Faith Review of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Theology of Film- Dr. Pamela Mitchell-Legg John C. Elam, March 22, 2010

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1 Faith Review of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Theology of Film- Dr. Pamela Mitchell-Legg John C. Elam, March 22, 2010 Film Title: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; (La rivière du hibou, French [original] title) Year: Director: Robert Enrico. Enrico was a French director, born in 1931 and deceased in Original Release Form: The film was originally released in May of 1962 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Short Subject Film Award. In 1963, it won an Academy Award as the best live action short film. The film was based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce, and adapted for screen by Robert Enrico. The rights to two showings were purchased by the producers of the series, The Twilight Zone, and the film was aired to an American television audience on February 28, Current Availability and Formats: The film is available on DVD (as part of Treasures of the Twilight Zone collection), on VHS through amazon.com and at local libraries, and on youtube.com (in three parts). Genre: Drama/fantasy with a dollop of suspense. Story Elements: Influential story elements are: Atmosphere: The film is in black and white. This seems to place emphasis on the facial expressions and oddly, on the nature scenes, as one s eye is not confronted with the myriad of colors in nature, but is drawn to the subject matter alone (for example, the caterpillar outline on the leaf, and the spider in its web). 1

2 Storytelling point of view: Brilliantly, Enrico utilized an African-American baritone voice to narrate, in song (hints of old spirituals), the middle portion of the film ( escape ). Pacing: The pacing is slower at the beginning, in the execution phase. It gathers momentum as Farquhar escapes and embraces freedom/creation/joy. The pace is most frenetic as Farquhar closes in on home and family, and, suddenly (ironically) slows to an oddly peaceful pace as the focus shifts back to the bridge. Film Elements: Film elements of import are: Sound: From the opening elements of birds chirping and the plaintiff sound of a solitary hoot owl, through the bugle salutation and into the artillery fire; and, finally to the last haunting sound of the hanging, sound is a foundational element in the film. Camera shots and angles: Sweeping shots of surrounding hills (which offer no escape) offer effective and stark contrast to the close-ups of nature and the characters faces. Here, the black and white film is especially effective. Props: Water was effectively used as rinsing the death-feeling of captivity and death sentence from Farquhar. Further, it provided a sense of refuge as Farquhar dove to avoid bullets. Clothes and especially, boots were excellent props. Farquhar, obviously well-healed and something of a 19 th century clothes-horse, became freer as he cast off his boots and lost concern about his clothing. Nature was another central prop. The morning sun signaled the time for hanging. The trees, insects and grass were symbolic of new birth and, with it, profound awe at God s creative glory. 2

3 Music: The selection of the song ( He Moves Around [?]) is near perfection. It is simple, easily-moving and beautifully rendered in Paul Robison-quality baritone. The irony of accompanying Farquhar s escape with a negro-spiritual 1 like song cannot be missed. Audience/Cultural Context Elements: This film would work with adults and mature high schoolers. The audience will bring distaste, at the least, to the idea of slavery, which is an unspoken, yet central consideration in the film. Further, the audience will have lived in a time of debate over the death penalty, which is the origin point for the story. If shown in our area (southeast), there will be a wonderful friction stirring the souls, as we continue to attempt reconciliation of the horror of slavery with other parts of our Southern heritage. 2 Theology is Found: Theology is found outside of the movie. Questions, discussion and viewing (re-viewing) the film bring theology to the fore. Theological Themes for Conversation: The human condition of sin: The film seems to resound with this theme. We sin. We want control. We separate from God and our neighbor. First, there is our denial of God in favor of other gods. This is found in the metaphor of the boots. We note in the opening frames that, oddly, Farquhar remains immaculately dressed and well coifed. The camera pans to the boots. One cannot miss that they are expensive and well-polished. Clearly, Farquhar is a man of impeccable taste, 1 I believe it is still proper to refer to this genre of music as negro spiritual. If I am off base, please forgive. 2 Not trying to instigate here my sense is that so many, on this side of the Mason-Dixon line, hate that the South fought the abolition of slavery, and emphasize the States rights aspect of the Civil War. While it can be argued ably that States rights were of paramount importance to the founders of the nation, and, in particular, to the South, one cannot, cannot, assert this as a justifiable sole basis for the South s secession; one must continue to grieve over the South s position on slavery, an indefensible position. 3

4 and perhaps we have known those who feel nearly god-like when they don their Armanis. Ironically, however, his freedom symbolized by the (ecstatic?) motion of kicking off the boots and swimming to the surface to breathe in the air of new, if tenuous, freedom in God s creation. Other gods for potential discussion are those of wealth, status, money and power control. Then there is the sin of hating our neighbor. We are forced to deal with the irony of a negro-spiritual like song ushering one who was certainly a slaveholder into new life. In another scene, we are confronted with man s destruction of fellow man. The camera briefly settles on two men at either end of a board. The Union soldier and the Confederate sympathizer; both facing one another. In that instant we see hints of hating our enemy and killing without rational cause (or so it seems given the context of the story). Soldier has the life of condemned in his hands. Perhaps it even hints of Resurrection: The condemned man is put to death as the General orders the soldier to stand down (note the parallels Pilate did not drive the nails, yet the verdict was squarely within his power). The soldiers are surprised as the condemned rises from the river to new life. God s providential care: Here lies fruit for much fertile theological discussion. First, Farquhar seems to have a newly found hypersensitivity to the beauty of creation as he rises from the river. Nature glows and teems with life. He nearly drinks in the glory of the surrounding beauty. Secondly, there reverberates this notion of God standing outside of our timeline. It seems that parallels between 4

5 God s time and our strict timeline; and the split second in which Farquhar is reborn, truly lives, and dies are clear. Suggested use of Film: I would use this film as an exercise in discovery. The subtle nature with which it presents potential theological issues offers opportunity to dig into theology. Like a good poem, the more one encounters the film, the more one is drawn into the intricacies of the theological issues. Moreover, when one walks away from the film, it continues to haunt. Thus, I might consider viewing the film, opening the floor to discussion about various theological questions revealed in the film, and, perhaps, honing in on two or three, and re-viewing the film for more in depth discussion. Recommended Amount of Film: The film should be viewed ahead of time. Then it should be viewed as a group, converse, view again, and discuss the most piercing theological questions raised. Concluding or Summary Remarks: How wonderful to have been brought on television fare such as this, from grade school on Viewing this film is much akin to returning to a painting, again and again, and finding something new each time. One can get lost in several aspects of the film: the sound, the facial expressions, the framing, and, of course, the song. 5