Believer, The
The Believer delves into territory that few dare to touch – the fate of the person who turns his back entirely from God. Danny Balint (Ryan Gosling) has a unique and volatile struggle with God. The crux of his struggle is a moment in his childhood where his inability to cope with God’s request for the life of Abraham’s son, Isaac, erupted into an argument with his teacher and his flight from and, later, hatred of everything Jewish. His neo-Nazi ideals and Jewish heritage tear him apart as he tries to whole-heartedly live both elements of the contradiction. As his involvement with a violent group of young neo-Nazis deepens, so does his longing for God’s love. The DVD extras provide insight into the factual story behind the movie and an explanation of the rich imagery that is used so magnificently to illustrate Danny’s dual nature. Viewers should be warned of the intense nature of the film, including fighting, language and some sex and nudity. [Palm Pictures - Lions Gate / Jonathan Nolte]
Ratings:
Obscenities: 68
Graphic Violence: 02
Nude Scenes: 04
% Spiritual Relevancy: 100
This DVD review was printed in ISSUE 103 of HM Magazine.
DVD rating key:
Obscenities (fka: BL (Blue Language)) # of “blue” / cuss words.
Ideal rating = 0
Graphic Violence (fka: BG (Blood ‘n’ Guts)) # of scenes with graphic violence.
Acceptable rating = <50
SC (Spiritual Conversations) An arbitrary rating based on the ease of starting a conversation on spiritual things.
Ideal rating = 50+
Nude Scenes (fka: NP (Naked People)) # of nude scenes.
Ideal: 0 (A rating of less than 1 signifies questionable scenes)
©2003 HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved.
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