Ray Pride

Oh little town of Bethlehem. Writer-director Kirk Davis' début, "Screen Door Jesus," shot on a low budget on high-definition video, is the kind of thematically ambitious, tonally adventurous, chock-full of incident, regional indie that too seldom makes it to theaters. Davis is himself a self-proclaimed "disfellowshipped" preacher who preached his first sermon at 10 down Memphis way, and a mix of skepticism, kindness and wonderment suffuses his storytelling (based on short stories by a 2001 collection from Texas writer Christopher Cook) of how lives are transformed in little Bethlehem in East Texas after a Christ figure is glimpsed in the beaten-down front door of one Mother Harper (Cynthia Dorn). There's an Altman-like ambition toward complex crissing and crossing, as well as a build toward the kind of apocalyptic summation favored by the elder master. Comedy, tragedy, homophobia, faith, sex, sin and more stud the dozen or so storylines; believers and non-believers alike are viewed as funny and flawed and human. Surprisingly sweet stuff, with a few powerful moments as well. 119m. 35mm.

"Screen Door Jesus" opens Friday at Facets for a week.

(2005-12-27)

Also by Ray Pride

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