Q: I saw “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” believing the ads: “Based on a true story.” However, at the end of the credits, it says in plain English: “The events in this film are fictitious.” What?! Why do movies need to disguise themselves as based on reality? Sure, it seems more scary that way, but why do the filmmakers lie to us?
– Steven O’Brien,
Blauvelt, N.Y.
A: In “Emily Rose,” the story is fiction, but it is technically “based on a true story” – much changed in time, place and details, to be sure. The movie moved the story to America, focused on one priest, and omitted most of the horrifying details of the real case, casting itself more as a sincere dispute between science and religion.
According to “The Real Emily Rose” at fotofetch.com, the film was inspired by a 1970s case that represents the last time the Catholic Church officially recognized a demonic possession.
It involved a German girl named Anneliese Michel, who was treated for seizures and given drugs for five years before the church finally authorized an exorcism; its investigation indicated she was possessed by, among others, Lucifer, Judas, Nero, Cain and Hitler.
From September 1975 until July 1976 she underwent a series of exorcism rituals. She refused food and “her knees ruptured due to the 600 genuflections she performed obsessively during the exorcism.” A forensic exam found she died of starvation. Two priests and her parents were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six months in jail and probation. The German bishops then asked Rome to abolish the exorcism ritual; a revised ritual was published by Rome in 1999, but has never been used.
Q: I agree that stop-motion animation has a magical quality. I’m an admirer of both “King Kong” and the battle of the skeletons in “Jason and the Argonauts.” Thanks for the Ray Harryhausen information; I didn’t realize he was the genius behind “Jason” and “Sinbad.” Do you think that because we grew up with this animation, we think it has a magical quality, and our nostalgia is involved?
– Jason Miller, Tucson
A: Stop-motion involves using actual physical models that are moved slightly between each frame of the film, giving the illusion of movement. Its modern incarnations include “Corpse Bride” and Nick Park’s forthcoming “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.”
For me, it is the very slight jerkiness of the motion that enhances its appeal, giving it a different kind of reality than the smooth movements of modern animation (whether drawn or produced by computer). It’s not that I dislike state-of-the-art animation; it’s that I like variety.
Film critic Roger Ebert answers movie questions every other Monday in Arts & Entertainment.
