The Apostle

I saw this film the other day for the first time and I thought it was a masterpiece. An original piece of work and you can really tell that Robert Duvall put his heart and soul into this project.

I'm not at all religious but I have always felt very strong about spiritual music and gospel and so on. There's something about that devotion... And I could feel that from this film too and I was so touched in a way. Overwhelmed almost.

What do you think about this movie???

By the way, Merry Christmas to you all! Christmas Eve is the big thing here in Sweden so now it's really christmas for me... And guess what! I have to work...

Peace to you all!

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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.

I thought when I read the title, I had seen it but this is not the one I was thinking of… I like Duvall so I’ll have to check it out….

Merry Christmas to you too… I still have about 5 hours to go before it’s officially Christmas Eve here… and I have to work Christmas Day too…

Peace…

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Excellent movie...Duvall is incredible, very convincing...I haven't seen it in a while so I can't say much more...I loved it.

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If more people watch hockey it will be on TV more.

Argh; you always make me move your threads to a more appropriate forum.


Agreed. One of my top ten favorite films of all time (I've got it ranked third, currently), without a doubt. An amazing film in virtually every way.


Exactly. That's what makes it so incredible; it transcends religion. "Overwhelmed" is precisely the right word.

I think I was watching it for something like the third or fourth time, when I laughed out loud suddenly...because it had just occurred to me that that was Robert Duvall on screen, and that he was pretending to be someone else. The thought hadn't really crossed my mind until then.

Also, not to turn this into some kind of religious discussion, but I think of Sonny (Duvall's character) as, in a few key ways, the ideal Christian. The ideal Solider of God. He prefers peace, but fights when he has to. He exudes God...exudes the Truth so much that people are inexplicably drawn to him no matter what he's doing...drawn to him despite his sizable list of mistakes. He is not perfect, and he knows it, and he makes no excuses for it. He is utterly human, yet he carries a walkie-talkie with God on the other end.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

I've actually been trying to avoid this film from it's release. Religious films aren't really my cup of tea.

But since there are strong and positive reviews here I will check it out.

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"You will taste man flesh!" - Saruman

I wouldn't go as far as saying this movie isn't about "religion", because regligion is, of course, a big part of the movie. But I would say that the main theme of "The Apostle" is about obsession. To be obsessed by the desire to accomplish something. Duvall's character could have been a politician, a country singer or a baseball player just as well as a preacher. Like for example Al Pacino's characther in "Heat" he's whole life is f*cked up and he loses his family because of his job and what he does. Then he tries to make it all right by working harder, even more determined to reach his goal. But in "The Apostle" Duvall gives this traditional theme a completely new shape.

The film also gives us a wonderful, warm and objective insight to the life of these religious people. It also tells us that even religious devotees like these are "normal" people. AND at the same time it tells us that just because someone is hardcore religious, it doesn't mean they are not able to commit terrible crimes against their family and friends - in this case even murder.

Brilliant........

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~ Nikki ~

"I'm your hell, I'm your dream.......I'm nothing in between.......You know you wouldn't want it any other way".........

"Listen, when I slap you, you'll take it and like it"..........Humphrey Bogart..........Maltese Falcon.......

Graze on my lips and if those hills be dry, stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie...........William Shakespeare.......

Robert Duvall was amazing in this movie. This movie has special meaning for me because my father appears in it as an extra.

Wow; what scene was he in?

And yeah, this is one of my all-time favorites. I think it's the best thing Duvall's ever done, and that's, uh, saying something.

The Apostle is an excellent film, one of the finest character studies I've seen.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Yeah, it is. It's a great movie all around. I have it on my favorites list and I don't think that will ever change no matter how many more movies I watch.

Big bump notice: for all of your Netflix subscribers, this is streaming for just a couple more days! Hurry up and watch it now if you haven't. It's probably the best performance of Robert Duvall's career--and that's a career not lacking for incredible performances.

I didn't know it was on Netlix. I recall seeing it in the movies way back when and thinking was excellent, an epic performance. I will have to see if I can catch up with it on Netflix before it goes away.