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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR25052  (2005), PG-13 [R-13*] (1hr 37min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1000 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(This section may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Post No Bills Films, Pandemonium Productions, Touchstone Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment Distribution (US): Buena Vista Pictures Director(s): Walter Salles Producer(s): Doug Davison, Ashley Kramer, Roy Lee, Bill Mechanic, Diana Pokorny Written by: Kôji Suzuki, Hideo Nakata, Takashige Ichise Screenplay: Rafael Yglesias Cinematography/Camera: Affonso Beato Music: Angelo Badalamenti Film Editing: Daniel Rezende Casting: Mali Finn, Tina Gerussi, Kelli Lerner, Geoffrey Miclat, Carole Tarlington Production Design: Thérèse DePrez Art Direction: Nicholas Lundy, Andrew M. Stearn Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 I wish I was able to tell you this in a brighter light than Dark Water but this is our 1000th film analysis! We have collected massive analysis data. Massive. I can't wait until a champion steps up or a number of champions step up to provide long-term full funding for this ministry so we can not only continue this service and do so for many years but can compile all the data we have and do so in a professional package for the mental health communities of America as well as our more than 7,200,000 visitors. No matter what the CAP scoring says and no matter what the MPAA rating is, this film had a six year old girl trying to murder another six year old girl. Also, a dead girl stole another girl's mother by murdering the mother. The bottom line to those elements of the plot and story is a child trying to and committing murder. In spite of any fantasy plot or story context, that is what the images showed. Such demonstrations of sin do little other than lower inhibitions and embolden. Certainly everything in the movie is fantasy but Harvard educated child development expert psychologist professor Dr. Karen Nelson, practicing counselor Dr. Larry Gilliam and others agree with me that while the courts may think otherwise, it would be unusual for even a 16 year old to be able to fully separate fantasy from reality let alone be fully capable of anticipating the consequences of his/her actions. No matter what the MPAA says. As the county prosecutor for the Heath High School, Paducah, Kentucky school shooting said, "Kids don't think up these things like these on their own." And God said "Evil communications corrupt good manners." [1 Cor. 15:33] In everyday English that means the influence of vile and unwholesome behavioral examples such as in Dark Water (and thousands of other films which are each "communications") corrupt decision-making skills, coping skills and behavior management. Someday someone will realize that feeding this sort of "entertainment" to our kids (which includes at-home teens) does generate aberrant thinking which generates aberrant behavior. Five professional health organizations have have declared that finding, too. When are we going to listen? Just a note, mom/dad. Censorship does not belong in the theaters or with the government or any other exo-familial entity. It belongs with you. Don't be afraid to exercise it. With the service we provide, you now have the tools to effectively and fairly make an informed moral decision on your own whether to exercise your authority to censor what your child(ren) see and hear in and as entertainment. Do it! For their sakes. And yours since One day you will be answering to God for your management of the children He gave you. Ouch! That comment is no more pointed at you than it is at myself. I am a parent, too, and I, too, will answer to God as well for the poor parenting choices I have made. The story opens in Seattle of 1974 where young Dahlia Williams (Perla Haney-Jardine) was repeatedly forgotten by her mother (Elina Löwensohn). Feeling abandoned, Dahlia grew up with issues. Jumping ahead to 2005 in New York City, we find Manhattanite Dahlia (Jennifer Connely) is with a six year old daughter, Cecilia "Ceci" (Ariel Gage) by hubby Kyle (Dougray Scott). Ceci is in the middle of a marital warfare battlefield. Choosing separation from her husband to find peace, Dahlia finds a "cheap" apartment on the Roosevelt Island in East River from Manhattan. In a once opulent, now well-used complex of community-living apartment buildings, Dahlia and Ceci move into apartment F on the ninth floor and try to make the best of a bad situation. Fortune seems to be smiling on Dahlia and Ceci. Ceci is able to attend one of the finest schools in the New York/New Jersey metro and Dahlia has work at Sutton Place Radiology, both within minutes of their new old apartment. Life is good again. A little poor but good. And comfortable. It isn't long before things become not so comfy. The tenuous warm-n-fuzzy the mother-daughter pair were grasping for becomes more brittle each day. As Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia" says, it seemed to be raining all over the world. All the time. Sometimes indoors. Torrential rain. Murderous rain. About a month ago, the husband, wife and 6-year old daughter occupants of 10F directly above Dahlia and Ceci mysteriously disappeared. During the empty time, resident teens Billy and Steve (Matthew Lemche, the only one of these two who had a speaking part and credit), local "punks" as building attendant Mr. Veeck (Pete Postlethwaite) called them who acted the label well, were suspected of breaking into 10F and doing drugs and turning water faucets on and leaving them on. Steve and Billy were suspected of leaving the water on in 10F because Dahlia noticed water coming through her bedroom ceiling. After a couple failed attempts to get repairs done, Dahlia took the bull by the horns and began inspecting the trouble herself. Going to 10F and finding the door ajar, Dahlia finds herself wading through standing water throughout the apartment. Ceci enjoys her new school ... and her new imaginary friend. Note that the filmmakers played a little psychology with Ceci having imaginary friend. I am not a psychologist but I know it would be wise to not take a fantasy filmmaker's word about a mental issue. This commentary is not intended to be an insult to your intelligence. We deal with thousands of folks, some of whom are, by their own admission, have been victimized unawares by nuggets of "wisdom" espoused in entertainment. If your child(ren) were to develop an imaginary friend and you become concerned about it as did the characters in this story, talk to the professionals about it without a shred of thought given to what you heard the movies. All too often, some impressionable folks, especially youth, give so much credit to what they see and hear in the movies as being "real world" that they become comfortable with it and tend to adopt it. Ceci's imaginary friend has a voice. Ceci hears it. And Dahlia begins to hear it. The voice belongs to six year old Natasha (Perla Haney-Jardine), the missing daughter of the couple who deserted apartment 10F. Natasha is the spitting image of Dahlia at six years old. As all this happens, water seeps and sometimes floods into the story in several ways. One is the nonstop infernal, mood-darkening rain. Another is a recurring leak in Dahlia's bedroom ceiling from 10F above. And there is the flooding of 10F. And the rain inside 10F. Yet more comes from every faucet in 10F being opened and left open. Water, water everywhere! Yet more water is found in the reservoir tank atop the apartment building which has an unsecured access door on its roof, very conveniently at the top of a ladder up the side of the tank. The ladder has rungs close together, close enough for a six tear old girl to climb. If this sounds a little boring so far it is because the film, subjectively speaking, is a little boring. But I suspect it is not intended to be a high-energy film. There is high energy in it, though. High negative energy [Ps. 12:8. 1 Cor. 15:33]. In addition to this film presenting a little girl trying to murder another little girl and murdering a woman, there is a session where a little girl shows disrespect to an adult who returns her disrespect with speaking foul words at her [1Tim. 4:12]. There is a vulgar moment as two punks make a lewd comment about the attractiveness of the mother [Matt. 5:28, Eph. 5:4, 1 Sam. 3:13]. Hearing a little girl thumping in a loaded washing machine then suddenly appearing in the view window is disturbing. And being a thriller with unholy aspects such as the possession of a little girl by her imaginary friend and a dead mother reappearing with the dead girl might make this film a hard risk for the spiritual development and understanding of your child(ren). And for your child(ren) to be influenced in this way invokes Luke 17:2 and Matt. 25:40. With a final score of 51, this 97-minute film earned a "coveted" R-13 score. While the Sexual Immorality (S), Drugs/Alcohol (D) and Murder/Suicide (M) CAP investigation areas found material equivalent to many G-rated movies, the Wanton Violence/Crime (W), Impudence/Hate (I) and Offense to God (O) CAP investigation areas found programming equivalent to some R-rated films. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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(The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model)  Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
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| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our more than eight years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
| In the name of Jesus: Lord, Master, Teacher, Savior, God. Tom Carder President ChildCare Action Project (CAP): Christian Analysis of American Culture 100% dependent on your tax-deductible financial support |  |
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