The Wicker Tree<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I remember seeing The Wicker Man as a teenager. It was an edited-for-television version, but it still grabbed me \u2013 I can clearly remember thinking \u201cthat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/the-wicker-tree.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Wicker Tree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I remember seeing The Wicker Man as a teenager. 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{"id":158,"date":"2012-01-29T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-29T19:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/the-wicker-tree\/"},"modified":"2012-01-29T19:04:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-29T19:04:00","slug":"the-wicker-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/the-wicker-tree.html","title":{"rendered":"The Wicker Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I remember seeing The Wicker Man<\/i><\/a> as a teenager. It was an edited-for-television version, but it still grabbed me \u2013 I can clearly remember thinking \u201cthat is so cool\u201d as the Wicker Man burned. <\/p>\n

On his live album As Nature Intended<\/i><\/a> Damh the Bard<\/a> introduces a song from The Wicker Man <\/i>by humorously asking \u201cWhy do we like that film? It\u2019s not really the best publicity for the Pagan community!\u201d <\/p>\n

I think part of us is in love with the idea of a modern village where everyone is Pagan, where our rituals and celebrations are part of the common life, and where our beliefs and morals are seen as normal.<\/p>\n

Another part of us likes seeing the tables turned on the dominant (and at times, domineering) religion and culture. Our better selves may not approve of Sergeant Howie going up in flames, but deep down we\u2019re glad to see Pagans on the non-burning end of the fires for a change. We all like winning.<\/p>\n

And that brings us to The Wicker Tree<\/i><\/a>, the \u201cspiritual sequel\u201d by 82-year-old Robin Hardy, who directed the original Wicker Man <\/i>in 1973. The premise has been known for some time: a young Evangelical couple from Texas are on a mission trip to Scotland and are brought to a rather odd village. They find the folks friendly and accept their invitation to become the May Queen and the Laddie. At that point everyone who saw The Wicker Man<\/i> knows what\u2019s going to happen \u2013 the question is \u201chow?\u201d<\/p>\n

I saw The Wicker Tree<\/i> today. As other reviews have said<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t end quite like you expect, but the ending is neither a total surprise nor totally unsatisfying. <\/p>\n

When I heard the story revolved around a young Evangelical couple from Texas, I cringed. I assumed they would be stereotypical caricatures. But they mostly got it right. Brittania Nichol\u2019s Beth and Henry Garrett\u2019s Steve were very believable \u2013 I\u2019ve met plenty of people like them. The only thing they got wrong was that born-again Christians don\u2019t put much stock in angels, and they never, ever mention \u201cthe Blessed Virgin Mary\u201d\u2026 unless it\u2019s to accuse Catholics of worshipping her. <\/p>\n

The Pagan and pagan references didn\u2019t fare as well. They got Sulis<\/a> right (though she\u2019s primarily associated with Bath<\/a>, far to the south of Scotland), but they conflated the whole Spring cycle into \u201cMay Day.\u201d A character dies by a method unknown in the ancient world. Mostly, though, the sensual-yet-innocent Pagan customs that were so charming in The Wicker Man<\/i> are all but gone in The Wicker Tree<\/i>. Honeysuckle Weeks\u2019 Lolly is frequently naked and constantly looking to couple, but although both the character and the performance are quite good, they aren\u2019t enough. The Maypole, the Pagan lessons in the school, the fertility dance and the costumed procession of the original are nowhere to be found in the sequel.<\/p>\n

Christopher Lee\u2019s Lord Summerisle<\/a> makes a brief appearance \u2013 much of his scene is in the trailer. Lord Summerisle asks \u201cCan fate be altered? This is a question that every religion must try to answer. And the answer is almost certainly \u2018no\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there you have it. The religious philosophy underlying The Wicker Tree<\/i> is neither Pagan nor Evangelical. It is Calvinist \u2013 rather appropriate for a film set in historically Presbyterian Scotland. Hardy says our fate is fixed and though we think we can change it, either through appeals to God or gods or by our own determination, in the end we will have what has been preordained \u2013 nothing more and nothing less.<\/p>\n

The Wicker Tree<\/i> is not a bad movie. See it with no expectations and you may find it entertaining and even thought-provoking. But it doesn\u2019t come close to The Wicker Man<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"