Josh Ambrose

Sophie Scholl:The Final Days–An amazing, character-driven independent film that fully explores just about every individual it introduces. Surprisingly well-acted (with the exception of her attorney) and well-shot (with the exception of some of the tv-lighting-glow). Sophie’s grappling with truth and the dire consequence of death gripped all those I watched the film with…and challenged us to think about moral slippery slopes. After watching this movie, I was all the more challenged to oppose torture, no matter how many lives it “saves.” This was not an overt argument of the movie, by any means, but its stand for righteousness and its depiction of men who have compromised is both absolutely sobering and truly heart-breaking.

Heima–A music video/”documentary” as pretentious and absurd as Sigur Ros themselves. And as achingly beautiful and captivating. The movie could easily double as a travelogue for Iceland (and that’s a good thing). Some of the visuals were rather dubious at first…such as the reversed shots of waterfalls. But in time, their simplicity drew you in and deeper into what we were watching, as trippy and mesmerizing as the music itself. The interviews were the greatest weakness on the disk and could have been condensed into two minutes of meaningful dialogue. Then again, what else would you expect from a band that gave this historic talk to NPR?

Grizzly Man–The most intimate, deepest personal biography/documentary I have ever seen, with some of the most fascinating, complex discussions of environmentalism, troubled psychology, and confused spirituality ever depicted. And it’s all (purportedly) real…the scope of what this movie addressed or attempted to address was staggering, perhaps simply because it honestly showed a complete portrait of someone in a hundred and forty minutes. I was impressed by its ability to tackle such convoluted and intricate subject matter and still have something to say amidst all its post-modern-tinged depiction. Bravo. And wow. Grizzlies are big bears. And poor, confused Californians make good snacks (as do all furries. Maybe that’s what Colbert is really hiding).

Being John Malkovich–”Can’t you just be entertained?” I was asked after seeing this film. To which I firmly reply: “No.” I hated everything about this movie and found nothing insightful, thought-provoking, or interesting about it. I cannot be entertained by something unless there is a reason for me to be entertained by it. There were no reasons here, because I am not amused by skewed sexual behavior, mind possession, relational unfaithfulness, or any of the other slew of shallow behaviors shown without any artistic provocation to cause the viewer to think or consider. Some of the puppetry shots were beautiful (but that’s what youtube is for). No, overall this was an ugly movie in every way imaginable, with no redemption of any kind for the ugliness shown. If I wanted that, I’d have picked up the P.O.S. rags at the supermarket or watched daytime television.

I have been deeply, personally hurt by the institutionalized church. I have been disgusted by the church. I have been mystified, disgusted, ashamed…there is no horror story that you could share with me that I haven’t seen, heard, or personally experienced.

But I still go to an institutionalized church. And I love it.

Why?

People are people, in church or outside of church, inside a relationship with God, or outside a relationship with God. Our common denominator is our fallibility and our ability to inflict harm on each other.

To be distant from God.

To sin.

Do the people inside the church have the ability to rip your guts out?

You better believe it.

Personally, I was raised thinking that church was wherever two or more people were gathered in his name. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s an idea to which I have adhered to since then. As a result, I don’t think I’ve approached church with the same expectations that many seem to approach Sunday morning (or any kind of organized fellowship). My disappointment, therefore, has been proportional to my expectations. The organized church is not Jesus, nor do they control access to him.

I’ve also been a bit of an independent thinker my whole life (sometimes to my detriment!) Consequently, rarely have I jumped through the same “group think” hoops that many people are experiencing bitterness with now, after experiencing the dramatic disappointments that organized institutions can bring. I never tried to look a certain way, act a certain way, be someone that I wasn’t. I think the contemporary, growing discontentment with the westernized church is often very misplaced. To a large degree, I hate endless criticizing and analysis. Our problem is not with the church, but with faith, discipline, and relationship with Jesus. Are we fulfilling his commission to us? Are we living lives open and surrendered to him, learning from him in a personal, dedicated way?

People are people.

So why do I go to church?

People.

I think a lot of complaints with the church now are silly. Yes, silly. They remind me of my friends who are anarchists. There is no such thing as good government. I agree. I accept it. I am not even especially patriotic, to put it mildly. But governments are necessary, because they are a natural outgrowth of people interacting. They also help preserve and continue ideas. And they evolve and are even overturned as needed.

People are too quick to blame the idea for the problems. There is no such thing as a perfect church. But that doesn’t mean we should do away with them all together, anymore than it is to fix the problems of the government and the world by nuking the planet. That is never Christ’s vision (for either institution).

Both the Tabernacle and the Temple were ideas inspired and approved by God in the Old Testament. And then Jesus came and tore down the veil, became our great high priest, and put his spirit inside of us, for us to become his temple. It is trendy and “relevant” right now to duly acknowledge that Jesus met with people on the streets, in the markets…that if he were alive today, he’d probably go to bars and hang out on city corners. I am glad for this realization–it is long overdue.

Yet, in the New Testament, Jesus is depicted going to church (the synagogue) on a regular basis. His followers, well into Acts, are depicted going to the synagogue and meeting together on a regular basis. Not once is this discouraged. In fact, the opposite was preached.

Why?

Because they wanted to meet with other temples. Other believers.

People can have another common denominator, aside from their proclivity to destruction. And they have the potential to do good and testify to truth.

To me, church is just that. Meeting and fellowshipping with other people that have encountered God or want to, on any day of the week, anywhere. Nothing more, nothing less.

This has continued (imperfectly) for the last twenty centuries. The organization of how people have met together has evolved and been overturned countless times during that tremendous span of years. Organization is a natural, inherent, inescapable part of our frail humanity. Even the most stale of ceremonies today once had a rich, deep meaning to it that I still appreciate when I find it.

The problem with church is whenever we let our vision lose sight of the one who forms for the forms that we, in turn, create.

Then it is time to repent and choose a different way. To put new wine into new wineskins.

And that is true at school, work, around our dining-room tables, church…wherever.

Because people are people. All in need of forgiveness and change.

And so I continue to be part of church. As I meet in people’s homes, when I pray with friends I happen to meet…and yes, in a small building with a loud sound-system that finds it most convenient to meet on Sunday mornings. (My current church is not very traditional or institutionalized, btw).

I don’t blame the idea itself for its shortcomings. Like all conceptions of art, the form itself is a passive vessel that is shaped by the people who make it.

I have been blessed by the church. I have been moved by it. I have been challenged, provoked, loved….

Because people are people. And we are called to work at his work:

1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

I will meet with anyone, anywhere that loves Jesus and takes these words to heart.

“Love me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength–and love your neighbor as yourself.” I will gladly meet with anyone, anywhere who wants to pursue and welcome this world-impacting love. We will then be having church.

It is possible (and good)…even in the organized, institutionalized church.

Us rock’n'roll kids at the Upper Room are selling a beautiful trombone to finance a relief trip to New Orleans this January. Check it out if you know anyone who might be interested.

So for a while now, I’ve been rotating the header image everytime I post. However, I like the leaf up there now, so it’s there ’til further notice.

“Pre-emptive war” is a bullshit idea and has no part of the kingdom of God.

EDIT: Katie S. brought to my attention that there is a major semantic (and possible political) difference between “preemptive” and “preventive” war. At this point, I disagree with both…until someone can give me a solid historical example to persuade me otherwise (and one that solidly fits either description).

The Fountain–astounding visuals that mesmerized me. The repeating motif of the starts in every shot (whether it be actual stars, office lights, candles, torches, etc) was nicely accentuated by the dark, saturated colors. Almost every single shot was pure eye candy (and according to wikipedia, due to a strong utilization of macrophotography. Cool). Unfortunately, the plot was a little weaker, chiefly due to its reliance on a mish-mash of buddhist/christian/hindu “spiritual” preaching that came across as a little too canned, rather than compelling. Plus, at a mere hour and a half, the story seems not quite completely baked (perhaps due to the production complications in getting it to the screen?) This was most frustrating to me in Jackman’s drive to finding a cure for his wife’s sickness, an over-the-top obsession which was irritating and dismissable, rather than emotional and compelling. Lingering questions also remain at the film’s end about the three threads of time interwoven in the film. Clearly the conquistador thread is his wife’s allegory…is Tom, the future astronaut also fictional, or did he literally live for that long? I definitely was left with the latter impression, but felt the ambiguity was not satisfyingly handled. Which is a bit of a shame, because the visuals and the idea was so very strong…interestingly, I think if the space-traveler was more clearly depicted as a projection of the future, or some sort of allegorical role, I would have enjoyed the film much, much more. My friend Isaiah read it as “separate physical people that keep being reincarnated and experiencing the same story…” Which I would have liked a lot more, if it was more artistically/clearly/ shown that such an attempt was being made.

Wings of Desire–After reading so many critical accolades to this film, I can’t say I fell in love with it during a first viewing. There were elements that were quietly stunning, such as the first scenes of the angels and their ability to hear the thoughts of those around them…it was the first depiction I’ve seen of heavenly creatures that made me wonder and marvel, instead of raise my eyebrow in disgust. The film’s greatest strength seemed to me to be in the way it was filmed, without a pre-written script. It was also it’s greatest weakness, with many of the disjointed metaphysical speeches given leading to unbelievablity, grating rather disjointedly on the film’s more sublime moments. Oh and Nick Cave’s performance was simply distracting. All that said, I’ll probably try it again–the potential depth and beauty of the meanings permeating the narrative and dialogue necessitates at least one more go.

Alien–Nowhere near as good as Ridley’s Scott later work of Blade Runner. But I don’t like thrillers in general. And there were some genuinely scary moments. I watched this with my friend Isaiah (a big fan) and enjoyed his commentary, pointing out the quality of the special effects, importance of a female lead, character development, etc. (Actually, there wasn’t really much character development, in my opinion, but…) And it was good–but I think I valued it more for its historic value. After all, a lot of the excitement and thrill of the piece simply was lost on my more jaded eyes. Isaiah said the moment when the alien bursts out of the prone, convulsing chest of its host traumatized a generation of movie-goers….I was merely expecting it. Speaking of expecting things, I’m still convinced the cat was communicating with the alien.

Planet of the Apes–Wow. Charleton Heston as a liberal, angry, PC-preachin’ man warped centuries into the future with actors in ape-suits running around poured-concrete sets. I have nothing further to say.