The observation that Shaker prayer was essentially modern-day raving is spot on, the communal dissolution of self through physical movement rather than verbal expression. What I find interesting is the contradiction you mention where the movie stripped away the craftsmanship angle even though work was literaly a form of prayer for them. The choreography translating their breathwork into something visceral probably carried more of their actual spiritual experience than all the voiceover exposition combined.
You definitely found another calling as an excellent movie critic. Based on your description, it sounds like I would've been a very happy participant in the shaker prayer/rave.
Sounds like there is a good movie somewhere within this bad one. All the themes mentioned—the sexual repression merged with eroticism, the dissolution of self in community—are themes I like to see explored in cinema. I might give it a shot as it sounds like there are at least a few worthwhile scenes.
The observation that Shaker prayer was essentially modern-day raving is spot on, the communal dissolution of self through physical movement rather than verbal expression. What I find interesting is the contradiction you mention where the movie stripped away the craftsmanship angle even though work was literaly a form of prayer for them. The choreography translating their breathwork into something visceral probably carried more of their actual spiritual experience than all the voiceover exposition combined.
You definitely found another calling as an excellent movie critic. Based on your description, it sounds like I would've been a very happy participant in the shaker prayer/rave.
Sounds like there is a good movie somewhere within this bad one. All the themes mentioned—the sexual repression merged with eroticism, the dissolution of self in community—are themes I like to see explored in cinema. I might give it a shot as it sounds like there are at least a few worthwhile scenes.
100% agree it had a lot of potential. Curious what you’d think. I’m not a big musical fan, so I’m a bit biased in that way.