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Cinematic Triumph - Don't Be Put Off By Religious Overtones
Taliesin Jones, the triumphant first film from Tulsa-based Impact Entertainment to see a national release, differs from mainstream Hollywood films in three ways. First, it�s character-driven, which means that the actors have to carry the film by showing character development and growth, instead of dodging bullets and explosions. Second, it�s about a thought-provoking philosophical concept � in this case, the existence and nature of God � which most movies don�t even both with anymore. Third, the way it handles that concept sets Jones apart from other films that attempt the same, and ultimately fail.

Jones, from a book by the same name by Welsh author Rhidian Brook, follows its title character (newcomer John-Paul Macleod), a 12-year-old from a broken home in working-class Wales. His father scrapes out a living by farming, and Taliesin alternately dodges abuse from his bullying older brother and his classmates at school. Taliesin�s life is changed when, during his piano lessons, his elderly teacher Billy (the late Ian Bannen in his last role) introduces Billy to faith-healing. Soon, Taliesin tries the power of prayer on himself and is miraculously cured of warts. Building a community around faith-healing, Tal�s belief in this newfound concept of God is shattered when his activities nearly lead to the death of a local diabetic boy. Afterwards, Taliesin begins to re-examine what he believes and, more importantly, why he believes what he does.

The fact that Jones postulates an answer to one of life�s ultimate philosophical questions isn�t unique, but what sets it apart is that the movie fails to cave in to simplistic, sound-byte style philosophy. Those who have done any amount of philosophical inquiry know that life�s truths cannot be summarized in a quick quote or a simple phrase, and to do so wrecks the beautiful inquiry that makes discovering those truths so unique. Unlike other recent Christian movie-fare, like Left Behind and The Omega Code, Taliesin Jones offers the audience a journey of experience, and one that it doesn�t necessarily shove down people�s throats, either. Although God is certainly the focus of the film, a belief in a Christian God is just one possible explanation for what happens, and Taliesin�s personal concept of God develops in a way that leads him from the trappings of religious immaturity to the makings of an adult.

Most movies cannot manage to even get the sound-byte philosophy right in two-hours-plus; Jones manages to encapsulate one possible philosophical experience in its brief 95 minutes. For those of us tired of movies that simply pander and cater, Taliesin Jones is a refreshing break from the mainstream. The film wouldn�t have come together without the strength of the actors involved, and the levels of talent that fully realize the characters is also a relief a movie environment increasingly ruled by cardboard stereotypes. Taliesin Jones is not a film to miss.