Most importantly, eli realizes along the way that he s been focusing too much on keeping the book safe, to the point that he has failed to live by it. The book of eli, sometime in the future a lone warrior eli denzel washington is on a mission surrounding. What the book of eli tells us about religion youtube. The book of eli starts out with 10 minutes of dialoguefree imagery depicting the type of postapocalyptic wasteland made familiar in recent. It was one of a spat of post apocalyptic dramas with washed out color and characters who care more about surviving to the end of the day than dental hygiene. Eli wanting to bring the message of the bible to somewhere it can be spread. Eli is the man with one name who ambles into a backwater burg in search of water and comes face to face with evil in the form of carnegie gary oldman, who is involved with the blind claudia jennifer beals while he pursues claudias nubile daughter solara mila kunis. Strewn with christian themes of protecting gods word from attack and from manipulation at the hands of big brother, the book of eli is set in the postapocalyptic wasteland that was once.
As recounted by carnegie and eli, bibles are scarce due to a largescale book burning after the falloutmany irrationally blamed christianity as a cause of the war. If you havent heard of it yet are interested then continue if you dont mind the plot being told though i recommend you see it first, good movie. The importance of the bible in the book of eli, a film by albert and. Eli does not notice the car with the skeleton until he hears the sound of rattling metal. Your thoughts on the movie if you have not yet seen the movie and dont want it to be spoilt for you then wait until you have seen it before you read any further.
Denzel, ranked the secondmost influential christian in hollywood, plays the films title character who has the only copy. Eli bumps the car door with his bag to gauge exactly where it is. He was blind before god healed him so that he could carry the task to deliver the bible west. Were all a work in progress, he said in the trailer. The book of eli apocalypse christianity religion ask. As far as the road is concerned, it is filled with spiritual themes. The book of eli is screenwriter, gary whittas, take on a western samurai film. Eli, during the thirty years he has possession of the bible, has learned braille, yet he never loses his sight. After the nuclear bright blinding lights war, much of the population goes blind. Eli came out in 2010, just a year after the road starring vigo mortensen.
If not, then theres no other explanation for how he s been able to do all that he did. First of all if you knew your bible you would know that eli is an actual character in the bible who was blind. I think it may also have been used as a selfredemption moment for one of the bad guys. Jesus and the book of eli part 1 remember the book of eli. After carnegies blind mistress claudia brings eli food and water, carnegie orders her daughter solara to seduce eli, but he rebuffs her. He gets in a fight with some of carnegies men and wins. And denzel washington isnt exactly kirk cameron, either. I loved the part when gary said he needed the words of the book to rule over the other towns. The book of eli is not to far from a christian movie and in this film the bible plays a very. At the end of the movie, we find out he is blindlike the biblical eliand that the book hes been carrying around throughout the film is the bible in. The book of eli is a film ruled by its religious conviction. The book he carries with him is a brail bible which he literally guards with his life. There are a number of clear biblical or moral themes in this movie, and this is the first.
Now in my defense, there are films about religion andor faith that ive enjoyed immensely example. From your own link themes the popular perception of the western is a story that centers on the life of a seminomadic wanderer, usually a cowboy or a gunfighter. The christian theme and scriptural references made it even better for me as a christian. The main theme in the road and the book of eli are one and the same. Christianity and the book of eli believe it or not. Religion and language in contemporary film wikiversity. And yes it is christian, take a look at the world now. Religion ended the world it was hinted that the war, that probably was nuclear, could be based on religious differences or religion can save the world. The book of eli apocalypse christianity religion ask metafilter. Spoilers every clue in the book of eli that explains the ending.
Book of eli caps wasteland saga with a twist wired. When solaras mother first walks in with food and water, its like a blind standoff. Realizing eli is a literate man like himself, carnegie forces him to stay the night under guard. Washington and the hughes brothers do a good job of establishing this man and his world, and at first, the book of eli seems destined to be solemn. He finds a small town ruled by a ruthless man, who attempts to take the book. It turns out the book in question is a bible, the last one known to exist. The book of eli 2010 frequently asked questions imdb.
He s got one of those knives that makes a snickersnack noise all by itself, and is a oneman army. Unfortunately, his character is so righteous, so pure that even though its eli on the screen, its denzel that im feeling. That night he sends one of his servants solara to keep eli company. Watch the movie very carefully, and its pretty apparent.
Or you can take the heavy religious theme about guidance, darkness, etc. So lar a see s eli has a boo k, and he offers to share his food, saying grace before they eat. Spoilers every clue in the book of eli that explains the. Books like the city of ember and the road, while they may acknowledge a dim sense of spirituality or hope, generally steer clear of explicit christian references. Somehow eli has been walking in the right direction the whole time. In the movie the book of eli was eli blind the entire. The postapocalypse film may be getting old after films like children of men, the road, i am legend, etc. Jesus and the book of eli part 1 worldviews, worship. The book of eli is a movie telling the story of a post apocalyptic world in which the main character morgan freeman is a blind man who has one of the last books in the world. Christian themes abound in book of eli the tufts daily.
The book of eli is an oldfashioned western dressed up in postapocalyptic rags. Denzel washington thumps his bible and slices through bad guys in this. The book of eli s storyline is strong, with only a few. Why is the religious themes of this movie bringing it so. Denzel, ranked the secondmost influential christian in hollywood. Those verses never really came to life for me until i heard denzel washington cite them in this scene. Washington ranked by beliefnet as the second most powerful christian in hollywood behind mel gibson described the book of eli as both a story about faith and a story about good and evil with parallels to real life. In one scene eli says to solara that he walks by faith, not by sight and things dont necessarily have to make sense. A soldier had returned through the back gate and given the news of the battle to the people. When asked about the religious nature of the film, whitta replied that he had always been fascinated by faith and that the book of eli.
But denzel washingtons latest film, the book of eli unapologetically confronts issues of faith, sacrifice, and, most notably, the bible. This film encompasses all the themes including beauty, order, and. Although eli is not a literal preacher, he is the closest thing to a religious figure in the postapocalyptic world and he is so totally badass that only god can help you if you mess with him. But the blind man, ironically, cannot see that he is entrusting it to people who also cannot see its true value. People believe he was blind throughout the whole movie. Carnegie encourages the traveler to spend the night in his town. But to understand this perspective you have to abandon the way most read the bible, as a constitution of laws, and read it from a perspective of story. Despite the two answers you have already received to the contrary, yes the character eli in the book of eli was blind. My view is that when you see what the book is and that he s blind that to me tells you god must exist. Ive seen several people assert that the book of eli is a christian film, including fox news, but this rings extremely hollow, especially since the authors have said they did not intend the movie as a christian story. But thats where the significant symbolism of the book of eli. Eli, who was nearly blind, was sitting at the front gate to hear the returning soldiers return was unaware of the event until he asked about all the commotion in the city. Some will find the second half of the movie to be pure christian propaganda, with eli as a clear christminus.
If he wanted hold on to the bible, he would have needed something bigger to carry it, braille bibles can be up to 18 volumes in length. So in the opinion of a secular critic such as myself, its hard not to consider elements of the film to be laughably ridiculous. When hunting the cat, for example, he was sitting in a position where it didnt seem like he could actually see his target at all. Denzel portrays the title character of eli, a mysterious man who walks around around a destroyed world carrying a book he believes can save humanity. Only a christian flick to dogmatic believers, says the films codirector allen hughes. A man travels across a wasteland, carrying a mysterious and powerful book. Many have taken explicity prochristian themes from the film, but is it that. Others will see a perversion of christianity at its worst, with eli as a bloody crusader defending the bible with a swift blade under miraculous circumstances. The book he was holding could only have been around one tenth of the actual bible in braille. Waiting and watching is eli denzel washington, the taking of. The book of eli, sometime in the future a lone warrior eli denzel.
The book of eli is not so much about the book he carries but about restoration of the soul. He might be making a reference to her blind mother and the fact that. The book of eli end scene page 5 sherdog forums ufc. Is the book of eli an engrossing tale about the power of faith or a cartoonish. In the movie the book of eli, was the character played by. In the book of eli there are two very interesting symbolic twists. Jennifer beals, best known for her main role in the 1983 film flashdance, has been last seen acting in the 2010 film the book of eli where she plays the role of the claudia, the blind mistress. In the postapocalyptic biblical thriller the book of eli, denzel washington plays a blind man who feels hes been called by god to carry the last remaining copy of the bible across the country. The female companion realizes that eli is blind and is marveled by how he can.
Screenwriter gary whitta develops this christian hero well as he takes this incredibly difficult journey to protect gods word. Eli was blind before the war and after finding the bible and hearing gods voice he regained his sight until his task was completed finding a safe place for the bible this is why he did things a blind man would do and could read braille and also why is eyes were normal at the start of the film and clouded and the end. Eli wears dark sunglasses, as blind people often do. Theres this whole issue, without giving it away, is he blind, is he not. In the bible, the high priest eli was blind, and some might say that there are several scenes which may indicate that in the movie eli was blind or at least partially blind. Remember, he had a crush on her the whole movie blocking her while she was getting eli s canteen filled, bargaining with carnegie for her before chasing after them, even asking eli nicely to give up the book after the gunfight in the house. The book of eli was intense, and the plot was awesome.
Incase you havent seen it, heres the surprise ending of the book of eli. She discovers his book and begs him to read her some passages. This was by far one of the best movies of 2010, and it had a great message, that somehow most people miss. The script was conceived by english screenwriter gary whitta and then subsequently rewritten by american screenwriter.
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