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17 Miracles (2011)
Why didn't they listen to Levi Savage?
I enjoyed this film. I had heard about the Willie Handcart Company, particularly their great suffering and casualties as they crossed the plains to Utah. Their faith and perseverance are a great example to us. This movie captures their struggles in a way that made them come alive for me. I was touched by all the miraculous events that occurred during their journey.
However, the way the company leaders treated Levi Savage left a bad taste in my mouth. Levi Savage was a seasoned veteran from war and had seen a great deal of death and suffering. He warned the company about departing at the "lateness of the season". He warned them that they would encounter a treacherous winter and suffer many casualties with "bones strewn about the way". He advised that they wait until spring to depart west.
Despite his sincerity and experience, the company leaders dismissed his recommendation. To add insult to the injury, they publicly humiliated him twice by calling Levi to "repentance" and saying that he "was an opposer to the faith". (Of note, I admire how graciously Levi Savage handled the situation.)
Unfortunately, Levi Savage was vindicated. The company experienced food shortages and had to cut rations. They had to cross freezing rivers. Winter came with all its fury. Approximately 67 out of 500 people died. If the rescue company had arrived a day later, the number of deaths most likely would have soared. The circumstances proved that Levi Savage had been right!
Therefore, while I admire the courage of the Willie Handcart Company members, I am less sympathetic of the company leaders. They made a egregious mistake by not listening to Levi Savage, and 67 people paid that price with their lives.
The Polar Express (2004)
Too Much Materialism
I marginally liked The Polar Express. The special effects and acting were great. Tom Hanks does a great job portraying multiple characters in this film.
However, I did not like the materialistic message of this film. The film repeatedly talked about Christmas being about "presents". The children sing a song about "wishing on a star" for "presents for the children". They talk about presents all throughout the film. When they arrive at the North Pole, they talk about the "first gift" of Christmas, which is a present. And, you wonder why our society is so materialistic today.
In reality, Christmas is a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas, a Catholic saint who would give gifts to people in Jesus Christ's name. The "first gift" of Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Too bad this film missed the true reason for the season!
Again, I liked this film enough to recommend it to someone. However, the materialistic message ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth.
Paradise (1991)
Feels like it is missing some key scenes
I saw this film years ago and still remember it. I remember Elijah Wood and Thora Birch were in this film. I remember that the film dragged on and on, and I turned it off about halfway through.
Elijah Wood and Thora Birch give good performances as the young children. In my opinion, they are the only bright spots in this film. They are cute, and I wish the film could have focused on them more. In fact, I think the plot would have been much better if the story had been told from their point of view. Doing that would have brought an innocence and purity that this movie sorely needed.
Instead, the movie focuses on Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith's adult characters. It seems like the writers rushed this into production with a weak story, and the plot suffers for it. I think a few more revisions of the screenplay, with a tighter script, would have made this movie so much better.
The movie overuses music. Music is like sugar. A little adds sweetness, but too much makes you sick--less is more. It is like the director realized that each scene was weak and hoped that a swelling musical score would save it. Instead, the music overpowers each scene and becomes annoying. Then, as the director repeats this for every scene, the whole movie becomes annoying.
Finally, it seems like the movie is missing some key scenes. For example, the adults lost a child, so what about a few scenes where they show the child in flashbacks, describe the child, or share pictures of the child. As another example, what about flashbacks to when they were in love or about what events led to them losing that love.
In conclusion, this movie did leave enough of an impression to remember it, probably because Elijah Wood and Thora Birch were cute. I felt hopeful that the movie would go somewhere; however, I turned it off about halfway through with frustration. Poor plot and pacing is what hurts this film the most.