I watched a great movie with Adam this afternoon. We have watched it before and I felt the same way the last time as I did today. This movie has a such a wondeful message for fathers and children especially. It 's called TALL TALE and stars Patrick Swayze and Oliver Platt. It is about the coming of the railroad to the prarie in the late 1800's.
Daniel listens to his father tell him the tall tales that the American west was known for.( Do they still teach about these in school today? I remember loving Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and Babe,his big blue ox, and John Henry. The point of tall tales is the the more outrageous they are, the better they are.)
Daniel seems to have little patience for the stories his father tells him. He is becoming a young man and restless for more than the farm.
The railroad is coming into their territory and buying up all the land they can, pushing farmers off their property.Daniel's father will have none of it. He stands firm and says he will not sell at any price and tells Daniel about the value of the land.
He has taught his son the Code of the West: Respect the Land. Defend the Defenseless. Don't never spit in front of women or children. As he recites The Code once again, he immediately spits and so does Daniel. The boy is a child no longer.
The story continues with a tragedy and the boy seeking to protect what belongs to his family. He meets Pecos Bill, who rescues him from many dangers, and along the way introduces him to John Henry and then Paul Bunyan and Blue.
I will spoil the end of the picture even though I hope you will watch it because there is a very powerful message hidden in a movie no one ever heard about.
The boy returns home to find the railroad pushing through his homeland, emerging through a mountain tunnel. He makes a stand and does so in the middle of the tracks, and stands his ground in spite of the enemy trying to run him over. He puts his hand against the cow catcher on the front of the train and pushes back with all his strength and stops the train from moving. He suddenly has superhuman strength. And just as suddenly, John Henry appears to help him. So do Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan. They overcome. But the enemy makes a last attempt to defeat the boy. He tells him that he might win for now, but that he will keep coming. He will never give up. Daniel stands up to his full height and screams, "NOT THROUGH OUR LAND!!!" And the tunnel collapses on them both.
The townspeople, who have been watching and then helping at the last minute, hold their breath as they wait to see what will happen next. Daniel emerges in a cloud of dust and dirt; the tunnel is completely sealed. The crowd goes crazy, cheering and clapping and jumping up and down.
There is such a wonderful message here about standing your ground, even when the enemy is huge and fierce. Something so powerful about not giving up in the face of fear.
The movie ends with the three legendary heroes suddenly coming to Daniel's home to say goodbye to him, and his father sees them. When Daniel told his parents about meeting these men, they had humored him and told him he had been dreaming.
Pecos Bill is the last to leave, and the father sees him speaking with Daniel. Pecos allows the boy to take a ride on his horse, Widowmaker, who cannot be ridden by anyone but his owner. The boy can't believe that this is happening, and climbs on, taking off across the fields at a gallop. A cyclone appears, and Pecos Bill ropes the cyclone(which is his mode of transportation in many of the tales about him) and jumps aboard, leaving Widowmaker behind. Daniel calls to him to come back, but he goes on his way spouting a stream of legendary exploits. The horse now belongs to the boy. The father is amazed at what he sees, but turns back to the house to leave Daniel in his own place of wonderment.
As I watched this movie, I saw some wonderful biblical themes.
There is the dream of the father that he desires to pass on to his son, but the son does not want the same things. He longs for the excitement of the world.
The father tries to pass on stories of the exploits of those who have gone on before, but the son is too sophisticated to value these things. He leaves and learns amazing things while he's gone, and values things his father holds dear when he returns.
The final scenes reminded me so much of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha knows that Elijah will be taken this very day, and will not leave him. Elijah tries to get Elisha to remain behind, but he refuses. Twice. Elijah asks what he can do before he leaves, and Elisha replies that he wants to inherit a double portion of Elijah's spirit.
"You have asked a difficult thing...yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours..." The story continues with Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, and his cloak being left behind. The LORD honors Elisha's request; the story in written in 1Kings2:1ff.
In our tall tale, the boy is Elisha and the The Widowmaker is the mantle. Pecos Bill leaves in a whirlwind just like Elijah did, and leaves behind somehing of great value. We can only imagine the mighty acts of courage that follow this young man for the rest of his days.
I love this movie. I recommend it to everyone who has children or grandchildren, and everyone who is not afraid to watch kid movies when there are no kids around. It moves me when I see it, and it makes me think. Even if you don't see what I see, you will enjoy the story of victory over the oppressor.
I love that God stops by in regular old flicks and talks to me. He says in His word that He works all things for good for those who love Him. He did again today.
If you can't find the movie I will be happy to lend it to you. That is if I'm not watching it when you ask.
Daniel listens to his father tell him the tall tales that the American west was known for.( Do they still teach about these in school today? I remember loving Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and Babe,his big blue ox, and John Henry. The point of tall tales is the the more outrageous they are, the better they are.)
Daniel seems to have little patience for the stories his father tells him. He is becoming a young man and restless for more than the farm.
The railroad is coming into their territory and buying up all the land they can, pushing farmers off their property.Daniel's father will have none of it. He stands firm and says he will not sell at any price and tells Daniel about the value of the land.
He has taught his son the Code of the West: Respect the Land. Defend the Defenseless. Don't never spit in front of women or children. As he recites The Code once again, he immediately spits and so does Daniel. The boy is a child no longer.
The story continues with a tragedy and the boy seeking to protect what belongs to his family. He meets Pecos Bill, who rescues him from many dangers, and along the way introduces him to John Henry and then Paul Bunyan and Blue.
I will spoil the end of the picture even though I hope you will watch it because there is a very powerful message hidden in a movie no one ever heard about.
The boy returns home to find the railroad pushing through his homeland, emerging through a mountain tunnel. He makes a stand and does so in the middle of the tracks, and stands his ground in spite of the enemy trying to run him over. He puts his hand against the cow catcher on the front of the train and pushes back with all his strength and stops the train from moving. He suddenly has superhuman strength. And just as suddenly, John Henry appears to help him. So do Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan. They overcome. But the enemy makes a last attempt to defeat the boy. He tells him that he might win for now, but that he will keep coming. He will never give up. Daniel stands up to his full height and screams, "NOT THROUGH OUR LAND!!!" And the tunnel collapses on them both.
The townspeople, who have been watching and then helping at the last minute, hold their breath as they wait to see what will happen next. Daniel emerges in a cloud of dust and dirt; the tunnel is completely sealed. The crowd goes crazy, cheering and clapping and jumping up and down.
There is such a wonderful message here about standing your ground, even when the enemy is huge and fierce. Something so powerful about not giving up in the face of fear.
The movie ends with the three legendary heroes suddenly coming to Daniel's home to say goodbye to him, and his father sees them. When Daniel told his parents about meeting these men, they had humored him and told him he had been dreaming.
Pecos Bill is the last to leave, and the father sees him speaking with Daniel. Pecos allows the boy to take a ride on his horse, Widowmaker, who cannot be ridden by anyone but his owner. The boy can't believe that this is happening, and climbs on, taking off across the fields at a gallop. A cyclone appears, and Pecos Bill ropes the cyclone(which is his mode of transportation in many of the tales about him) and jumps aboard, leaving Widowmaker behind. Daniel calls to him to come back, but he goes on his way spouting a stream of legendary exploits. The horse now belongs to the boy. The father is amazed at what he sees, but turns back to the house to leave Daniel in his own place of wonderment.
As I watched this movie, I saw some wonderful biblical themes.
There is the dream of the father that he desires to pass on to his son, but the son does not want the same things. He longs for the excitement of the world.
The father tries to pass on stories of the exploits of those who have gone on before, but the son is too sophisticated to value these things. He leaves and learns amazing things while he's gone, and values things his father holds dear when he returns.
The final scenes reminded me so much of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha knows that Elijah will be taken this very day, and will not leave him. Elijah tries to get Elisha to remain behind, but he refuses. Twice. Elijah asks what he can do before he leaves, and Elisha replies that he wants to inherit a double portion of Elijah's spirit.
"You have asked a difficult thing...yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours..." The story continues with Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, and his cloak being left behind. The LORD honors Elisha's request; the story in written in 1Kings2:1ff.
In our tall tale, the boy is Elisha and the The Widowmaker is the mantle. Pecos Bill leaves in a whirlwind just like Elijah did, and leaves behind somehing of great value. We can only imagine the mighty acts of courage that follow this young man for the rest of his days.
I love this movie. I recommend it to everyone who has children or grandchildren, and everyone who is not afraid to watch kid movies when there are no kids around. It moves me when I see it, and it makes me think. Even if you don't see what I see, you will enjoy the story of victory over the oppressor.
I love that God stops by in regular old flicks and talks to me. He says in His word that He works all things for good for those who love Him. He did again today.
If you can't find the movie I will be happy to lend it to you. That is if I'm not watching it when you ask.
2 comments:
That is so cool, Ginnie! I love to see movies through God's perspective. Thanks for sharing it, even though I would love to see it myself. What was it called again?
Tall Tale. got it for 5 bucks at Walmart. Just had to dig thru the bin. :0}
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