is to provide oneself with a powerful emotional experience of the sort that few pictures even try to create.

Especially effective was the Ellen Burstyn character remaining her low-key, unassuming self even after she becomes aware of her power. Along the same lines is her admission that she fails about a third of the time, and her altogether plausible attempt to explain it.

Less convincing was her inability to resist romance with someone obviously unsuitable. Was this to show us that she was, after all, only human? That she would want a man in her life we can easily accept. But him? She turns away repeatedly until his sheer persistence overcomes her better judgment. It doesn't ring true.

The performances are excellent throughout. And could anyone have come up with a more appropriate, satisfying ending?

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.

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!)