Marjoe

Marjoe is the story of a man who had been cultivated by his parents to be a preacher from birth, and who actually became ordained at the age of 4. He soon became a celebrity in the evangelical world, and made a great deal of money for his family by traveling to different churches to deliver his firebrand style sermons.

He eventually dropped out of that world, but returned to resume preaching in his early twenties motivated more by money than by any kind of religious belief. The documentary chronicles his last months of preaching in the mid 1970s and he uses the opportunity to expose alot of the greed, corruption, and exploitation that takes place in many of the churches that he visits.

Much of the film focuses on Marjoe's sermons, and we see that he is indeed a very unique "performer" when speaking to a congregation. He struts about the stage like a rock star delivering his sermon with fire and spittle. Every sermon ends with a line of the congregation coming to him to have him lay his hands on them, which typically ends with a falling to the floor and some spastic shuttering.

The film includes several conversations between Marjoe and the film crew, warning them of how they should dress and act within the church in order to not be ostracized. These scenes are effective because they are the first time that we see Marjoe outside the church, which allows us to see that he is actually an outsider within the churches that hold him in such high esteem. He jokingly refers to some of the things he does in his sermons, shedding light on the fact that he believes it to be more show business than a true connection with God.

From an aesthetic standpoint the film mostly keeps it simple by just rolling film on its charismatic star and keeping him at the center at all times. There are also frequent cuts to the enraptured congregation, and some artistic shots that for example follow an outstretched hand up to the lights.

This film was an important when it was released by exposing for the first time some of the greedy motives and disingenuous actions of those involved in many churches. But it is also an interesting and compelling piece of documentary film making.

Two documentaries shot with my camera

My camera is the Canon XH A1, which I found to be the most highly regarded HD camera at its price point by the people who frequent the forums DVIinfo and DVXuser.

I've found a good deal of footage online that was shot using my camera, and here are some really great examples:

"Gabe and Gene"
"The Street Pirate Vasco Mucci"

I love that both of these short documentaries focus on simple stories of people's mostly unremarkable lives. But they tell their story with a great deal of humanity and grace, and turn the mundane into something visual compelling.