Afterlife fantasies from Dante’s
Divine Comedy to Pixar’s
Soul have always been a unique way to look at society. In this short series, I’ll be looking at the film tradition of afterlife fantasies, and discussing the recurring themes and imagery across a century of cinema.
Last time I set sail with
Outward Bound and
Between Two Worlds, two films that followed a group of souls on a journey between life and death. Today I’m wrestling with four interrelated films, three starring a personification of Death, and one starring…the Devil!
Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Angel on My Shoulder, Heaven Can Wait, and
What lies beyond the grave? Human cultures across space and time have imagined many kinds of afterlives, from the attenuated shades of Hades to the lush paradise of the Islamic Jannah to the merger with the infinite anticipated by mystics. From a theological perspective, it’s not the descriptive details that matter but rather the functions played by these portrayals. What we expect to happen after we die affects how we choose to live.
In other words, most concepts of the afterlife are really all about this life. (What isn’t?) Despite the infinite horizon of eternity, which from a quantitative standpoint shrinks our earthly threescore-and-ten into insignificance, almost all popular images of immortality hang from the framework of our brief mortal lives. Perhaps our ultimate destination is determined by our deeds or moral standing: the compensatory afterlife, wherein just deserts possibly denied or escaped during life are executed eternally in heaven or hell. Or the reverse: the w
7 movies that do the same things Wonder Woman 1984 does, but better
By The Washington Post
By Michael Cavna Wonder Woman 1984 landed on December 16 like a holiday turkducken - a 2½-hour concoction made of many disparate parts that isn t to everyone s taste.
Some critics welcome Patty Jenkins s sequel feast, with the Los Angeles Times calling it extravagant and genially overstuffed.
Other viewers were completely let down by all that dressing, with one civilian commenter on Rotten Tomatoes writing: It felt like they tried to jam 3 or 4 stories into one movie but didn t give any of them time to develop.
Warner Bros. and DC Films just gave the green light to a third Wonder Woman after positive early box-office and HBO Max streaming returns - pandemic-scaled numbers that offset less influential metrics, such as the so-so audience score (72 percent fresh) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Seven movies that do the same things Wonder Woman 1984 does, but better
By Michael Cavna
Normal text size
Advertisement
Wonder Woman 1984 landed on Christmas Day like a holiday turducken - a 2½-hour concoction made of many disparate parts that isn t to everyone s taste.
Some critics welcome Patty Jenkins sequel feast, with the
Los Angeles Times calling it extravagant and genially overstuffed . Other viewers were completely let down by all that dressing, with one civilian commenter on Rotten Tomatoes writing: It felt like they tried to jam three or four stories into one movie but didn t give any of them time to develop.
'Wonder Woman 1984' alternatives: 7 movies to watch that do the same things, but better washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.