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Stigmata
DVD Review by Yanman |
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"Split a piece of wood and I am there, lift a stone and you will find me." There are things that you should not talk about in public, simply because they invoke so much passion in people, and opinions vary so widely. These items include politics and religion, making Stigmata that much more fun to review, because not only does it contain major religious implications, it also deals with the touchy subject of religious politics at the Vatican. The fresh look of the film looks even better on DVD, and the sound is hauntingly good, extras are just average though, with one notable exception. Lets start with the basics, what is the stigmata? The stigmata is an affliction, where a super religious person starts to receive the same wounds that Jesus did while he was being persecuted. There are five-- can you name them? They are nails thru the hands and feet, lashings on the back, holes in the forehead from the crown of thorns, and finally a stab wound in the side from a roman soldier's sword. In cases of authentic stigmata, the wounds appear out of nowhere and are accompanied by intense pain and a state of rapture. There have been some 300 documented cases of stigmata over the past eight centuries or so, with the first being St. Francis of Assisi. O.K., with that out of the way lets get started with our story. Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) is a special investigator for the Catholic Church and reports directly to Cardinal Daniel Houseman (Jonathan Pryce) at the Vatican. Part priest, part scientist, father Andrew's job is to seek out religious "miracles" and attempting to disprove them scientifically. He is quickly reassigned form a bleeding statue in South America when a priest witnesses a woman receiving wounds from an unseen whip. That woman is Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette), and she is a strange candidate to be receiving the Stigmata, if for no other reason, because she is an atheist. Father Andrew skepticism starts to change, however when he witnesses some strange things with his own eyes. When Frankie fills the walls of her apartment with ancient writing, of a dead language from Jesus' time, father Andrew quickly sends them back to Rome for interpretation. What do they say? What do they mean? Moreover, why is the Vatican trying so hard to cover the whole thing up? The process used to create the look of this controversial film, is called "skip bleaching." In the Director's commentary, Rupert Wainwright describes this process, which enhances some colors and subdues others. In this case, the color red (and there is a lot of red in this movie) tends to jump right off the screen. On DVD, it is just that much better. Added to the great video is an above average 5.1 soundtrack, which fills the room well, but only occasionally explores its deepest side. Extras include a Director's commentary, deleted scenes, a music video, a collectible 8-page booklet, plus one other interesting addition. A director's alternate ending that can be viewed either separately or in line while watching the entire movie. I like this approach, putting the scene in where it would have been, if the film was released that way in the first place. There is even a note from the director suggesting that you watch the scene in place as it was intended and not just as a deleted scene. The only problem with this deleted ending is that it is obvious to the viewer (and therefore distracting) that the video was not cleaned up in postproduction, as it would have been if it were presented theatrically. I suggest watching Stigmata with an open mind, it may not change your opinions on anything, but then again it might.
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Stigmata Not only does Stigmata contain major religious implications, it also deals with the touchy subject of religious politics at the Vatican. Staring: Patricia Arquette Directed By: Rupert Wainwright Running time: 102 Min Bonus Materials
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