Depravity and delusion coarse through this movie. Radical religious figures suffer punishment. Decent folks in unfortunate situations suffer punishments. Murderers suffer too. In this story, there is only pain and suffering. That, and death.
I suppose the movie delves into the troubles that arise when faith morphs into fanaticism. The story also examines blasphemy, religious corruption of the highest sort. Some of these explorations appear deep and artful, but I'm not so sure. After doing some exploration of my own, I could not find any clear messages, lessons, or meaningful conclusions. As far as I could tell, the religion-laced intertwined tales do nothing more than present brutality and misery for the sake of... entertainment? This is no wise sermon. It's unpleasantness for unpleasantness' sake.
Ultimately, the move suffers from its overstuffed plot. The effort put into establishing multiple characters whose fates eventually intersect years down the road is all for naught. The moment when the characters crash into each other is meant to serve as the ultimate payoff, but since not enough time is given to the supporting subplots, the climax feels a little undercooked.
There are times during the movie when I believed I understood the meaning, when I felt I grasped when the writer had in mind. But that feeling always faded away, and the messages only became murkier.
I suppose the movie delves into the troubles that arise when faith morphs into fanaticism. The story also examines blasphemy, religious corruption of the highest sort. Some of these explorations appear deep and artful, but I'm not so sure. After doing some exploration of my own, I could not find any clear messages, lessons, or meaningful conclusions. As far as I could tell, the religion-laced intertwined tales do nothing more than present brutality and misery for the sake of... entertainment? This is no wise sermon. It's unpleasantness for unpleasantness' sake.
Ultimately, the move suffers from its overstuffed plot. The effort put into establishing multiple characters whose fates eventually intersect years down the road is all for naught. The moment when the characters crash into each other is meant to serve as the ultimate payoff, but since not enough time is given to the supporting subplots, the climax feels a little undercooked.
There are times during the movie when I believed I understood the meaning, when I felt I grasped when the writer had in mind. But that feeling always faded away, and the messages only became murkier.