A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE AT ITS LEAST INSPIRING.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Neale Donald Walsch's hugely popular ``Conversations With God'' books grew, like many a spiritual awakening, out of terrible setbacks in the author's life. This drab and pokey movie about the awful years that led up to Walsch's talks with the Big Guy may not be much of a film. But when it finally gets around to Neale hearing that very special voice in his head, it gives a good indication why he's built a big following. Not only does the divine message combine the happiest parts of self-improvement philosophy with Hinduish detachment, universalism Universalism Belief in the salvation of all souls. Arising as early as the time of Origen and at various points in Christian history, the concept became an organized movement in North America in the mid-18th century. and love-beats-fear teachings, but the God who talks to Walsch seems pretty easygoing eas·y·go·ing also eas·y-go·ing adj. 1. a. Living without undue worry or concern; calm. b. Lax or negligent; careless. c. , and you've gotta love that. Plus, the author comes off as a self-effacing doesn't-know-it-all, even if he can pull off semi-miraculous feats of empathic em·path·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by empathy. Adj. 1. empathic - showing empathy or ready comprehension of others' states; "a sensitive and empathetic school counselor" empathetic speculation when confronted by angry doubters. That's how Henry Czerny plays Walsch in the movie, anyway. And while it isn't the most riveting performance, it's professional enough to lead us through the slog of monotonous misery that takes up too much time. Most of the film is a long flashback flash·back n. 1. An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use. 2. A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience. to Walsch's hard times in the early 1990s. After his neck was broken in a car accident, the former journalist, radio personality and jack of several other trades couldn't find work, got evicted from his apartment and wound up living at a homeless campground near a small Oregon city. For about an hour, we watch him collect recyclables, eat out of Dumpsters and get rained on a lot -- all at a very deliberate, OK-we-get-it pace. This woe-is-me stuff is intercut in·ter·cut v. in·ter·cut, in·ter·cut·ting, in·ter·cuts v.tr. To interweave (two separate, usually concurrent scenes) in a film; crosscut. v.intr. To crosscut. with snippets of the later, successful Henry giving lectures, making chat-show appearances and encountering grateful fans. If Czerny didn't bring such honest humility to the role, the unenlightened among us might have a certain, nauseated nau·se·at·ed adj. Affected with nausea. reaction to all the self-congratulation. There are hints that Walsch has a history of failed relationships and could be something of a lech Lech (lĕkh), river, c.175 mi (280 km) long, rising in Vorarlberg, W Austria, and flowing NE into S Germany past Augsburg to the Danube River. The Wertach River is its chief tributary. , but Eric DelaBarre's screenplay doesn't go into the kind of detail on this interesting man's life that would make for a satisfying character study. The director, Stephen Simon, is primarily a producer of spiritually, or. more accurately, mystically themed films such as ``What Dreams May Come'' and ``Somewhere in Time.'' ``Conversations'' is much more down-to-earth than those, and about as straightforward as a movie about a man who talks to God can be. But it's earthbound earth·bound also earth-bound adj. 1. Fastened in or to the soil: earthbound roots. 2. a. as well, with uninspired visuals, dialogue and a heart-note-plucking string score. Guess it's comforting to believe that God might make contact in even the blandest of conditions. But I can't see this movie meaning much to any but the already converted. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD - Two stars (PG: language, substance abuse) Starring: Henry Czerny, Vilma Silva, Bruce Page, Ingrid Boulting. Director: Stephen Simon. Running time: 1 hr. 49 min. Playing: One Colorado, Pasadena; Beverly Center 13, Beverly Hills; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.; Century 10, Ventura. In a nutshell: Dramatization dram·a·ti·za·tion n. 1. The act or art of dramatizing: the dramatization of a novel. 2. A work adapted for dramatic presentation: of how Neale Donald Walsch came to write his inspirational best seller is pretty dreary. Some nice, nonsectarian spiritual messages eventually do poke through the dullness. |
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