This is why I will only watch happy movies this Easter
I’ve found that most movies that borrow from real life events are often sad and depressing, so I give them a wide berth
So, how have you been spending your long Easter holiday? I have a feeling that many of my readers either won’t read this column this week, or will search for it next week, most likely on Wednesday or Thursday as they begin to return to ‘factory setting’ after days of having a good time.
My family and friends always forget that I work in an industry that does not ‘respect’ holidays, so during every holiday, I keep getting joyful messages related to that particular day reminding me to use the day off work to rest and have fun.
Others invite me for get-togethers, with promises of nyama choma and other must-have foods and drinks that we Kenyans spend money on when we have parties. More often than not, however, I’m at work during most holidays. I was at work this Friday, I will be at work on Monday. After all, someone has to write and package the news.
When I first joined this profession, I struggled with the reality of this job and would go through serious FOMO each time there was a get-together either at home or with friends and I couldn’t attend. But I long got used to this way of working, such that I stopped feeling any attached towards holidays.
But this isn’t what I wanted to talk about. In keeping with the spirit of Easter, I want to talk about the film that weaned me off sad, devastating films for good. The Passion Of The Christ. It is based on Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
If there has ever been a graphic film ever produced, one that is almost impossible to watch, this is it. I watched it years ago, yet if I close my eyes, I can still see Jesus being whipped raw by the Roman soldiers, blood dripping and spraying everywhere before a crown of thorns is pressed into his head and horrifyingly fat nails driven into his hands and feet. I remember watching all of it with horror and dread, my heart pounding with every act of violence, crying my heart out in horror. It didn’t matter that I knew all of it was acted, that it wasn’t real.
It was simply agonising. Everyone in that theatre on that day shed tears. I’m a lover of movies, and before I decide to treat myself to one on the big screen, I usually check out the reviews in rottentomatoes.com.
When the idea for this column came about, I went to the site to see what the reviews said about this film, and one comment especially resonated with me. It read, “Director Mel Gibson's zeal is unmistakable, but The Passion of the Christ will leave many viewers emotionally drained rather than spiritually uplifted.”
Another wrote: “I emerged from The Passion of the Christ depressed and spiritually bruised.” I have a feeling, though, that the movie wasn’t meant to do any spiritual uplifting, it was supposed to be breath-taking in its brutal depictions.
And it succeeded. Anyway, like many others, I walked out from the theatre weighed down by a feeling of heavy melancholy, an overwhelming feeling that made me decide, there and then, that I would never watch another sad movie. Or one labelled ‘True Story’. I’ve found that most movies that borrow from real life events are often sad and depressing, so I give them a wide berth.
There are many experiences in real life that are already discouraging, why willingly look for more on screen? And that is why I now only watch happy movies, or those where the main character is larger than life and always overpowers the bad guys and goes on to live happily ever after. Happy Easter, ladies and gentlemen.
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