Christian films. The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The Exorcism of Emily Rose
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;'                but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.                If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                'It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'                but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.                'Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'                but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;                nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.                Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black.                But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.                'You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'*                But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.                If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.                Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.                Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you.                'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor,* and hate your enemy.*'                But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,                that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.               
English versionChristian Portal

Christian Resources

Vote!

 
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
   

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Photo - http://rutracker.org/

Country: U.S.A. (2005)

Directed by Scott Derrickson

Produced by Paul Harris Boardman, Gary Lucchesi

Written by Scott Derrickson, Paul Harris Boardman

Starring: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter, Colm Feore, Mary Beth Hurt, Henry Czerny, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Running time: 119 minutes

Plot

Lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) takes on the church and the state when she fights in defense of a priest, Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who performed an exorcism on a young woman, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). She takes the case, albeit reluctantly, because she believes it will elevate her to senior partner at her law firm. Moore agrees to let her defend him only if he is allowed to tell Emily's story.

The trial begins with the calling of several medical experts by the prosecutor, Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott). One expert testifies that Emily was suffering from both epilepsy and psychosis. The defense contests that she may have actually been possessed, though Bruner is careful never to say that in so many words. Indeed, Bruner explains that Emily was suffering from something that neither medicine nor psychology could explain, and that Moore as well as her family realized this and tried to help in another way. Several flashbacks show how this began.

Alone in her dorm room one night, at 3:00 AM, Emily notices a strange burning smell coming from the hallway. When she checks on it, she sees the door open and shut by itself several times. When she goes back to her room, she sees a jar of pencils and pens move by itself. Additionally, her covers roll themselves down and a great weight seems to press down on her, a force which also proceeds to choke her. Through these episodes, she wonders if they are really happening or if they are just hallucinations. She suffers more visions, is hospitalized, and diagnosed with epilepsy. She is given anti-seizure medications, which she claims do not work. Her visions continue, as do her severe bodily contortions.

She leaves school and returns to live with her parents. She and her parents become convinced she is not epileptic or mentally ill, but is possessed by demons. They ask for their local parish priest to be called in to perform an exorcism, and the Church agrees. The prosecution argues that all this could be explained by a combination of epilepsy (the contortions) and psychosis (the visions).

Meanwhile, Bruner begins to experience strange occurrences in her apartment at 3:00 AM, including strange smells and sounds. Moore warns her that she may be targeted by demons for possibly exposing them. Later in the film, he explains that 3:00 AM is the "devil's hour," which evil spirits use to mock the Holy Trinity. Significantly, it is the opposite of 3:00 PM, traditionally taken to be the hour at which Jesus died.

Seeing that the prosecution is putting up a seemingly solid medical case, Bruner decides to try to show that Emily may have actually been possessed. She calls in Dr. Sadira Adani (Shohreh Aghdashloo), a professor in anthropology and psychiatry, to testify about various cultures' beliefs about spiritual possession. Adani quotes Carlos Castaneda's A Separate Reality as means to understand the subject, and suggests that Emily was a hypersensitive. Thomas objects, and dismisses the testimony as pseudoscience.

Dr. Cartwright (Duncan Fraser), a medical doctor present during the exorcism, comes forward to reveal an audio tape made during the rite. Moore is then called to the stand to testify. The tape is played, and the movie then flashes back to the exorcism. It is performed on Halloween night, because Moore believes it might be easier to draw out the demons on that night. Emily breaks her ties and jumps out the window, running into the barn. They follow her. Inside the barn, they are subjected to such phenomena as unnatural gusts of wind and demonic screams and voices. The demon inside Emily refuses to name itself after repeated demands from the presiding Father, but finally reveals contemptuously that there are not one but six demons. They go on to identify themselves in dramatic fashion, naming themselves one after another in dual voices from Emily. They identify themselves as the demons who possessed Cain, Nero, and Judas Iscariot, as well as the demons Legion, Belial, and Lucifer himself. Each manifests himself in corresponding native language: Hebrew ("אני הוא ששוכן בתוך קין [Ani hu sheshokhen betokh Cain], I am the one who dwelt within Cain), Latin ("Ego sum qui (in?)habitavit in Nerone", I am the one who inhabited Nero), ancient Greek ("ενοίκησα πάροιθεν εν Ιούδαι", enoikesa paroithen en Iouda, I dwelt before within Judas), German (Ich [bin] mit Legion, I am with Legion) and Aramaic (ܐܢܐ ܒܠܝܐܝܠ Ana Belial, I am Belial) consecutively. Emily then finally utters in English "And I am Lucifer, the devil in the flesh".

Nevertheless, Bruner calls Moore back to the stand the next day. He reads a letter that Emily wrote before she died. In the letter, Emily describes another vision she had the morning after the exorcism. She walks out of the house and experiences a Marian apparition, in which she is told that although the demons will not leave her, she can leave her body and end her suffering. However, the apparition goes on to say that, if Emily returns to her body, she will help to prove to the world that God and the devil are real. Emily chooses to return, concluding the letter by saying: "People say that God is dead. But how can they think that if I show them the devil?" She then receives stigmata, which Moore believes is a sign of God's love for her. Thomas counters that she could have incurred the wounds by self-injury.

Father Moore is ultimately found guilty; however, on a recommendation from the jury, the judge (Mary Beth Hurt) agrees to a sentence of time served. Bruner is offered a partnership at her firm, but she refuses and, in fact, quits. She goes with Moore to Emily's grave, where he has put a quote (which Emily recited to him the day before she died) from the second chapter twelfth verse of Phillipians on her grave: "Work out your own salvation, with fear and trembling."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/exorcismofemilyrose/site/


The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Starring Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Jennifer Carpenter based on the true story of Anneliese Michel as detailed in the book "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel" by Dr. Felicitas Goodman

Reel Face: Real Face:

Jennifer Carpenter

Jennifer Carpenter
Born: December 7, 1979
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Anneliese Michel

Anneliese Michel
Born: September 21, 1952
Birthplace: Klingenberg, Bavaria, Germany
Died: July 1, 1976
(cause of death: dehydration and malnourishment)

"I know that we did the right thing because I saw the sign of Christ in her hands. She was bearing stigmata and that was a sign from God that we should exorcise the demons. She died to save other lost souls, to atone for their sins." - Anna Michel (Anneliese's mother, 2005)

Questioning the Story:

When did Anneliese begin to experience strange symptoms?

Anneliese Michel
Epilepsy may have been the
cause of Anneliese Michel's
demonic hallucinations.

In 1968, when she was 17 and still in high school, Anneliese began to suffer from convulsions. Court findings have her experiencing her first epileptic attack in 1969. It was then that a neurologist at the Psychiatric Clinic Wurzburg diagnosed her with Grand Mal epilepsy. Soon, Anneliese started experiencing devilish hallucinations while praying. She also began to hear voices, which told her that she was damned. The court determined that by 1973 Anneliese was suffering from depression and considering suicide. In 1975, convinced that she was possessed, her parents gave up on the doctors from the psychiatric clinic. They chose to rely solely on the exorcisms for healing (washingtonpost.com). Anneliese's symptoms have since been compared with those of schizophrenia, and they may have responded to treatment (telegraph.co.uk).

Who first diagnosed Anneliese as being possessed?

The first unofficial diagnosis was made by an older woman who accompanied Anneliese on a pilgrimage. She noticed that Anneliese avoided walking past a particular image of Jesus, and that she refused to drink water from a holy spring. The woman also claimed that Anneliese smelled hellishly bad (washingtonpost.com). An exorcist from a nearby town examined Anneliese and concluded that she was demonically possessed. After two failed requests, the rite of exorcism was finally granted by the Bishop.

Was Tom Wilkinson's character of Father Moore based on a real person?

Father Moore
The movie's Father Moore
was based on Father Arnold
Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt.

Tom Wilkinson's character was more a combination of two real-life people, Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt (shown at left). Both men were assigned by the Bishop of Wurzburg, Josef Stangl, to carry out "The Great Exorcism" on Anneliese Michel. The foundation for this ritual was the "Rituale Romanum", which at the time, was still a valid 17th century Cannon Law. Father Arnold Renz had been a former missionary in China, and Pastor Ernst Alt was a pastor in a nearby community. Together they carried out 67 rites of exorcism over a period of 10 months, with one or two exorcism sessions held each week. Some sessions lasted up to four hours (moviesonline.ca).

Did Anneliese Michel really see the faces of demons on the people around her like Emily Rose did in the film?

According to The Washington Post, as she grew more convinced that she was possessed, Anneliese began to see the faces of demons on the people and things around her.

Watch a Clip from the Film

What demons possessed Anneliese?

Anneliese was convinced that she had been possessed by several demons, including Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Cain, Hitler, and Fleischmann, a disgraced Frankish Priest from the 16th century. She also mentioned a few other damned souls who had manifested themselves through her. -moviesonline.ca

Did Anneliese's mother Anna support the making of the film?

No. Anneliese's mother did not support the making of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. "I don't want to see the film and I don't know anything about it," Mrs. Michel said, who was at the time in her eighties. Anneliese's father Josef died six years prior to the film's release. -telegraph.co.uk

How many people were found guilty in Anneliese Michel's death?

Anneliese Michel
Anneliese's parents and
the exorcists were found
guilty of negligence.

In the 2005 film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, only one of the characters, Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson), was found guilty of negligent homicide surrounding the death of Emily Rose. In the real-life case of Anneliese Michel (pictured right), which took place in 1978, there were four defendants, not just one. They were Father Arnold Renz, Pastor Ernst Alt, and Anneliese Michel's parents, Josef and Anna. All four were found guilty of negligent homicide and sentenced to six months in prison, suspended with three years' probation.
-washingtonpost.com

Is it possible that Anneliese was copying what she had seen in William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist?

Director William Friedkin's film The Exorcist was released in Germany in 1974, two years prior to the audio tapings of the exorcisms in which we hear Anneliese's recorded voice (listen below). Even though her voice is quite chilling, it bares a striking resemblance to the growling, barking, and inhuman voice of Linda Blair from Friedkin's film. This has caused some people to conclude that Anneliese was simply mimicking what she had seen in the film, if she had in fact seen the film. Upon its release in Germany, the movie created a sort of paranormal hysteria that swept the nation. European Psychiatrists reported an increase of obsessive ideas among their patients (moviesonline.ca). The movie however, does not provide explanation for the years prior to 1974, in which she was experiencing numerous other afflictions that she and those close to her had attributed to demonic possession.

What other disturbing things did Anneliese do?

Anneliese carried out a number of highly disturbing actions. She licked her own urine off the floor. She ate flies, spiders, and coal. She bit off the head of a dead bird. In one instance, she crawled under a table and barked like a dog for two days. She could often be heard screaming through the walls for hours. Tearing off her clothes and urinating on the floor became a regular occurrence. -moviesonline.ca

Did the exorcisms cause her bodily harm?

Anneliese Michel
The exorcisms took
a significant toll on
Anneliese's body.

Yes. Anneliese (pictured right) endured 67 rites of exorcism over a period of 10 months. Over time, the ligaments in her knees ruptured due to the 600 genuflections that she performed obsessively during each exorcism session. A genuflection is an act of reverence consisting of falling onto one or both knees (called a "double genuflection"). On June 30, 1976, during her last rite of exorcism before her death, too weak and emaciated to perform the genuflections on her own, Anneliese's parents stood and helped carry her through the motions. -moviesonline.ca


Was there a doctor present during the exorcisms as in the film?

Anneliese Michel
Goodman based
her book on court
records and eye-
witness accounts.

No. Around Easter time of the year that she died, Anneliese began to refuse food and drink. Her convulsions returned with a greater ferocity. No doctors were called (time-proxy.yaga.com). During the trial, specialists claimed that if the four accused (Father Arnold Renz, Pastor Ernst Alt, and the parents) would have begun to force feed Anneliese a week before her death, then she would still be alive. One of Anneliese's sisters explained to the court during the 1978 trial that Anneliese did not want to go to a mental hospital where she would be drugged and forced to eat (moviesonline.ca).

In her book, The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel, Felicitas D. Goodman embraces the possibility that Anneliese was not epileptic, and that the medication the doctors had given her to control her seizures only made her hallucinations worse.


Why did Anneliese Michel refuse to eat?

Anneliese Michel

She forced herself to fast because she believed that it would rid her of Satan's influence. At the time of her death, she weighed only 68 lbs (telegraph.co.uk). Prior to her death, she had spoke of dying to atone for the sins of the wayward youth and apostate priests of the modern church (washingtonpost.com). Anneliese is pictured on the right.


What did Anneliese technically die from?

Anneliese Michel
Anneliese's gravesite in
Klingenberg Cemetery,
Germany.

According to the autopsy, on July 1, 1976 Anneliese Michel succumbed to the effects of severe dehydration and malnourishment. At the time of her death, she was also suffering from Pneumonia and a high fever (1g3.com). She was buried next to her illegitimate sister Martha at the outer edges of the cemetery. This area is normally reserved for illegitimate children and suicides (telegraph.co.uk).


What were Anneliese Michel's last words?

Weak and on the verge of death, she spoke her last known words on the day before she died. She told her exorcists "Beg for Absolution". To her mother Anna, she said, "Mother, I'm afraid." -moviesonline.ca

Had Anneliese been a deeply religious person prior to 'being possessed'?

Yes. Anneliese and her three sisters were raised in a strict Catholic family. Her father Josef had considered training as a priest and three of her aunts were nuns.

Anneliese Michel

Four years before Anneliese was born, her mother gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Martha. As a result, her mother suffered great shame and was forced to wear a black veil on her wedding day. When Anneliese was a child, her mother encouraged her to atone for the sins of illegitimacy through fervent devotion. When Anneliese's sister Martha died at the age of eight during an operation to remove a kidney tumor, this likely only increased Anneliese's desire to do penance for her mother (telegraph.co.uk).

As she grew older, Anneliese continued to suffer for the sins of others. When she was a teenager, Anneliese slept on a bare stone floor to atone for the sins of wayward priests and drug addicts, who could be observed sleeping on the hard ground at the local train station (washingtonpost.com). In college at West Germany's University of Würzburg, she hung pictures of saints on her dorm room walls, kept a holy-water font near the door, and regularly prayed the Rosary (time-proxy.yaga.com). As stated earlier, even close to her death she spoke of dying to atone for the sins of the wayward youth and renegade priests.


Is it possible that the priests who performed the exorcisms provided Anneliese with the contents of her psychotic behavior?

Anneliese Michel
"Doctrinaire Induction"
theorizes that it was the
exorcists who provided
Anneliese with the basis
for her demonic behavior.

Some experts believe that this is possible. Psychiatrists who testified during the trial spoke about the "Doctrinaire Induction", which in relation to Anneliese explains that she accepted her behavior as a form of demonic possession, mainly because the exorcists introduced much of the idea to her and reinforced it with each exorcism (moviesonline.ca). In 1984, German bishops and theologians petitioned Rome to change the exorcism rite. They concluded that speaking directly or "imperatively" to the Devil, that is, "I command thee, unclean spirit . . . " only confirms to the patient that they are without a doubt possessed (moviesonline.ca).

In the film, did the director try to provide an answer as to whether or not she was truly possessed?

No. In an interview, Scott Derrickson responded to this question by saying, "We tried to put at the center of the movie the question of why did she die, and what is the truth behind this phenomenon? And ultimately to not answer it." Screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman went on to explain, "We have a Scully-Mulder approach to this material, with me being a little more the skeptic and Scott the believer. We approach it and try to be very fair and even-handed to both points of view, to our points of view. That's how we approach it analytically." -hollywoodgothique.bravejournal.com

I read that the body of Anneliese Michel was exhumed after her death, is this true?

Yes. On February 25, 1978, almost two years after her death, the deceased body of Anneliese Michel was dug up and moved to a new oak-coffin lined with tin. Her parents' desire to move her from the cheap coffin in which she was buried was allegedly used as an excuse to exhume her body. Instead, they were acting on a message received from a Carmelite nun from the district of Allgaeu in southern Bavaria. The nun had told the parents that she had a vision that their daughter's body was still intact. Official reports state that the body showed consistent deterioration. Photos of the exhumed body were never released, and Anneliese's parents were prohibited from witnessing the exhumation. From a distance, they could however see her grave from the bedroom of their home, where her mother still lives today. -wikipedia.org

Is it true that another movie is being made about the exorcism of Anneliese Michel?

Anneliese Michel

Yes. A German language film about Anneliese Michel called Requiem, directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, was released in 2006. It is much more a drama than a horror film, and it supposedly follows the real story of Anneliese Michel more closely. -imdb.com

Watch the Requiem movie trailer.

Listen to the Voice of Anneliese Michel:

At the time of the release of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a German web site posted audio in which we hear the real Anneliese Michel's voice during one of the exorcisms. The web site obtained the audio from one of the 43 taped recordings made during the 67 rites of exorcism that Anneliese endured for a period of 10 months. The commentators in the first clip can be heard talking about the demons Cain, Nero, and Hitler, who Anneliese believed had taken over her body.

Anneliese Michel Exorcism Audio - Real Player, 2:26

Anneliese Michel Voice Audio - Quicktime, :12

Source: http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/emilyrose.php


Anneliese Michel Exorcism audio tapes (Long Version)

Download video (22,4 Mb)

Source: http://www.youtube.com/


Buy DVD

Download the Trailer


Other christian films

Смотрите также: Христианские фильмы

Top

Recommend this page to your friend!

Read also: