I saw this film at the Seattle International Film Festival because it was preceded by a short film I wanted to see. From the dumb title and the poor technical image quality I figured this would be a brainless failure by a 20-something wannabe hack. But I was blown away. It's not a typical movie that draws you into its surface - the beauty of the photography or the flashy cuts, grandeur and all that. It's more like a great flash photo of someone you love - the photo itself isn't pretty but it captures a powerful real feeling in the person. That's how I felt watching this film - the effortless superb acting was so natural, and the camera work so unpretentious that all I could do was watch the lives of these people unfold. And I loved it.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Gory Gory Hallelujah
(2003)
wacky, bloody
13 January 2005
A friend of mine was able to get ahold of a DVD of this flick and brought it to a movie night - Oh my God it blew me away! Wacked. But brilliant, too, in it's dark, harsh wit (nothing is sacred, not even goats). Definitely different, definitely surprising and delightful. I love independent film and occasionally the raw freshness of first films (that is, if they're not just trying to emulate Hollywood), and this had that fresh touch without being clumsy, and enough real smarts to make me feel like I was on the ground floor of something great.
It's a comedy that makes fun of fear-fueled "family" values and all things self- righteous. Four actors meet at a casting call for the role that each of them has fashioned their (very different) lives after. The role: Jesus. Who gets the part? None of them. So they hit the road together, but end up facing a horrible world filled with back- woods xenophobes and a coke-snorting gang of Elvises. How will each of them use their image of holiness to concur these evils?
Can I just say that the Black Power Jesus was fantastic. Like most things holy: beautiful, powerful, and ridiculous.
It's a comedy that makes fun of fear-fueled "family" values and all things self- righteous. Four actors meet at a casting call for the role that each of them has fashioned their (very different) lives after. The role: Jesus. Who gets the part? None of them. So they hit the road together, but end up facing a horrible world filled with back- woods xenophobes and a coke-snorting gang of Elvises. How will each of them use their image of holiness to concur these evils?
Can I just say that the Black Power Jesus was fantastic. Like most things holy: beautiful, powerful, and ridiculous.
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