Misplaced faith
By Wade KwonYou may have heard about a movie based on a best-selling book about a religious mystery that spans the globe and brings new understanding to humanity and the world beyond.
Well, it’s not coming to Birmingham.
A scene from ‘The Celestine Prophecy’
We’re not talking about today’s premiere of “The Da Vinci Code,” a summer movie so big, it’ll take both Ron Howard and Tom Hanks to screw it up.
We’re talking about … “The Celestine Prophecy.”
Based on the book of the same name, “Prophecy” (rated PG) presents an out-of-work schoolteacher who travels to the rainforests of Peru. There he searches for ancient scrolls known as the Celestine Prophecy that could be the key to a new spiritual culture on Earth. [trailer]
Birmingham native and therapist James Redfield wrote and self-published the book in 1993, selling it from the trunk of his car. His efforts paid off, and Warner Books published the title in 1994. It became the No. 1 international best-seller in 1996 and led to several follow-up titles.
According to Redfield, several Hollywood studios made offers for the movie rights, but he declined: “We want this film to come into being in accordance with the vision of the new spiritual consciousness that the story seeks to describe.”
Redfield co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Gordon (“Wyatt Earp,” “Passenger 57”) and Barnet Bain, who wrote “Jesus,” a movie still widely distributed in evangelical campaigns for free. Redfield is listed as producer, and his wife Salle Redfield is executive producer, all under Celestine Films.
The 99-minute movie, released in April, boasts several name actors, including Annabeth Gish (“The X-Files”), Hector Elizando (“Chicago Hope,” “The Princess Diaries”) and Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”). A dozen cities across America are currently showing the film, including Atlanta, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, and more will be added in the next few weeks.
However, Birmingham isn’t on the list for future showings.
Redfield is scheduled to appear this summer in New York, Missouri and Arizona.
The movie’s Web site asks for interested theater owners and volunteers to help with promotion and distribution, similar to grass-roots efforts for previously released religious-themed movies, most notably 2004’s "The Passion of the Christ."
Critics have ripped the film in reviews. Variety wrote:
Anyone unfamiliar with the book’s basic ideas will probably choke on their popcorn, agog at so much windy spiritual mumbo-jumbo floating in a woozy stew of action-adventure absurdity. Those who already “get it” will find a simplified but affirming illustration of their higher beliefs in the film, while “average” moviegoers may think they’ve discovered a gaga camp classic.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote:
Playing more like an instructional video than a mystical adventure story, it has all the earnestness and uninspired functionality of a dramatic re-enactment in a documentary.
The movie’s publicist did not return calls or e-mails.
While Birmingham audiences may not be able to judge for themselves in theaters, the Web site promises a DVD release later this year.
The Redfields currently reside in Florida.
