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A service to our youth through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word MAR22008 The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), PG-13 Analysis Date: January 26, 2002 CAP Score: 62 CAP Influence Density: 0.70 |
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THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (PG-13) -- But they do NOT reveal... Distributed by: Touchstone Pictures Director(s): Kevin Reynolds Producer(s): Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Chris Brigham, James Flynn, Jonathan Glickman, Morgan O'Sullivan Written by/Screenplay: Alexandre Dumas (book), Jay Wolpert (screenplay) Cinematography/Camera: Andrew Dunn Music: Ed Shearmur Editing: Stephen Semel, Christopher Womack In the early 1800s in an effort to obtain medical aid for their captain with brain fever, ship's officers Edmond Dantes (James Caviezel) and Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce) disembark for the island of Elba. Napoleon was exiled to Elba and setting foot on the island was forbidden. Knowing this but desperate for medical aid for their caption, Dantes and Mondego ignored the law. After a skirmish with Napoleon's guards, Dantes explains to Napoleon their only interest was to obtain the medical aid from Napoleon's personal physician. Though the medical aid was fruitless and though the captain died, Napoleon expected some compensation from Dantes for the aid given and for the injuries to his guards. Feeling obligated, Dantes agreed to deliver a letter from Napoleon to he who turned out to be, unknown to Dantes, one of Napoleon's sympathizers in France. Upon return to Marseilles, the ship's exec charges Dante with disobeying orders to stay off the Island Elba. But in recognition of the valiant attempt to save the life of the captain, even at the risk of being disciplined, the shipping boss promoted Dante to captain. Now Dante will be able to provide for his fiance Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk). Mondego, Dante's good friend and compatriot, is secretly in love with Mercedes and wants her for himself. Burning with fire and hoping to become rid of Dantes so he could have Mercedes to himself, Mondego delivered word of the letter from Napoleon, which Mondego had secretly read while Dantes slept, to Villefort (James Frain), the local magistrate revealing to the magistrate Dantes was in possession of a treasonous letter from Napoleon. Villefort condemns Dantes to the prison Chateaux D'if, a great rock on the ocean. There Dantes meets a imprisoned priest, Faria (Richard Harris) who teaches the illiterate Dantes many sciences and arts. Faria also teaches Dantes sword play and the location of great treasure, enough to make the one who retrieves it from the briny depths wealthier than any man alive. Faria had also been digging a tunnel for years. Now Dantes joins in. One day when the pair reached soil with roots in it, they knew they did not have far to go. But alas, a cave in killed Faria. The body of Faria was bagged and readied for disposal in the ocean. Knowing the tunnel connected Dantes cell with Faria's, Dante put Faria's body in his own cell and hid himself in the body bag and escaped. While all this is going on in prison, Mondego marries Mercedes, achieving his dreams. And there is where I am going to stop revealing the plot and story. there is much more to this 127 minutes of film, so fret not about how much I have revealed. As usual, the advertisements, previews and trailers reveal nearly as much as I tell you. But they do NOT reveal the rest of what I am going to tell you. One use of the three/four letter word vocabulary! One! [Titus 2:6-8] And I wish that were all, but not so. This is a PG-13. A "middle of the road" PG-13 with a CAP score of 62 which is midrange for the 55 to 67 out of 100 for PG-13 movies in the baseline database. That means there are quite a few examples of unacceptable programming in it. The strongest presence of ignominy is violence in the form of gunplay and sword play with injuries and death/murder, a hanging and an attempted suicide with the gun in the victim's mouth and the trigger pulled [Prov. 3:31]. Sexual programming includes sexual requests, shadow nudity, masked intercourse and the aftermath of a night of cohabitation ostensibly for sex [Hebr. 13:4, Mark 7:21]. And about 75% of the film was Dantes seeking and getting revenge [Rom. 12:19]. The listing in the Findings/Scoring section will reveal all that was noted. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. 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. *******Food for Thought******* 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. |
 Wanton Violence/Crime (W): Impudence/Hate (I)(1): Sex/Homosexuality (S): Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O)(2): Murder/Suicide (M)(3): |
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| NOTE: The CAP Analysis Model makes no scoring allowances for trumped-up "messages" to excuse or for manufacturing of justification for aberrant behavior or imagery, or for camouflaging such ignominy with "redeeming" programming. Disguising sinful behavior in a theme plot does not excuse the sinful behavior of either the one who is drawing pleasure or example from the sinful display or the practitioners demonstrating the sinful behavior. This is NOT a movie review service. It is a movie analysis service to parents and grandparents to tell them the truth about movies using the Truth. |
| "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 nearly seven 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. |
