This page was created on April 14, 2005
This page was last updated on April 14, 2005

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

What makes the film powerful though is not so much the plot itself, but the mythic quality that it evokes. Myths are stories that are true. They may or may not be factual, but we value them because they teach us the truth. We know they are true because we know when we hear or see the stories that we are seeing what life is really like. The Ballad of Jack and Rose is that kind of story. It may be a bit extreme, but it is certainly the truth about what it means to be innocent and to lose that sense of innocence that comes with new knowledge. Hence the hints about Eden – an important story about innocence and its loss.

The whole idea of the now dead commune reminds us of the death of idealism and the naïveté of the sixties. Jack is the last vestige of that time, and now he is dying. He keeps trying to fight for those convictions, but we know that the time has long passed.

The story builds to what we expect to be a serious exclamation point, but instead we get a somewhat welcome, if not quite satisfying question mark. There is, though, a wordless post script that adds a touch of hope to the film.

Even with its flaws The Ballad of Jack and Rose is a strong story that lets us consider our own struggles between our innocence and a more worldly knowledge.

I will not post these comments. I welcome your spiritual concerns and prayer needs.  I will correspond with you, usually within two weeks.
Email David Bruce