Die Hütte – Ein Wochenende mit Gott (2017)

Die Hütte – Ein Wochenende mit Gott: Directed by Stuart Hazeldine. With Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw, Radha Mitchell. A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called “The Shack.”

“u0026quot;The Shacku0026quot; is a beautiful, profound, and moving film. Iu0026#39;m a lifelong movie fan and I always look at reviews before I go to see movies. Of course I went to Rotten Tomatoes and saw that u0026quot;The Shacku0026quot; had received uniformly bad reviews. There is something wrong with the critics who panned this movie. They probably have a problem with Christianity. I think if a similar film had been made in Iran, about Islam, with English subtitles, it would receive an Academy Award nomination. Donu0026#39;t let these bitter, twisted souls keep you from seeing u0026quot;The Shack.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe plot is simple. Mack, (Sam Worthington), an American husband and father, suffers an unbearable loss. He and other family members sink into depression. One day, Mack receives an invitation to return to the shack, the site of the worst moment of Macku0026#39;s life. He does return, and there he meets spiritual guides played by Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara, Graham Greene, and Alice Braga (niece of Sonya Braga). Mack engages in conversation with these spiritual entities. He eventually returns to normal life with a changed outlook. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film gets off to a rocky start. There is an unnecessary and amateurish voice-over narration by country music star Tim McGraw, who stars as Macku0026#39;s friend. Otherwise, though, McGraw is excellent on screen, displaying an understated charisma and authenticity that are totally beyond the filmu0026#39;s actual star, Sam Worthington. In fact I wish Tim McGraw had played Mack and Sam Worthington had played the best friend. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eToo, there are many shifts in time in the opening scenes. There are flashbacks on top of flashbacks and a shocking crime that the movie never makes much use of. Once the movie gets started, about fifteen minutes in, it gets good. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSam Worthington is okay as Mack. The thing is, his Australian accent is evident in virtually every word he speaks. Again, I wish the filmmakers had made McGraw the star. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRadha Mitchell is good looking but chilly as Macku0026#39;s wife. She looks like a movie star, not like a wife, and that took away from the film for me. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe rest of the cast is excellent. Octavia Spencer is assigned to play an almost impossible part, and she handles it with great professionalism and depth. Aviv Alush is especially good. Moviegoers have waited a long time for a star like this to play this part, and he knocks it out of the park. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe production values are high. The scenery is lush. I was especially moved by how this family-friendly film handles the tragedy at the center of Macku0026#39;s depression and alienation from God. The exact words are never used. Graphic images are never shown. Yet we know exactly what happened, and it breaks our hearts and causes us to ask the same questions that Mack asks. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEither you want to see a movie where an average man works out how to deal with unbearable tragedy or you donu0026#39;t. Me, I loved sitting there watching Mack wrestle with his pain and his faith. Many self- identified Christians hate this movie with a white hot hatred. Big name Christian leaders have denounced it as heretical. One man told me that seeing the movie would be the equivalent of shooting heroin. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt think these folks are wearing their shorts much too tight. The film is an allegory. Any thinking person who has been through pain has had the same questions as Mack, and anyone who has read the Bible or other spiritual literature has pondered the same potential answers. I sincerely doubt that any film-goer is going to leave the theater thinking that he or she has actually seen God on screen, or heard Godu0026#39;s thoughts about human tragedy. Rather, like any good allegory, the film sets us on our own path of spiritual exploration. Thatu0026#39;s a very good thing.”