Wise Blood

Year: 1980

Runtime: 106 min

Language: english

DramaComedy

Haunted by his experiences in World War II, a young man returns to his family’s hometown in the rural South. Rejecting traditional religion, he establishes his own unconventional and satirical “Church Without Christ,” seeking to preach a message of disbelief. His journey is fraught with encounters that challenge his beliefs and force him to confront the lingering effects of violence and the search for meaning in a fractured world, ultimately questioning the very nature of faith and forgiveness.

Direct adaptation

Read the Wise Blood book behind the movie

A Returning Veteran Preaches a Church without Christ, Only to Find That His Campaign against Faith Cannot Escape the Grotesque Demands of Belief · by Flannery O'Connor

Why this book?

John Huston's film follows Hazel Motes's return from military service, arrival in Taulkinham, pursuit of Asa Hawks and Sabbath Lily, purchase of a failing car, founding of the Church Without Christ, rivalry with Hoover Shoates's false prophet, and final acts of blindness and penance. It trims episodes and shifts chronology but preserves O'Connor's names, grotesque comedy, religious argument, and Enoch Emery's mummified new jesus. Brad Dourif makes Hazel's denial as fervent as any sermon.

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