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Constantine's Sword

At once depressing and exhilarating
By ROB NELSON  |  May 28, 2008
3.5 3.5 Stars
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Constantine's Sword

Scarier than Jesus Camp (and infinitely smarter), Oren Jacoby’s documentary film of Boston Globe columnist James Carroll’s 2001 book Constantine’s Sword casts Christianity as a lost ark raided by the worst bullies of history — from the title Roman emperor to both Bush presidents. It’s a film at once depressing and exhilarating — the latter for its mission to weaken anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic violence, and to reverse the US merger of church and state, by illuminating the sources. Carroll, a former priest, leads us on a tour of places where the Gospel has been read as a call to arms — from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado to Auschwitz and Rome. Although the film is necessarily talky even without approximating the detail in Carroll’s book, the vibrant cinematography by Bob Richman (My Architect) — combined with clips from Hollywood classics, religious and otherwise — keeps this philosophical and intellectual exercise visually compelling from moment to moment. 93 minutes | Coolidge Corner
Related: Die Große Stille|Into Great Silence, Zoo, Crash victim?, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Culture and Lifestyle, Documentary Films, Entertainment,  More more >
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ARTICLES BY ROB NELSON
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  •   CONSTANTINE'S SWORD  |  May 28, 2008
    At once depressing and exhilarating
  •   SON OF RAMBOW  |  May 07, 2008
    A pint-sized Be Kind Rewind
  •   MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS  |  April 16, 2008
    Sexy but emotionally failing
  •   IRANIAN CHICK  |  January 10, 2008
    An interview with Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi
  •   HE’S HERE!  |  November 20, 2007
    Todd Haynes talks about his Dylan movie

 See all articles by: ROB NELSON

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