![\"Jane](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/10\/banner.jpg\")
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It was not, so far as I could see, an auspicious opening. \u00a0Not, at least, here in Cedar City. \u00a0And\u00a0I was deeply disappointed by that.<\/p>\n
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My wife and I were literally the only two people in the theater for the 9:45 PM showing of Jane and Emma<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0There were at least two previous showings in the same theater, though, earlier in the day; I hope that they weren\u2019t completely empty.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It was important that the film have a good opening \u2014 for a number of reasons, including this one:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cChurch to Match Proceeds from \u2018Jane and Emma\u2019 Opening Night and Donate Them to the NAACP\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what the publicity has been like down here in southern Utah. \u00a0Along the Wasatch Front, though, there has been a great deal<\/em> of publicity, and I find it almost inconceivable that the theaters in the north weren\u2019t well attended. \u00a0I hope so.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I hope so because I hope that Latter-day Saint cinema will become a powerful instrument for teaching our history, building testimonies, and inspiring commitment. \u00a0And that can\u2019t happen if our films fail, if creative artists grow frustrated or discouraged, if investors don\u2019t receive solid returns (whether in the obvious sense of returns on investment or in the perhaps even more important sense, which might compensate for failure to profit financially, of satisfaction in having reached and influenced an audience).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The great German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) dreamed of what he termed a Gesamtkunstwerk<\/em>, a \u201ctotal work of art\u201d \u2014 or, as it has sometimes been called, a\u00a0\u201csynthesis of the arts,\u201d a \u201ccomprehensive artwork,\u201d or an \u201call-embracing art form\u201d \u2014 that would utilize multiple artistic media in order to convey its meaning. \u00a0He thought of opera as the embodiment of that ideal, with its combination of poetic lyrics, music, dramatic acting, and scenic set design (with painting and even sculpture). \u00a0He even sought to bring architecture into the mix with his\u00a0Bayreuth Festspielhaus<\/em>\u00a0(Bayreuth Festival Theatre), which is dedicated solely to the performance of his works.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m fully aware that Richard Wagner was a rather loathsome human being, and that several members of his family have been even detestable. \u00a0Nonetheless, with that caveat \u2014 or, some of my fiercer critics might argue, perhaps because of his odiousness \u2014\u00a0I\u2019m something of a moderate Wagnerian. \u00a0I\u2019ve attended performances of Parzifal<\/em>, Der Fliegende Holl\u00e4nder<\/em> (\u201cThe Flying Dutchman\u201d), Tannh\u00e4user<\/em>, Lohengrin<\/em>, Die Meistersinger<\/em>, Rienzi<\/em>, and Tristan und Isolde<\/em>, as well as a complete cycle of The Ring\u00a0<\/em>(Das Rheingold<\/em>, Die Walk\u00fcre<\/em>, Siegfried<\/em>, and Die G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung<\/em>) in San Francisco and, thus far, a partial Ring<\/em> cycle in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And I really like Wagner\u2019s concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I think that he would have loved movies. \u00a0Ideally though rarely, they combine wonderful musical scores and great drama with visual excellence in cinematography and powerful literary techniques.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Anyway, my lifelong fascination with the potential of cinema is one of the reasons why I myself am now involved, at least peripherally, with movie making<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But more of that later.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jane and Emma<\/em> was not exactly what I had expected. \u00a0It\u2019s darker than I had anticipated. \u00a0More stark. \u00a0It\u2019s certainly not the slick happy-times-feel-good kind of thing that we\u2019ve too often seen in LDS movies. \u00a0It\u2019s also not the usual mass-cast, shallow, quasi-pageant that I feared it might be.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I frankly thought it sometimes a bit slow, and occasionally somewhat repetitive. \u00a0There were several details that I would quibble with. \u00a0(Was it ever even possible that there wouldn\u2019t<\/em> be?) \u00a0I didn\u2019t, for instance, like its brief portrayal of William Clayton as somewhat menacing. \u00a0I don\u2019t think he deserves such a portrayal. \u00a0And, although Brigham Young never appears in the film and is never mentioned, it implicitly casts him in a rather negative light.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But this is serious Latter-day Saint filmmaking, and I\u2019m happy to see that. \u00a0Moreover, the music from the Bonner family \u2014 including but not limited to their wonderful \u201cChild of God\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 is a highlight, fresh and sometimes very powerful.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I hope that Latter-day Saints will see Jane and Emma<\/em> and support it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I want this film to succeed because I want Latter-day Saint film to succeed. \u00a0I want it to be widely seen because Jane Manning James should be widely known and widely revered. \u00a0Also because this is a Latter-day Saint film by women about women, and because it\u2019s a film that honors the small but deeply inspiring presence of blacks in early Latter-day Saint history.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Salt Lake Tribune<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cHolly Richardson: Go and see \u2018Jane and Emma\u2019 this weekend\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Deseret News<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cNew Latter-day Saint film \u2018Jane and Emma\u2019 challenged filmmakers but offers powerful message of true friendship\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In connection with see the film, you might enjoy the following two articles, and benefit from reading them:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n