The best horror film I've seen all year is a documentary. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka), Jesus Camp is about kids. They play. They talk. They love to sing and dance. And their parents want them to follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Nine-year old Rachael throws a bowling ball on an outing with her family and friends; then she crosses a few lanes and offers a Chick comic and some thoughts about God's love to an older woman at the alley. Ten-year-old Tori practices her leg-sweep dance moves to her favorite music, "Christian Heavy Metal Rock and Roll." Twelve-year-old Levi has rocker-kid hair and explains how "At 5, I got saved, because I just wanted more of life because there's just nothing that I thought was fun, that I thought was satisfying. ..."
There's no narration over Jesus Camp -- just the voices of Rachael and Levi and Tori, or people like Pentecostal children's minister Becky Fischer, or syndicated Christian talk radio host Mike Papantonio or Tori's mom, who says "Our kids are on loan to us from God, and someday we're going to have to answer to God about how we raised our children."
Jesus Camp focuses on a summer program run under Fischer's instruction, which operates out of Devil's Lake, North Dakota. We get to watch Fischer pray over her technical equipment -- "No microphone problems, in Jesus' name. ..." before briefly speaking in tongues. The film follows Rachael and Tori and Levi and their families, their dinner conversation and home-schooling and play times; the filmmakers follow closely, smoothly, invisibly. At the same time, the interviewed subjects often face the camera calmly, directly and talk about what's behind their choices, their worship, their perception of Christ. (The only person to deliberately address the camera and make meta-commentary about the fact he's being filmed is Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, who grabs the camera and jokes: "I think I know what you did last night! If you send me a thousand dollars I won't tell your wife!" He -- and the crowd -- laugh, and then he gives the kicker: "If you use any of this, I'll sue you." He's kidding, but it doesn't feel funny.)
One of the more interesting elements of Jesus Camp comes in the person of Mike Papantonio, a syndicated talk radio host whose concern about child Evangelical education demonstrates that American Christianity is not, in fact, a monobloc. Papantonio decries some of the trends of worship seen in Jesus Camp: "There's this entanglement of Politics with religion -- what kind of lesson is that for our children?" At the same time, Becky Fischer asks her charges "Do you know Muslims train their children from the time they're five years old to fast during the month of Ramadan?" It's hard to tell from her tone if she's contemptuous or envious of that fact, that faith, that discipline.
I can't imagine what the shooting ratio was like for Jesus Camp -- the ratio expressing the differential between the amount of footage shot and the film's 85-minute running time. It may have been a matter of Ewing and Evans being very lucky and catching great stuff from passionate people; it may have been a matter of presence and patience and trust so that the subjects felt less like subjects.
But however they got them, those moments are in the movie -- everything from Levi preparing for his first time preaching to his fellow camp residents and his jazzy, boyish excitement. Then we watch one of the camp's guest speakers exhorting the kids to smash a ceramic coffee cup to symbolize how they will ' ... break the power of the enemy over the government ... break the power of the devil in this government."
And there's silence in Jesus Camp as well, and beauty. It may seem like a bit of an inverted piece of praise to say that Jesus Camp is as well-made as it is important, but in this DV-doc age, passion for a subject hasn't always equaled proficient film making. It's an unforced film, a graceful one, and one that gradually, incrementally becomes more and more frightening. Levi talks about how "America is supposed to be God's nation, right? But things got all ... twisted around." A group of kids points at a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush and shouts, as instructed, "Mr. President: One nation under God!" A guest speaker to the camp shows kids a group of fetus models and quotes Dr. Seuss: "A person's a person ... No matter how small. ..."
There's the question to be raised of if Jesus Camp approves of the kids and their teachers. I went to a religious-themed camp when I was younger, too -- one named for St. Jean De Brebeuf, where we learned about the agonies of Christ and made s'mores -- but I don't recall, for example, being led in a pledge to be part of the generation that would overturn Roe Vs. Wade like Levi, Rachael and Tori are. Ewing and Evans frame the film against the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the nomination and confirmation of Samuel Alito, and the link between the pulpit and politics is made explicit. Haggard explains why he believes the children are the future: it's all about the growth of the Evangelical Christian church: "It's got enough growth to essentially sway every election. If the Evangelicals vote, they determine the election. ... It's a fabulous life!"
And Rachael thinks it's exciting: "I feel like we're kind of being trained to be warriors, but in a much funner way ... there's an excitement, yet peace at the same time; it's really cool." Early in Jesus Camp, Fischer asks a room full of kids "Is there anyone here who believes that God can do anything?" One woman pulls up the hand of the infant sitting in her lap and then reaches other to thrust her other child's hand in the air. I saw Jesus Camp the same week as 49Up -- the most recent installment of the British documentary series that's filmed a group of Britons at ages 7, 14 and so on, checking in every seven years to watch how they, and their world, have changed. It made me wonder what Levi, Tori and Rachael will be like -- and what their world will be like -- seven, fourteen, twenty-one years from now. Jesus Camp struck me immediately, has stuck with me, is making me question almost everything I think I know about faith and God and country; it's hard to imagine a more important -- or more human -- documentary being released this year.
(For more on Jesus Camp, check out Cinematical Editor Emeritus Karina Longworth's video interview with Ewing and Grady.)
Insert Caption: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian_thumbnail.jpg)
SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-29-2006 @ 1:36PM
Matt said...
I dont think its a question of Jesus or whatever, it's talkin about the crazies that take their belief to frightening levels and mindsets that may not always be correct. Not to mention they drive their children into it without any option...im gonna have to say, i cant stand those kind of people
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 2:06PM
matthew m. barnes said...
as a Christian, i'm very interested in seeing this film. i've been involved in a lot of Christian camps... and this sounds a bit different than the norm.
the biggest problem with films like this is that they lump Christians (or whatever group they're focusing on) into one large group. however, the fact is (just like Hindus or Muslims) there are those who are more radical and out there than others.
what it does sound like though is that you have people who have good hearts and mean well who have gone a bit too far. the problem is not with Jesus. the problem is with people follow Jesus but do things He would never have done.
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 3:10PM
akaison said...
why is there heart good? how do you know this? is it because they call themselves Christian? Is that all that is required to have a good heart? what evils can be committed so long as one has a good heart because they are christian? if this movie is as half as good as you say, if it captures this reality of moderen christianity (which is really a throw back to the bad days of christianity in that it rejects the enlightment), then I think its something that I need to see. The responses back some of the posters here point to me a core problem in modern christian thought. The unquestioning notion of what it means to be good? Does the conversation end with merely slapping on the label Christian like a trademarked brand that requires not additional analysis?
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 3:38PM
James said...
Why is Jesus Camp being described as a horror film? What exactly do you find so scary about kids following Jesus--someone who taught love for one another, and to stand up for what's right?
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 6:10PM
akaison said...
if they were talking about Jesus rather than the Christianist Right political agenda- I doubt there were would be any debate. For the record, being a Christian is neither a left or right discussion. I imagine that Sandra Day OConnor- who no one would call a liberal- is a Christian. I know I am from that background. The bizzarenss of your framing is that you pretend you , and only you, can say what is love or being good or what a Christian is. That's is what makes this discussion to dishonest. You use words that don't have their correct meaning when they come out of your mouth. What does love have to do with teaching kids to hate others? or what does your words such as 'doing the right' thing have to do with telling kids to hate. That many of you can not see the difference anymore is what is making America a horror movie. You walk around like zombies unable to think outside of silly buzz words which mean nothing. My evangelical friend who is liberal laughs a folks like you- he actually has studied stuff you claim to talk about. This is especially ironic in a week in which the Christian Right has endorsed torture for some of you to go come on here wondering why teaching children the same sort of mentality maybe seen as depraved.
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 7:17PM
michael said...
any ridiculous montheistic faith invites crazies - you have to reject science and good sense just to buy the premise! amongst a collection of crazies, there are of course SUPER CRAZIES, who will make the religion of their choice even more dangerous than it already was - for muslims, it's al-quaeda; for christians, it's evangelicals. considering the huge footprint of christianity (evangelical and otherwise) *within* the united states, i fail to see why they are not regarded as a terrorist organisation. i'm much, much more afraid of christians than i am of muslims, or any other wacky religion.
Reply
9-30-2006 @ 3:20AM
Richard said...
>>>The best horror film I've seen all year is a documentary.
Oh, please. Get off your melodramtic high horse. They're just some religious nuts, and the world has had them for thousands of years. Sounds like a silly movie. What next, follow some crazy homeless guy around so we can all act horrified at his behavior?
Reply
10-01-2006 @ 12:49AM
Matt said...
This was a really disturbing review - because of the reviewer's attitude. If someone's an athiest, aren't they going to raise their kids in a household that assumes there is no God? Why shouldn't Christians raise their kids in line with their beliefs? Just because something is alien to you, it does not necessarily mean it's wrong or insane. Who's being narrow-minded here?
Anyway, I'm a Christian and even I probably would have some bones to pick with a lot of the things in this documentary. I just think it's equally disgusting to treat these peoples' practices like they're some vile, evil rituals. You could do a lot worse than teaching kids to be Happy Sunshine Jesus Children.
Reply
10-02-2006 @ 12:20PM
duran said...
The issue isn't about being a christian, or not... its what you do with it.
The scary parts of the film are the parallels that the leaders of this camp and its movment have with radical fundementalist islamic groups, and other groups that take gods word as the way to run the govt.
The madrassas in which young muslim children are taught to hate and kill are not the problem with islamic fundentalism.
the jesus camp that this movie talks about, and its practices are not the problem.
its that people follow so blindly one single faith, and system of beliefs that they are unable to accept that they are a single person on this planet, and that everyone else here has the same rights to life and happiness as the rest.
the closed minds, and the devotion and hate you can gather from that to lead your cause is what is causing the problem, and how clearly visible it is, being seen in this movie, is what the scary part is.
There's nothing wrong with your faith, my faith, or anyones faith. its when it goes to the level of wanting to kill, hurt, and exclude others that it becomes wrong.
Reply
10-02-2006 @ 9:54PM
Tom said...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOIYsGVyg8M
Wow - they think Harry Potter is the devil!
Reply
10-03-2006 @ 4:21AM
Jamie said...
I havent seen it ,just clips from it, It sounds frightening, i am a christian but i dont believe poltitics and religion should meet. i am all for the seperation of church and state. Putting kids through ecstatic experiences and then programming them to vote Bush and militantly reject peoples choices where it conflicts with there own is BRAINWASHING. This sounds like jonestown or waco. Why do the evangelicals think that a guy who is admittedly part of secret organisations with thier own agenda and that go to pagan rituals at bohemian grove, dance naked before a 15ft owl and perform mock sacrifices, will lead them to some misinformed christian utopia based on poor theology and cut and paste interpretations of prophecy based on recent fiction by authors that have made predictions that time and again have failed-the mark of a "false prphet", is beyond me!! -wow did i get all that in one sentance? can't wait to see it! just hope people don't think that this is "What Jesus would do".
Reply
10-03-2006 @ 4:09PM
Thom said...
Saw the movie last night, and the film was the first thing I thought about this morning. It's very intense, but even-handed in its content and pacing. Found a clip from the movie that I found particularly unnerving. You can watch it here:http://www.iklipz.com/Movies.aspx?MovieID=3512f951-0ec6-4553-9dc4-4fb9d7367097.
Reply
10-07-2006 @ 4:00PM
coolmom said...
Actually, they shot over 370plus hours of footage, so it was a case of extreme patience on the filmmakers' part. Levi was not preparing for his first sermon, he has preached before.
And, Jamie (Oct3), these people are not "Putting kids through ecstatic experiences and then programming them to vote Bush and militantly reject peoples choices where it conflicts with there own is BRAINWASHING." There is no "militant" stuff going on. Have you seen the film? As a christian (your wording), watch it first, then judge.
And Duran (Oct 2)--these kids aren't taught hate--they are taught that there are two kinds of people in the world--those who love Jesus and those who don't and that both are worthy of dignity and respect by virtue of the fact that Jesus died for them.
Finally, what is wrong with wanting to raise your kids to make a positive difference in the world, to live their lives in such a way that people see their good works and glorify their Father in heaven?
Reply
10-07-2006 @ 10:33PM
timbo said...
This is the most thoughtful review of Jesus Camp I've read. I've personally seen the movie 3 times. I also know some of the kids in the movie personally. These are emotionally healthy, loving, fun-loving kids who talk to adults as easily as children. There is much about these kids, their families, and their experience to envy.
Reply
12-10-2006 @ 7:09PM
Jade said...
A nine year old proseltyzing in a bowling alley? That's not a horror movie, it's a comedy!! If you aren't familar with Chick tracts, they are filled with nothing but hatred and crudeness...what decent parent would give his or her child them to distribute to the general public? Matthew Barnes, please don't lump Hindus in with the Abrahamic religions. If you knew the most basic tenent of Hinduism it is that God is one, paths are many, meaning there is validity in all sincere faiths so Hindus have no need for radicalism.
Reply