Purgatory - a movie of my heart
I don't even know why I was reminded today of the 1999 movie Purgatory. It's a beautiful Western story about the battle between good and evil. It is something between a parody, a fantasy, and a fairy tale, all framed in a loving romantic story somewhere between life and death, heaven and hell, love and anger, but also about hope and justice.
Cliché, perhaps, but beautiful! I've seen this movie many times. It always helps me find the light at the end of the tunnel when I feel like the world is upside down. The feeling that things between heaven and earth and the laws of the universe just work.
As the film title suggests, it all takes place in a place called purgatory. You'd probably expect it to be an inhospitable place like Dante's Inferno or Hyeronymous Bosch's painting of Hell. In this film, however, the place for the reformation of sinners is depicted as a quaint Western town full of peaceful people living their seemingly ordinary "lives." They just have somewhat strange and strict laws that they follow implicitly.
Occasionally, a carriage arrives with a white-haired, almost fairy-tale-like, kindly old man. This is a sign that some of the townspeople have reached the point where they can return "home." The white rose symbolizes the forgiveness of sins. This is a moment that all the inhabitants of this special place have been waiting for.
The conditions are tough. The locals must follow God's commandments, including not carrying weapons or swearing. Transgressing these rules is to end hope and go to hell. This is represented here by a silent Indian with a horse, who appears whenever the rules are broken and leads the person concerned to the fiery abyss.
Everyone lives a contented life here until a group of bandits mysteriously appear, fleeing from justice after robbing a bank. Their rude behavior fundamentally disrupts the peaceful atmosphere of the town. Even though the sheriff has taken away their guns, they provoke the local citizens with their rampage.
Among the bandits is a young man named Sonny, whose first trip with the gang. He's an avid reader of roundups of famous Wild West heroes. It doesn't take him long to realize that the whole town is full of characters from the stories he loves to read. Whether it's Jasee James, Billy the Kid, Bill Hickok, and a host of others.
And because there can't be any shortage of love stories, Sonny falls in love with the girl who was the first woman to be hanged. He then tries to convince the others to stand up to the bandits. But the problem is with the local rules. No one is allowed to use a gun. Sony tries to convince the cronies to leave the town alone. But all he gets is ridicule and a proper lesson in fisticuffs.
At a critical moment, Sonny decides to stand up to the odds. And despite being badly wounded himself, he is determined to stand up to the odds to defend not only the city but also his love in an unequal fight. Gradually, of course, he is joined by all those legendary gunslingers, who uncompromisingly defeat the bandits in a mass shootout, knowing that they will go to hell for good.
A happy ending like a thunderbolt is capped off by Sonny's decision to stay here with his love, despite being offered a direct path to heaven. In short, one eye will not be left dry.
And what about the others? Good, of course. Because it can't be any other way.
I usually watch one of the last lines of the film with a wet handkerchief in my hand: "The Lord may be strict, but he is not blind."
And suddenly, I feel so beautiful it hurts.
