Themes: Spiritual Awakening, Priceless Artifacts and Prized Objects, Obsessive Quests
Main Cast: Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, Sarah Wayne Callies, Annabeth Gish, Hector Elizondo, Joaquim de Almeida
Release Year: 2005
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The prophecy of a worldwide spiritual awakening gradually begins to come into focus in director Armand Mastroianni and screenwriters James Redfield, Barnet Bain, and Dan Gordon's sweeping adaptation of James Redfield's best-selling novel. John Woodson (Matthew Settle) was a high-school history teacher before the loss of his job left him disillusioned and facing an uncertain future. When John is contacted by ex-girlfriend and journalist Charlene (Robyn Cohen), who is currently in town on a brief layover after covering a story in Peru, the pair arrange to meet for dinner and Charlene explains that she has just returned from a remote Eden known as Viciente, where scholars are currently studying a mysterious set of eight ancient scrolls. It was there, continues Charlene, that she came into contact with a priest named Father Jose, who explained to her that the scrolls contain a prophesy written before the birth of Christ and foretell a coming time of enlightenment that will redefine life in the 21st century. Though at first skeptical, John is compelled to book a flight to Peru when Charlene states that she appears to have been drawn to him by a higher power, and a travel brochure on Peru appears in his mailbox the following day. A subsequent encounter with a professor who is also on John's flight and has been studying the scrolls reveals that the scrolls were written in 5 or 6 B.C. and buried in a wooden box that was assembled in the 1600s. Though there was, according to legend, a ninth scroll, it has yet to be recovered. A late-night stroll on the streets of Lima soon leads John into the company of Father Jose, who later disappears after a frightening encounter in which a high-ranking operative holds the priest at gunpoint while insisting that he reveal the location of the lost scroll. Later led to Viciente by the guide who was with Father Jose when the cleric discovered the scrolls, John is haunted by dreams of a remote paradise and a young child, setting into motion a spectacular series of events that will ultimately culminate in a transformation of light that promises to reveal the future of humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Jürgen Prochnow - Jensen; Obba Babatunde - Miguel; Robyn Cohen - Charlene; John Aylward - Prof. Dobson; Castulo Guerra - Father Jose
Credit
Andrea Stone - Casting, Suzy Freeman - Costume Designer, Carl Lawrence Ludwig - First Assistant Director, Armand Mastroianni - Director, Maysie Hoy - Editor, Salle Merrill Redfield - Executive Producer, Nuno Malo - Composer (Music Score), James L. Schoppe - Production Designer, R. Michael Givens - Cinematographer, Beverly J. Camhe - Producer, Terry Collis - Producer, Barnet Bain - Producer, James Redfield - Producer, Trip Brock - Sound/Sound Designer, Dan Gordon - Screenwriter, Barnet Bain - Screenwriter, James Redfield - Screenwriter, Vera Mills - Set Decorator, James Redfield - Book Author
Due to the fact that The Celestine Prophecy novel sold over 23 million copies[1] since its publication in 1993 and has thus become one of the best-selling books of all time, Redfield had expected the film to be a success.[2] However, the film was almost universally panned by critics and was a box office failure with a total worldwide gross of less than $1 million.[3] As of September 30, 2008, the aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes registered only one positive review out of a total of 23 which gives the film a rating of 4%.[4] As of the same date, Metacritic, another aggregate review website registered a score of 23 out of 100 based on 10 reviews.[5] Film critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "clumsy -- not merely unconventional but awkward in its narrative development and dialogue", also adding that the "characters are sketched in shallow terms".[6] In his top ten list of the worst films of 2006, LaSalle called it a "misbegotten film, an awkward, undramatic effort" and named it as number three on the list.[7] Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times said "the movie is flatly acted and extremely ill-paced, lacking any sense of urgency, momentum or fun".[8]
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