Born Again

James Ault's objective look at life in a Baptist fundamentalist church will go a long ways toward destroying stereotypes of "bible- thumpers". Filmed in a small community in Massachusetts, Born Again focuses on three families who struggle with the same problems and moral dilemmas that we all face-except that they look for their solutions in the literal word of God. At the center are John and Marsha, the pastor and his wife. Preacher, guidance counselor, bearer of tidings-good or bad--John comes across as an amalgamation of businessman, matchmaker, and servant of the Lord. Throughout the film he doggedly pursues Emma, who's left her husband Bob and three boys, to "live in sin." That he masterminds a grand scheme to retrieve Emma (by cutting off her access to her children) which verges on meddling, yet clearly devotes so much of his own time and energy to "helping" Emma and reassuring Bob, is but one of the sweet contradictions that make this film so eminently human. The third major story line revolves around Ron and Geri, who are bent on bringing Ron's aimless brother Ted into the fold. And it is finally through Ted that we witness the mystery of being "born again." Born Again goes way beyond the story of three families, however; it gets down under the surface to capture an entire lifestyle that most of us have only the barest inkling of. The universal media image of the oily smoothness and empty chatter of a Jerry Falwell are worlds away from the people in this film-people who are both literate and intelligent; people who are strong in their convictions and occasionally broken by the world's challenges; people, in short, a lot like you and I. It is this shared human element, this common bridge which links the fundamentalist Baptist and the contemporary skeptic, which makes Born Again such an eye-opening, extraordinary achievement. Highly recommended. (Available from: James Ault Films, 7570 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037.)