Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely…for your love is better than wine
Fall in love with your spouse again. Fall in love with your God. Be captivated by beauty and the poetic words of scripture. This movie was that powerful!
I consider myself to be somewhat of a tough critic when it comes to movies. I want the moral message, the production quality, actors that make you forget you’re sitting in a seat watching a movie. I don’t get a lot of time to watch movies, so when I do, I need something with depth, quality, originality, and good content.
Christian movies, while slowly improving in quality, are often carried by the moral message, which excuses the other lacking qualities. The Song however surpasses them all. In fact, it blows them away! My very small, minuscule, top-tier of favorite movies has barely been rocked in a decade. And yet, here is one to add to the faves. “You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes.”
This movie, The Song, which seems to have risen from obscurity, once watched, is like finding a dove in the clefts of the rock. The movie is told as a modern-day Song of Solomon, highlighting the Jewish ruler who asked God for wisdom to know good from evil, in order to rule fairly. Solomon, like his father David, was loved by God. Yet, he was also foolish in turning away from God, despite his wisdom.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He inherited his father’s kingdom and reign, and is known for building the first Temple in Jerusalem. In this modern-day retelling, Jed is a musician trying to make it in the wake of his famous musician father. The imagery of the Song of Songs comes to life in this epic tale, as Jed meets the “rose of Sharon” in the vineyard, and pursues his love. Jed seeks to please and pursue the Lord, but the glamours of the world and temptations of foreign women drive him away from his love.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.
Jed chases after love and meaning. He is haunted throughout his fall by the words of his own song – the song he originally wrote for his wife. “You are written on my soul. Set me as a seal on your heart, a love stronger than death. Flashes of fire, with purest desire, the waters will never quench. This is love as it was meant to be.”
The love story, entangled with loss and the need to fight for a successful marriage captivates married couples, as well as those desperately longing for the love their heart sings. The script, pulled from the Song of Songs, drips with wisdom. “I adjure you, do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready.” Jed echos this same rich lesson in his own love song, “There’s a plan for us, a hand divine, the waiting was worth it, now you’re my wife.”
The acting is equally as phenomenal as the folky-rock bluegrass soundtrack. The Song’s lingering refrain echos the beautiful healing grace of a mighty and loving God; “Love is the power that heals. Love is the power that heals.”
Kimberly Cook
Writer, Podcaster, Mother, & Catholic Apologist. Meet Kimberly
