Forum Message

Topic: Re:Apostasy
Posted by: Joe Conneely
Date/Time: 27/07/18 14:56:00

Films solely about Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) are few and far between. I can only recall seeing one called "A Life for Ruth" from the early 60s, with Michael Craig and the great Patrick McGoohan, which showed on TV across the 60s and 70s and a story around the issue of refusing blood transfusions .

Based on this film which was funded by BFI, BBC Films and Creative England the truth seems to be they are not the easiest subject to make interesting films about given their beliefs and approach to life. This low key budget with no star names and a constantly drab Manchester setting whether inside or outside was a lesson for me in the beliefs JW worshippers have to strictly adhere to in being kept within the JW community, which seems to be very male dominant as depicted here.

The film focusses around a devoted JW mother and her two daughters (the father it seems left some time ago) who have been brought up in the JW faith. Without giving the storyline away, the film probes the different ways in which their beliefs and devotion in the face of challenges and conflicts are tested.

While all done at a very pedestrian pace and using the trick of characters openly voicing in  scenes their innermost thoughts, the film's real strength is the very even handed treatment of all sides as they handle their torment and avoids the emotional platforms that might be expected of bigger budget productions. In large part this may be down to first time director/scriptwriter Daniel Kokotajlo himself having been a JW previously.

Definitely not an easy (or enjoyable) 90 minutes viewing though a bit more rewarding than "First Reformed" which I reviewed a few weeks ago in this Forum.

Entire Thread
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