Kevin Smith's earlier movies CLERKS and CHASING AMY each offer us an underlying moral/philosophical core. For instance, along with some wonderfully effective ribald humor, told through the story of slacker icons Dante and Randall, CLERKS manages to pose such questions - familiar to any who have set through a semester of Philosophy 101 - as "what is freedom?," "what is duty?," and "does man have an essential nature?." In addressing such universal questions through some rather particular characters and situations, Smith can perhaps be seen as a truly contemporary American version of the European auteur, i.e., a worthy successor to such trailblazers as Bunuel, Fellini, and in particular, Bergman (albeit, one with pee pee and caca jokes - though Fellini could also get rather lowbrow). If DOGMA, Smith's most ambitious film to date is any indication, his clear intelligence, honesty, and originality are such that he may eventually come to rank among the great directors in cinema history.
While not without its flaws, DOGMA is very much worth seeing (and thinking about afterward). In a nutshell, DOGMA tells the story of two fallen angels (played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) who have a plan to get back into heaven; the only catch is that in carrying it out, they would negate all existence. In order to stop them, a rather lapsed (though still ritualistic) Catholic (Linda Fiorentino) is summoned by God herself (Alanis Morrissette) via a heavenly messenger (Alan Rickman) to prevent the fallen pair from carrying out their plan. More help is offered to her by both Chris Rock as a wisecracking 13th apostle (who says of Christ (who here happens to be Black) "the nigger owes me money") and the ubiquitous (and scene stealing) Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself). Structured like a comic book action tale, DOGMA manages to offer both comedy and some rather thought provoking reflection along the way on the nature of faith in general and on faith via adherence to Catholicism in particular.
Not all of the comedy works; some of the humor feels a bit strained; but when the movie is funny, it is very funny indeed (including in both the opening credits and in a much deserved and not altogether veiled attack on the hypocrisy of the Disney corporation (which cowardly refused to distribute this film)). Fans of Smith's earlier works will also appreciate the occasional references back to these. At times, the story line became somewhat infocused. In general, however, the focus was there.
As far as being an intelligent reflection on faith, I believe that this comes directly from Kevin Smith the person, a person who sees both the good and the elements of absurdity of organized religion.
While not without its flaws, DOGMA is very much worth seeing (and thinking about afterward). In a nutshell, DOGMA tells the story of two fallen angels (played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) who have a plan to get back into heaven; the only catch is that in carrying it out, they would negate all existence. In order to stop them, a rather lapsed (though still ritualistic) Catholic (Linda Fiorentino) is summoned by God herself (Alanis Morrissette) via a heavenly messenger (Alan Rickman) to prevent the fallen pair from carrying out their plan. More help is offered to her by both Chris Rock as a wisecracking 13th apostle (who says of Christ (who here happens to be Black) "the nigger owes me money") and the ubiquitous (and scene stealing) Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself). Structured like a comic book action tale, DOGMA manages to offer both comedy and some rather thought provoking reflection along the way on the nature of faith in general and on faith via adherence to Catholicism in particular.
Not all of the comedy works; some of the humor feels a bit strained; but when the movie is funny, it is very funny indeed (including in both the opening credits and in a much deserved and not altogether veiled attack on the hypocrisy of the Disney corporation (which cowardly refused to distribute this film)). Fans of Smith's earlier works will also appreciate the occasional references back to these. At times, the story line became somewhat infocused. In general, however, the focus was there.
As far as being an intelligent reflection on faith, I believe that this comes directly from Kevin Smith the person, a person who sees both the good and the elements of absurdity of organized religion.