Okay, so this is definitely not a movie reviewing blog but I watched The Book of Eli last night for the first time and all I can say is WOW.. Before I go any further I want to explain that I am not that guy you see at the movie store wearing my old Star Wars T-shirt with nappy curly hair asking the guy behind the counter what his favorite sci-fi movie is while picking popcorn from my teeth. This movie really made me say wow and that is odd for me to be that impressed with a movie. Maybe it is due to me trying to better follow the bible myself and really concentrating on doing what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I knew that the Netflix movie was going to be in my mailbox so I walked out to check it and there it was. When I unwrapped it and read the movie description I was not sure how much I would like it since they seem to highlight this movie as some action packed sci-fi movie about living with nothing and protecting a book, but the baby is down and it would be a good time to kick back and watch a movie so that is exactly what we did.
When the movie started I was still a little unsure due to the dark opening and lack of dialogue but I then started to pick up on all the bible references and the actual depth that this movie holds. Are you kidding me, did I just hear Denzel Washington recite Genesis 3:19 in that scene? Did he really just teach her to walk by faith and not sight even when it doesn’t always make sense? The answer is yes to both of these questions and I was shocked. The other things that I noticed that may just be coincidence were that in most cases in the bible when you are the guard of a prisoner and they escape or get out on your watch you were murdered and that is what happened in this movie, Like in so many places in the Bible the guards would be shocked to find that the prisoners were gone and they do not know how and this happened with Eli and in the same fashion the guard says, ” I don’t know were he has gone, he was in there all night” and guess what, he was shot on the spot.
To go even further with the bible references In the movie you end up finding out that Eli was blind as is the biblical Eli in 1 Samuel. Again my mind was running wild when watching this movie, the symbolism and meanings that I took from it are far beyond the similarities I have mentioned, let me run them down for you.
Once Carnegie realizes that Eli has “The Book” which we later find out is the New King James Version of the Bible, he goes on a rampage to get it. From the character building in the beginning of the movie is seems like there may be a glimmer of hope and that he wants it to help rebuild the city and make it a better place to live BUT later he makes this statement,”it is a weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. It will give us control of them. If we want to rule more than one small town, we have to have it. People will come from all over, they’ll do exactly what I tell ’em if the words are from the book. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. All we need is that book.” I head that quote and my mind decoded it in to something larger. It is largely said today that people do not like religion or church for reasons like this, They are taking advantage of you… All they want is money… They use god to scare you… And what I heard was exactly that. Carnegie was that stereotype. Also later on Solara and Eli had a conversation about “The Book” when he had given it up to Carnegie.
Solara: I didn’t think you’d ever give up the book, I thought it was too important to you
Eli: It was, I was carrying and reading it everyday, got so caught up in protecting it, I forgot to live by what I’d learnt from it
Solara: And what’s that?
Eli: To do more for others than you do for yourself
This was a great part of the movie, because to me what he was saying was pretty plain and simple. He was concentrating on the book as a physical item and not the teachings of it. Solara was never exposed to the bible or any of the world before the flash that they continually speak of and Eli throughout the movie shows her what faith is and explains to her how he is doing what god had asked him to do.
Maybe I am really over thinking this movie and digging way to deep under the surface but this movie is actually pretty loaded with meaning and it ends with Eli Praying after completing his task of taking The Bible to the West. I will put the prayer that Eli prayed at the end here and you can put your own interpretation to it but again, it is loaded with meaning and I thought was a great way to end this movie. If only we all lived our lives like this fictional character Eli.
Eli’s Final Words/Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I’m so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I’m so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace. Knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.
Raymond
All Things Raymond 