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When the Bible is all that's left


In today's Faith in Film blog post, we're going to tackle The Book of Eli. CONSIDER THIS YOUR SPOILER WARNING! If you haven't seen it, it's a 2010 action film starring Denzel Washington at the top of his game. This one requires a bit of a disclaimer: the movie is violent at points, and there is a fair bit of harsh language throughout.


You may be thinking, "Why even tackle this? An action movie rife with cursing? What possible value could a Catholic glean from this?" Stick with me here: there's more to this one than meets the eye.


The Book of Eli is set in a post-apocalyptic American future. There was some form of climate disaster that led to "the last war," which wiped out the majority of humanity and pretty much all infrastructure. In the years following, the remaining pockets of humanity have banded together into violent, roving gangs.