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Laramie Movie Scope:
Lost Souls

Another one of those apocalyptic things

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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May 1, 2001 -- "Lost Souls" is another one of those tales of the antichrist, a figure of Biblical prophesy having to do with Armageddon, a final battle of good and evil. There have been a number of these kinds of films in recent years, such as "End of Days," "The Devil's Advocate," and "The Omega Code." Neumerological mania caused by the end of the millenium seems to be responsible for this rash of generally substandard films.

"Lost Souls" is one of those films that did not come to a theater here, so I rented the DVD when it became available, just to see what all the fuss was about. The film is visually interesting to look at. It reminded me of "Get Carter," a film noir-type detective movie that came out last year. "Get Carter" used a special developing process called bleach by-pass. "Lost Souls" achieved a similar look using CCE bleaching in the film developing process. This gives the color film a look something like a black and white film. First-time director, Janusz Kaminski, a well-known cinematographer, was very focused on the images of the film, perhaps at the cost of such things as story and character development.

Listening to Kaminski's and and cinematographer Mauro Fiore (who was the DP on "Get Carter") on the DVD, you will get a good idea of the camera setups, film processing decisions and other image-related topics, but not much about the plot or the acting. For instance, Kaminski mentions that he loves shooting rooms full of priests because he loves those black robes they wear. He also likes the rituals of the church. One of the rituals performed is an exorcism. But don't think you are getting anything like the quality of "The Exorcist" in "Lost Souls."

The story starts with Maya Larkin (played by Winona Ryder of "Girl, Interrupted") being invited to participate in an exorcism of a mental patient over the objections of the patient's doctor (Alfre Woodard). Larkin finds a coded message in the patient's room which leads her to Peter Kelson (Ben Chaplin of "The Thin Red Line"), the suspected antichrist. The two then dance around the subject of what to do about this situation until the end of the film.

The situation is awkward because Kelson, at first, doesn't seem like a bad guy. It would make more sense if Kelson was evil to begin with. Evil isn't something you catch, like a cold. It is something you become by the choices you make. In this story Kelson is supposed to become evil because of a prophecy, not because of any choices he makes. It is an odd combination of free will and determinism, to say the least. The story also savages the Catholic Church for no good reason. It would seem that if you are going to present a story based on Biblical prophecy it would be more believable if you didn't try to trash the church at the same time. You end up with a story supposedly based on Christian doctrine which makes no doctrinal sense. You have the black robes and some rituals, mere appearances for the sake of the camera, without the substance of the Christian faith. This film rates a D+.

There have been a number of films on similar subjects, the most notable being "The Exorcist." Another film from a number of years ago was "The Omen," which wasn't really a good film, but it was very inventive in the way characters were killed. "The Omen" was followed by some sequels, none of which were good. One of these kinds of films which actually does justice to the Christian faith is "Bless the Child." Another is "The Omega Code," but it isn't as good a film as Bless the Child. A really wild film on this subject is "The Rapture." The DVD I watched has a picture aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Soundtracks include Dolby(TM) Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 surround and Dolby Digital 2.0. In addition to the commentary on the film by the director and DP, some scenes deleted from the film are also available on the DVD, along with other features.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in VHS and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2001 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)