Constant Gardener

I just watched The Constant Gardener last night, and really enjoyed it. Not in the happy way (it's very sad), but in the compelling way.

When I think of Africa, a few feelings rush over me. One is just joy. Such contentment and family and joy and color cover the continent. It is such a beautiful and hopeful culture.

But the next is... not so much sadness, as just stress and tension and anxiety. You have the heat, the chaos, the poverty, the disease, the unemployment, the lack of access to basic things like clean water and medical care and education. There's also a high level of corruption and distrust. And it's unfamiliar to me, which makes it somewhat scary (like anything unfamiliar). When I think of Africa, my body literally tenses up, overwhelmed by great need and even greater confusion.

This movie is about the intersection of economic interest and the value of human life. More specifically it's about a woman who undercovered a gigantic pharmaceutical conspiracy that was killing Africans.

I was about to say it's a little empty because there's not much redemption in the movie... not much mention of God. But then I realize I have to ask myself, where was God in that movie? Where did I see Him/Her? (It's a Both/And not an Either/Or, by the way!)

I saw Him in the truth-seeking of the husband. He tried to understand her heart by seeking and searching along her path. Pursuing truth out of love for someone... that is God, right? Of God.

I saw Him in the innocence of the children, in the joy of simple gift-giving (in an early scene), in the longing for adventure, in the affection and committed love.

But it's a way complex world. You know, a lot of people who were involved in the act of evil in this movie, they were all directly responsible, but they all played just a little part into it. What corporate evil I am also furthering?

It was a compelling movie, I'll leave it at that. Can't believe Drew thought it was boring. Sheesh...
So, PS. I totally thought that was Kate Winslet in the movie the whole time. Ha! That girl looks so much like her, I think.