Overall, I think that they are doing a very good and respectable job with this film. I like how they started it out with the assasination attempt and then made the rest of the first part basically a flashback of his life passing before him while in surgery. Nice job at connecting it all up very well and providing the opportunity to place things in a context to which people can relate. I really do appreciate them taking so much time on his early life. Something which is so critical to appreciating who he is. That said, I also found what they are doing to be a little disjointed. It seems that they are trying to squeeze a lot of things into the picture, higlights essentially, but this somewhat makes the overall flow of a storyline more difficult as they are basically jumping from vinette to vinette, while trying to piece everything together somehow. As such, there is a certain depth in plot and perhaps character development which I find wanting. Some things, therefore, come off as a bit khitchy. I also wonder of they are not in some ways painting him as overly naive as a young man or, on the other hand, making him out to be too easy of a hero absent very real personal struggles more than what they show. Yes, they touch on difficult times, but it is almost like he just passs over these things and moves onto the next, without any real hard human toil. Somebody tells him, “Get it together,” and he magically does. Perhaps this is the price we have to pay for keeping the story moving. Artistic license. But, all things considered, I’ll definietly take it. The film isn’t exactly the height of good scriptwriting and filmmaking, but it is a well done tribute and sketch biography to one of the most signifigant people of our time.
Speaking of time, I got a chuckle out of his apparent “running late” which they implied was a regular trait of his. “Wotyja Standard Time” he joked, pointing to his watch. True? Interesting, if so, and possibly a worthwhile lesson for us in our exacting culture. I was also impressed by the mention of his “Theology of the Body” in those early moments.
