DVD The Encounter

So I looked at the New arrivals on Netflix and saw the title. I thought it was maybe a horror movie so I loaded it and waited but what I got was a really really good movie that touched me and made me feel good and wanting to be better. It's a movie that needs to be on TV, Hulu, and anywhere possible. I enjoyed it and I do believe in God and Jesus and not ashamed to say it. I do not go to church weekly but I have him in my heart and my family believes in him.

Many out there will make negative comments about this movie and that is there right but it is also my right to praise the movie and the message it gives to all. Too much hate goes on in the world and this movie reminds you whether you like it or not that there is good if we can find it in ourselves to make it good. I hope you will give it a chance I think you will be surprised if you believe and maybe if you don't you will be touched.

…if so, it's an interesting little piece.

First things first though: It's shot on video, the production values aren't great, but there's some nice interior shots when we're introduced to the diner, and some good use of lighting (though for the most part it's a little bright – yet that may be intentional on the director's part, in an attempt to convey an atmosphere of honesty and truth being shone on each character's circumstances).

The dialogue roams between realistic conversation and very formalised speech, never quite settling in one place – which has the unfortunate effect of reminding the audience that we are watching a film, but we are usually brought back into the suspension of disbelief in the next moment, so there's a general flow to the story.

The premise is simple; several strangers meet in a 'last chance diner' where a mysterious and all-knowing owner talks to them about their lives – a theme that could easily have been ripped straight from 'The Twilight Zone', which the dialogue acknowledges with a knowing nod. And any fan of that series can pretty much guess at a lot of what happens.

So this is where we get to the actual 'message' of the film, which seems to be not only an evangelistic tool but also a meditation for actual Christians, because it not only looks at those outside the flock, but also spends some time addressing believers – and the themes it touches on range from dysfunctional marriage, infidelity, abortion, child abuse, and addiction all the way to mass genocide in the Old Testament – and when I say 'touches on', I mean it – there's a very light touch given to each of these questions, for which some might accuse the work as being over-simplistic.

Yet the fact that the director has chosen to cover them at all, is to his credit – all of them quandaries in which the Church has been in debate with secular society for many years.

And in recognising that his audience will range from young teens to mature adults, he has attempted to give answers to all these questions as gently as an apologist may – so that everyone who watches his film will have some measure of satisfaction no matter how delicate or jaded their sensibilities are.

This is to be especially felt within the arguments one of the more troubled characters have with *SPOILER* Jesus (for yes, it is he – a fact that's made clear a little too soon into the film), for this more harried soul has much to contend with God about, being a survivor of abuse and suicidal depression. Not to mention the interesting dynamic between a self-proclaimed 'self-made' man who credits all his achievement to pride.

But at this, I'll have to refrain from much more detail lest I spoil some of the story, save to say that I think this film is worth watching, if only for the insight into how Christians think about the world and what they believe God wants you to know about.

This is by no means a perfect film, but it's fascinating for all of the above reasons, so I recommend you take a look.