Tonight I watched The Apostle, a fascinating film that portrays American religion. The film (1997 / PG-13) stars Robert Duvall, who also wrote, directed, and financed it. Duvall plays a Holiness preacher who, after fleeing Texas because he killed his wife’s lover, starts a new congregation in a backwater Louisiana town. The plot is pretty thin, but Duvall delivers a powerful performance as the ecstatic preacher and religious entrepreneur Sonny, or “the Apostle E.F.”

I intend to write a post or two about the film’s portrayal of American religion, and in particular how it might be useful in the classroom. If you wish, you can watch the film at Hulu, or embedded below.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/HbO4cqOue5Acp5K3ZjGdbA/i965

You can also see the trailer at YouTube. (Don’t be disappointed by the trailer. Like most trailers, it emphasizes plot and hype more than acting.)