Darcy O'Rourke

This was a Christian disgrace to film itself. In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defence of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: a terrible film from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the film and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about the film is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Christian movies famous motto, "Anyone can preach." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great filmmaker, but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the workers now working at whatever film company made this, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than than bad.