I watched the Apostle two nights ago, and I rented it partially out of guilt. I saw a film called "The Ice Harvest" that made me realize I wanted something a bit more inspiring, more wholesome, more spiritually focused in film. The Ice Harvest strangely enough also has Billy Bob Thornton along with John Cusack as some of the most profane and greedy but not nearly the most messed up characters in a rural Kansas town. Sex, violence, the whole mix, and what's worse, a sloppy ending. So, I rented this because I wanted to be uplifted.<br /><br />The Apostle often delivers a brand of Southern comfort, simplicity and humanity that's quite refreshing without being naive: I thought it was an important and sobering note that the old man who gives Duvall a tent also sleeps with his rifle on his chest watching him. That combination is very human and very American: we live at once in love and fear of each other very often.<br /><br />Another wonderful thing about this film is it is race-conscious but very much about integration, all God's children like Duvall says. I love the moment when Blackwell tells Duvall how black he sounds on the radio for a white man. <br /><br />As for being inspired spiritually, I almost cried when Duvall prayed over Billy Bob, "Troublemaker." As a matter of fact, I think that moment is the spiritual high point of the film, the sinner converting another sinner and saving a church. If we had immediately seen the police coming for Duvall after that, it would have served as a great coda to reminds us that within sinners like Billy, there are saints/good men, and within "apostles" like Duvall, there are sinners.<br /><br />None of us are as pure as the driven snow, but none of our souls are so black that they can't be redeemed. That's one of the great things about CRASH: that is a film that shows both corruption of the decent and the unexpected decency lying within the corrupt.<br /><br />The main problem with Apostle, like Ice Harvest oddly enough, comes down to a sloppy ending. (SPOILER) Duvall draws it out for far too long with the sermon: once the police have arrived, it needs to come to a close. Would an officer wait that long to arrest a man for first degree murder? Duvall's rally cry of "Get Behind Me Satan" is quite effective, but it drags on for ten minutes. Finally, Sammy's acceptance of Jesus, given what has already happened to Billy Bob, lacks the punch it should have.<br /><br />It brings me back to an eerie feeling that I got throughout the movie: this particular branch of Christianity that the Apostle is representing seems to shout a whole lot what really shouldn't need that kind of volume. I was taught a year or so ago the phrase "Preach the gospel at all times: when necessary, use words." It means that it's in our actions that we show our love not just in our words, and it's not just love for other Christians, but for non-Christians as well. And we don't just gather together and praise God so that we may be saved, but we continually strive to be closer to God and bring others closer to God and further from the devil and to CREATING RECONCILIATION AND JUSTICE in the world, working alongside the "devilish" as well as the saintly.<br /><br />Remember that scene where Duvall drags the guy out of the bar? It reminds me that there are those who say there's the world of the devil, and the world of God and we should steer clear of the former. However, I think it's a world we need to engage and learn about: we need to be in those bars, not just dragging men out, but learning why they're in. We need to figure out about why men really go to strip clubs, why women work there, WHY women abort their children, WHY teens have premarital sex, WHY divorce occurs, and not just dismiss them as things of Satan to be steered clear of. Good fences do not make good Christians.<br /><br />Now if the worlds of "The Apostle" and "The Ice Harvest" could be combined, that would be a very powerful movie about Jesus in the real world. <br /><br />I will say though that the last bit of the Apostle (SPOILER) is a great reminder of Duvall's power: he continues to preach even as a prisoner on a chain gang. Now THAT is Holy Ghost Power. Amen. Continue to seek Him, praise Him, serve Him, and love Him!