cappie Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) I finally watched Desire of the Everlasting Hills, a recent hour-long film that’s gotten a lot of attention in our circles of late. It tells the stories of three Catholics who, at least at one time, understood themselves to be homosexual but now, in light of their return to the Church… well, you’ll just have to watch it and see how unpredictable and multi-layered their narratives are. AsEve Tushnet has pointed out, these are by no means simple “ex-gay†stories, but nor, I think, are they exactly the sort of stories we often highlight on this blog. I thought I had heard most everything in our little gay Christian world, but this movie surprised me. http://spiritualfriendship.org/2014/08/06/how-to-narrate-complexity/ Wesley Hill Recently, Wesley Hill posted some wonderful thoughts here about the film Desire of the Everlasting Hills. It is a captivating documentary about three Christians who either return or convert to Catholic Christianity, leaving behind active homosexual lifestyles. There are so many wonderful takeaways, many of which Wes highlights quite well. But I want to focus on one aspect of their stories that struck me as particularly powerful: sacrificial love. http://spiritualfriendship.org/2014/08/10/love-true-love-wherever-it-exists/ Nick Roen Edited August 12, 2014 by cappie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefebvre Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Interesting. Seeing as I find the premise of homosexuality and homosexual attraction being a choice/lifestyle over a biological factor to be silly, and that is an idea this film seems to be comfortable with, I'm not sure I'll watch it. I have nothing but respect for those homosexuals who are faithful to Church teachings on celibacy and abstain however. That is surely a most difficult road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not The Philosopher Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Interesting. Seeing as I find the premise of homosexuality and homosexual attraction being a choice/lifestyle over a biological factor to be silly, and that is an idea this film seems to be comfortable with, I'm not sure I'll watch it. I have nothing but respect for those homosexuals who are faithful to Church teachings on celibacy and abstain however. That is surely a most difficult road. It's not an ex-gay movie, if that's what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starets Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 it sounds like a fascinating movie but I am not sure it would be appropriate for our weekly community movie nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I appreciated it for what it was. There were a couple of suggestive moments which it wouldn't be right for everyone to hear, but I wouldn't say it was Explicit. What I was pleasantly surprised by was that it let the three people tell their very different, yet very similar stories at length, and I think that's where its power came from. However, I was left wondering, who was this film directed at? Practising Catholics who want to know more about homosexuality? Other people who come back to Catholicism after time away? It seemed to end very suddenly for me - though movingly - with them saying 'my life is so much better now I'm celibate; the end'. Don't think it ONLY said that but I was left wanting to know more than it offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 I have family members with this issue, so I was curious to watch the film. I was really shocked by how inappropriate some of the content was. I wish it had been handled more delicately. Perhaps I'm just not used to this subject matter, but I felt the video should have held a warning of mature content. I don't see how the part you specifically took issue with was graphic at all. It was her describing her shock at two identical twins being with each other sexually. That's a shocking thing, but it's not like she described it in detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedictus Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I don't see how the part you specifically took issue with was graphic at all. It was her describing her shock at two identical twins being with each other sexually. That's a shocking thing, but it's not like she described it in detail. I was going to flick through this, but Incest? :eek: :sad: I think I'll give it a miss. Glad at least some of them are now happier (closer to God, true happiness :dance:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCuT Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I liked it. I liked how they portrayed the people as humans and not a disease. In fact, the right/wrong stuff never even came up. It was just "This is me, these are my experiences and I love my faith." The end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristianGirlForever Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Yes, Crosscut, I thought it was beautiful how they showed the quote from Pope Benedict at the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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