ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how films can function like biblical laments, prophecies, parables, and apocalypses. The biblical genre of lament expresses anger and disappointment to God, blaming God for suffering that people endure. Many films incorporate aspects of lament. To the Wonder is a meditation on the pain and sorrow of love’s demise. The film laments the deterioration of romantic and divine love, paralleling both relational dimensions. The film proposes that the intimacy for which people yearn is—even if experienced—fleeting and unsustainable. Based on Shusaku Endo’s novel, Silence is set in 17th-century Japan, where Christianity is outlawed, and the Japanese government is persecuting and killing Christians. The film’s grisly tone is established in its opening shot of two decapitated heads, followed by scenes depicting the torture of Jesuit priests. Dogville operates as a parable in its subversion of prevailing the American myths regarding America’s moral goodness.
