Dogma
(Lion's Gate Films)

This is going to be tricky. Reviewing a film in a positive light that you know will offend a majority of viewers in one respect or another always opens the door to a backlash firestorm. But here goes . . .

Kevin Smith's Dogma is one of the most provocative films to hit the screen in a while. Irreverent, violent, and both p.i. and t.i. (politically and theologically incorrect), this movie evokes most powerfully -- well, the Bible. There is a great deal of "in-your-face" unpleasantness in Dogma that threatens to undermine the intelligence, sophistication, and challenge of the film. People easily turned off by foul language, senseless violence, and (at times) moronic humor will perhaps not find enough in this movie to redeem it.

Which is exactly the point -- indeed, the value -- of the movie.

Dogma concerns the journey of two renegade angels to re-enter heaven and enjoy the grace that is so freely given to humans. Powers and principalities -- both human and spiritual, demonic and angelic -- work to stop this restoration. If the angels return, it means that God was/is wrong, and all of existence will be snuffed out.

Dogma is a Gen-X morality tale of everything good and bad about Judeo-Christian faith in our day. It is a "coming to terms" with all the seeming inconsistencies contained in Scripture. It is a farce designed to offend the sensibilities. It is a line drawn in the sand challenging anyone and everyone who holds unreasonable and indefensible beliefs to come clean. Couched within an unrelenting irreverence are many deep questions of spiritual seekers everywhere. Faith beyond reason is a given, but faith without reason can no longer be tolerated.

The big questions are: Where is God when God is most needed? Why does a loving God allow such terrible violence and suffering? What is our purpose here? Who is acceptable and good? Who are the holy ones? Who can be saved? What is the difference between truth and opinion, reality and mythology?

These questions dance with more contemporary concerns in a subtle and elegant way: Is God a man or a woman or something more? Does God have a sense of humor? Are there more important concerns than homosexuality, abortion, church attendance, and preoccupations with earthly pleasures that we -- as God's people -- should be attending to?

At the point that the viewer is ready to dismiss Dogma as sacrilegious or trashy, the power of its perspective emerges. People cannot be both offended by the characters in the film and comfortable with the whores, tax collectors, and social outcasts that Jesus ran with. People cannot condemn the violence of this movie as unfaithful to the violence depicted throughout the Old Testament. Everything about this movie that makes us uncomfortable today has a historical precedent -- God loves the unlovable and often chooses exactly the opposite kind of person from one we would choose.

There is much about Dogma that I don't care for. A little profanity, sexual humor, and dope-head humor go a long way, and Dogma contains each in abundance. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Kevin Smith, and Chris Rock make this movie work well. (Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, and Salma Hayek I could have done without -- or with much less of.) There is much about this film that will upset many, but is that such a bad thing?

If Dogma offends, it is valuable to ask, "Why does it offend?" If we disagree with the movie, then we should be thankful -- films like this push us to clarify what we do believe. And if we dislike the people in this movie, then who needs healing the most -- them or us?

Know this: millions of people are watching this movie. When I viewed it, there were about two dozen others in the theater. I spoke with a handful of folks as they exited. A couple of young guys thought it was just funny. One woman in her fifties called it "filth" (though I noticed she stayed through the entire thing!). Two Catholic women said that they were uncomfortable throughout the film, but that it raised many issues for them that they had always thought about but were afraid to discuss. Lastly, a young couple from Vanderbilt talked to me -- for about twenty minutes -- about what the film meant to them. While they enjoyed the entertainment value, their deeper concern was, "Yes, but what about all those things they said -- about God and the church and the Bible and Jesus and the apostles and angels and on and on???"

The questions raised throughout the movie are questions that millions of people ask all the time. This young couple, Jen and Mark, wanted to know from me where they could learn more, where they could ask their questions, where they could search without being judged. I invited them to my church. I hope that's not a mistake. I hope my church is the kind of place where real people living real lives can come in and ask real questions. I hope my church is strong enough to listen through foul language and morally suspect conduct to see real people whom God loves very much. I hope my church isn't afraid to be challenged and questioned and argued with. I hope my church loves people more than it loves itself. Ultimately, a film like Dogma forces us to ask such questions. What kind of church are we? What kind of Christians are we? What kind of people are we?

You mught want to see Lion's Gate Films' Dogma web site.

Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

(originally posted November 23, 1999)

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