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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bless the Child, Bless the World, June 15, 2003
Bless The Child is a theatrical tribute to the current world's situations plagued by an intoxicating need for quick solutions to problems no matter what the cost. The film shows how some will give up their lives, and their souls, in order to fulfill their needs instead of conquering their battles themselves. The movie starts with a single and middle-aged Maggie (played by Kim Basinger) meeting her long-lost-sister, Jenna (Angela Bettis) ,who brings, and leaves her newborn to her Brooklyn apartment for her to take care of. Persistent in finding out what is wrong with the child, and disagreeing with the doctor's diagnoses of autism, Maggie places the child, Cody (Holliston Coleman), in a Catholic school where she hopes she will come out of whatever is causing her problems. A case of murdered children in the area brings federal agent and former seminary student John Travis (Jimmy Smits) to Brooklyn to help the police investigate the murders. With a specialization in occult mysticism, Travis informs the police that they are not dealing with a comic-book psycho, and the crimes are meant to attack God, not man. Maggie is greeted by her sister once again, six years after her startling departure. She is occupied with her new husband, Erick Stark (Refus Sewell), founder of the New Dawn which provides the city with a rehabilitation center for those who abuse drugs or alcohol. Of course the New Dawn also welcomes those who are confused about who they are, and need some stationary brainwashing. Insisting she is well enough to take care of her child, Maggie is caught off guard with the request of Stark to take Cody with them to their home, promising she would receive the best medical attention under the most prestige's doctors. When Maggie declines their request, she learns Cody has been kidnapped. Maggie quickly goes to the police station and explains what has happened but insisting it is a social worker's custody issue, she is blown off. Detective Travis ushers her back to his office and explains that he has had an eye on Stark for some time, but protected by the best lawyers-he is legally well-protected. Frustrated, Maggie leaves the office and ventures into Stark's New Dawn building to solve her problem herself. Littered by "There is no God, but you" pamphlets, Maggie acts interested so she may e-mail Stark directly on one of the message boards, requesting another conference with him. Experiencing some exhaustion from the current circumstances, Maggie walks into one of the rooms at the hospital where she is a practiced nurse. Here she meets Sherry Post (Christina Ricci) who explains her friends shot her up and left her to die. While having a conversation, Sherry accidentally blurts out that Maggie looks like her sister, revealing she knows who they are. Being summoned by a doctor to assist him in another room, Maggie has to run out after Sherry tells her "Don't let them get the girl. You know she's special, don't you?" When Maggie arrives back at her apartment, there is a message for her from Sherry telling her to meet her at a diner. Upon arrival, Maggie hands Sherry some cash for a bus fare out of the city. It is here that Sherry explains to Maggie Cody will lead people to God, and Stark will do whatever it takes to stop that. Spotting some of Erik's minions outside the diner, Sherry slams a gun on the table wrapped in a small piece of paper which includes the address of Stark's home, and runs away. Maggie chases her into a metro station where she is knocked out by one of the goons, and left for dead on the tracks while it is far too late for an oncoming train to stop. Fit-up, Maggie goes to Stark's home where she tries to take Cody back with her, but is drugged by one of Stark's accomplices and placed in a car on the wrong side of the road on top of a bridge. Swerving to avoid cars, Maggie hits the side and forces the car to titter-totter off the side. Finding help from a nun and a reverend that have experience helping people out of Stark's occult, Maggie ventures into the dentist office where Cody is having her teeth cleaned. Sneaking in and out, Maggie grabs Cody and runs out into the street. Chased by the dentist, minions, and the nanny, Maggie takes Cody into a nearby metro station and runs to a train just as the door is shutting. A shy woman with an umbrella calmly places it between the closing doors, opening it, and allowing them to escape on the train just before the nanny runs to the train and bangs on the side-revealing her demonic form to Cody and Maggie. Upon the reverend's advice, Maggie takes Cody north to a church in upstate New York where she will be safe. Noting Maggie's tardiness, the nuns begin to pray for the safety and well-being of Maggie and Cody. Cody is once again kidnapped, and Maggie once again chases after her, resulting in herself being held against her will in an abandoned church. Finally being able to see one of Stark's ceremonies first-hand, Maggie notes the flying dragons and thousands upon thousands of rats which form a brief, but graphic Lucifer. This dramatic and heart pounding adventure brings people of all backgrounds under the realization that "there is a spiritual battle happening every second of everyday. All of our actions influence the outcome of this battle."
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