Brimstone, a movie directed by Martinus Wouter "Martin" Koolhoven is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Internationally he is most known for Schnitzel Paradise, Winter in Wartime and Brimstone, which was his first film in English. It was released in 2017, after it premiered in the competition of the Venice Film Festival in 2016 (Wikipedia.com). There are lots of messages that we can take from this movie, but the major is about religion thingy at least for me and some people like me.
The similarity is how religion values bound us for long time ago. How religion values is being the most important for our life. It’s influence us to do or do not to do what actually we are willing to. From religion, I learn how my gender is sometimes really being suppressed like there is something one gender can do but taboo (forbidden) for another one.
Indeed, religious values are good for human but some asshole uses it to suffocate the other. The idea that priest or the leader of a religious community must be followed by his followers make us to do what he tells with no question. Being passive and preferred audience. Someone told me to not question what God asked because I could be liberal or secular. How dare I questioned the almighty commands while even the prophet just following him?! I didn’t mean to questioned the creeds, I question the priest or the leader of the religion whether he is right or imposes the truth. Because some human sometimes visualizes God like a goddamn dictator which always force his believer to obligate and easy sent them to hell. This less or more does happen to our planet. To our human. Everyone afraid of the doctrine of how terrible hell and how magnificent heaven even though the leader of the religion itself never seen those things directly. The same as us, they were being told by the holly book not based on experiences tho. How cruel if we just believe with no hesitation at all. Or like what recently happened to Rohingya, where Buddhist (monks) genocide Muslims in Rohingya to protect their religion and culture (tempo.com). What is this? Religions hating each other? Whatever.
Brimstone movie portrayed “laughable about religion” into more fascinating with amazing scene in its second. Well, it’s worthy enough to watch to more open our mind about religious values also what have to do with it. Do not be easily fooled by a hypocrite leader of religion where portrayed as a priest in this movie. The most favorable scene was when Joanna, a daughter of the priest was forced to marry his father and used religion creed to do it. Even he mentioned it from the bible. Another one is when people in church were competing to get revelation. I don’t know whether they were lying or not since nobody would ask the truth. They seemed proud because God gave them a revelation. They feel like god love them, while for them who couldn’t get the revelation are unchosen people. Especially for Anna, she is a wife of a priest. It could be a shame for someone like her. But her husband act like it’s all right to get a good impression from people. Because his follower put the blame on Anna, not to her husband. They feel pity for the priest while looking frown to Anna. Like how a woman like Anna marrying a God messenger like him.
This movie could be the best if not using confusing setting of time. It would be better if the whole movie covered in a chronological setting of time. Brimstone put the flashback plot in setting and for me, it was bothering. It made me have to think deep to understand and play riddle in first several minutes. but it is forgivable and acceptable. The actor and actress were also good too. this movie is worth able to watch. And the message behind it more seized my attention.