Last night I went to a praise and worship service before the candle light vigil, and we sang a song called Isaiah 43 that got me thinking about Eben and Jennie’s relationship. I read on several other blogs that Eben and Scottie are pretty much the same character, but I think there is one major and important difference in the two of them – Eben thinks or knows everything is going to be okay while Scottie is devastated. Anyway, the lyrics were also paired with a photo of a storm, complete with some really bright lightening, not unlike the beginning of the storm scene in Portrait of Jennie, which is what originally got me thinking about this. Now, there is a clear religious tone to this song, and I think that works with the film because I feel it expresses some things that carry over to relationships with Christ. So the lyrics of the first verse are:
”When you pass through the waters, I will be with you
And the waves, will not overcome you
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you
I have called you by name, you are Mine”.
Here’s where I think the film is making an important distinction from the book – Eben is able to search out and find Jennie. She’s no longer the only one that can come to him, but he too can break the “time and space barrier” to get to her. Yes, Jennie comes once he is there, but he knows where she will be and seeks her out, which makes the relationship more reciprocal, but it also gives the viewer reason to believe that everything will be okay. If, in the end, Eben could find Jennie and “call her by name,” then he will always have her and always, in a way, be with her because by this point she has become a part of him.
In other news, I have no idea what to write my paper on. I’m inspired by the ideas many of the films express, but I’m either not captivated by a scene or the scene I am captivated seems to daunting or makes me feel like I can’t deal with it thoroughly and accurately (ie. I the scene interests me because I have no idea what’s going on). HELP!