Last evening I traveled with some friends toward Richmond to see "Ragamuffin." The film is the story of Rich Mullins, a prominent Christian musician of the 1980s who met an untimely demise. If you're looking for a film that looks at Christian music with rose colored glasses, then this is not your film. If you're looking for a life full of hope and peace, this is not your film. If you're looking for a clear picture that we are all broken people who without the love of God are on self-destruct mode, this is your film.
The film is well made overall, it is beautifully shot and has some of the best acting I've seen in a Christian movie, ever. Even though Michael Koch who plays Mullins, looks more like Josh Duhamel than Rich Mullins, I thought he did an admirable job portraying this tortured, tortured musician who was a really quite self-absorbed and could be quite the jerk. His personal musicianship is quite evident, he really did play that piano and guitar and made a great effort to sound like Mullins when he sang. I will say, that I felt like the movie was about an hour too long. I know they wanted to be true to Mullins story, but I feel like they lost me at one point. I had the idea early on that he was a tortured soul who was trying really hard to work out his relationship with the Lord. Additionally, there were continuity problems, especially Mullins hair length changed it seemed from scene to scene.
Mullins story is one of disappointment and pain, of a painful and dysfunctional family relationship, and of a heart that only God ever understood. I guess his story isn't that much different than a lot of people's stories. Aren't we all just one step away from falling flat on our faces? It's Mullins association with Brennan Manning that brings him face-to-face with the idea that his God isn't afraid of Rich Mullins' flaws and wants to be his healer. As a quote from Manning illustrates, “To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God's grace means.”
This movie is only playing at a few venues, you can find if the tour is coming nearby here:
http://ragamuffinthemovie.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment