I think that Matt Damon's new film....Stillwater.....should be nominated for....Best Foreign Film. OK....a couple things about that. First....it's not a foreign film.....and second....they actually call it the....Best International Feature Film....even though it is more commonly known as....Best Foreign Language Film. Don't let it scare you away but subtitles are used....just a little here and a little there....throughout the film.
Damon's character is a very typical....I don't want to use the term redneck....which others will mostly use.....because he is more of an everyman....on what talk radioland used to be....before Trump turned us into automatons....performing human functions but no longer in possession of ethical standards or thinking on our own. He's me in a way....(my wife said he was me....hmm)....and you....if I know those who reads these posts.
He prays a lot....obviously raised in a Christian home....where he must have walked that aisle....and said that sinner's prayer....somewhere early in life....and showed up dutifully at revivals every few years....and Sunday School....all until he moved out of the house and got his first job. So what he learned about God as a youth.....stuck....and stuck big time....but there was little else that stuck other than praying over meals....and when trouble comes.
I'm not even going to take the chance of giving away the ending....but I can tell you this....it was reported that the audience at the Cannes Film Festival....gave a standing ovation at the end. It was reported that that ovation was for Matt Damon....but it would not have been simply for Damon's performance.....(even though that character as a somewhat typical Trump supporter was absolutely superb.) No....the standing ovation....from the Cannes Film Festival audience....was for the message in the ending....which I can't tell you about.
I will say this.....two distinct cultures are on display....that of modern migrant Marseille....and Stillwater, Oklahoma.....or Pittsburgh....or Youngstown, Ohio....in this divisive society of ours. The liberal would normally love this film.....(opinion here)....except that the Damon's Trump supporter character is very likable.....so they will back off with praise. The conservative evangelical also would have problems.....not wanting to admit a lot of what is on display.
I think that it is a great film....literally great. It's a film that takes you somewhere and lets you decide on what you have just seen. Maybe someday....Lord willing....I'll give my thoughts on the last few minutes of the film....but one major thing that I believe Stillwater does.....hopefully anyway....to all of us....all of us....Liberal and conservative....is take the wind out of our sails....and force us to sit on the still water and think things through....where hopefully when the winds pick up again....we will have better control of the rudder and the sails and the rigging.
Addendum: The viewership of these posts remains roughly 50 percent from outside the United States....so to these folks....Matt Damon's character is very true to a segment of American 'conservatism'....for he is a decent man....who cares for people....and does what he thinks is best for America....he just makes a lot of impetuous mistakes in his actions. To get a better overall picture of 'evangelicals' in America....please see the post near the bottom of this page titled....Bumpkins....Low-Information Voters....Racists....And Homophobes....a descriptive they are falsely accused of being.
Note: take note of the parent's guide for the film STILLWATER.
