Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp is one of the feature-length documentaries that recieved a nom from the folks at the Academy this year, and it's easy to see why. The photography is excellently done, and the last 30 seconds of the film were pretty amazing (and immediately flipped to credits and "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum, a great touch).

That said, the subject material is hardly heartwarming. The film follows children and families as they go to 'Jesus camp,' which seemed like a church camp I might have gone to in elementary school except on lots of steroids and hallucinogens. The pastor that ran the camp used a lot of scare tactics in her sermons, and in many of the scenes in the chapel the 7-8-9-year olds that seemed to the target of the operation were actually sobbing (unfortunately, I didn't find any of those pictures to post. Imagine that.) I actually found some of these scenes to be the most moving, not because of any spiritual inspiration, but because I felt awful for the kids. If my memories of church at an early age were anything like what I saw in this movie, I don't know if I'd still be going. I would be scared to death.

I won't even get into how much I disagree with some of the things said and done at this camp. The film was very, very well-made but I think it's difficult for anyone but an actual Christian fundamentalist to warm up to its subject material. The people in the film are definitely not trying to make friends, and it definitely won't convert anyone. The technical side of things is what will keep it in the running for the statuette.