My review of "The Dude Abides--The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers"

In The Dude Abides—The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, award-winning religious columnist Cathleen Falsani offers a unique and engaging look at the “spiritual messages” she finds permeating the Coen Brothers’ movies.

Now, “spiritual message.” Odds are, that’s not what most moviegoers expect to find in the darkly comic and brutally violent cinematic vision of Joel and Ethan Coen. Neither is the word “gospel,” for that matter. While wisely resisting the temptation to cram their films into what she calls a “God-shaped box,” Falsani succeeds for the most part in tracing the theological threads she sees holding the “Coeniverse” together.

More at:

http://dudespaper.com/the-dude-abidesnot-just-coen-brothers-fans-will-take-comfort-in-that.html/

Book's due out in October, I believe. My review's based on a review copy.

movies are terrific,what else is needed?

Everyone has his or her own way of reacting to and understanding movies and, well, life in general.

I think when a film or song or painting or what-have-you elicits so many different, even contradicting levels of meaning for people, it attests to the artistic vitality of the subject.

It will tie the room together man...

:-)

:hi:

Since I gave up beer (kind of) I've dropped 40 bills.

:hi:

:)

I never imagined that I would ever get so caught up in a cult classic film, but The Big Lebowski has commandeered a larger-than-expected chunk of my time, energy & psyche. I've even been to Lebowski Fest a couple of times!

http://www.lebowskifest.com/

I look forward to reading The Dude Abides when it comes out, and if I can find a reproduction of that Last Supper at the bowling alley tapestry, it is SO going on the wall behind my bar!

http://dudespaper.com/the-relaxed-supper.html/

It provides a link for where you can get The Relaxed Supper.

It will really tie the room together!

90% of the book is just plot recap of the movie. The 10% that is about the gospel isn't overly deep and there is no analysis of intertextuality to try and establish the "gospel" of the Coens across movies.

I'm nonplussed. I'm going to feel a little bad posting that review.