http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/aug/04/xfiles.faith


Why the new X-Files film is a misunderstood but compelling tract for
our times

Mulder and Scully aren't just trying in vain to revive a dated
franchise. This time, they're in search of a remedy for the spiritual
malaise of the West

* David Cox
* guardian.co.uk,
* Monday August 4 2008


The X-Files: I Want to Believe has bombed at the box office and
disappointed not just film critics but also fans of the iconic TV
show. It has also puzzled them. The programme's first big-screen spin-
off, ten years ago, was in essence just an inflated episode of the
small-screen
series. As such, it went down well enough, particularly with
aficionados.
This time, however, the brand's originator, Chris Carter, has
abandoned the much-loved phantasmagoric world he created, with its
ever-ambiguous narratives. In its place, he seems at first sight to be
offering no more than a humdrum, body-parts-harvesting serial-killer
procedural. Why?

The clue's in the title, or rather the subtitle. It isn't "The Truth
is Out There", because Carter has clearly decided that, after all, the
truth probably isn't out there and that whether it is or not is no
longer the point. Nowadays, there's something more important than
tilting at mystery. It's something we've lost sight of, and our
salvation depends on getting it back.

The X-Files TV series and it first film spin-off were born of an era
of pre-9/11 innocence. Their mission was to titillate the comfortable
by conjuring up fanciful perils. Nowadays, we have no more need of
fictional chimera: we face real threats a-plenty, ranging from
terrorism to economic collapse and climate change. When it comes to
dealing with them, however, we're paralysed by a loss of faith. We no
longer believe in our leaders, our media, our values, our way of life
or even our fellow-citizens. As a result, we are sinking into apathy,
cynicism and despair, instead of confronting our demons.

Once his TV series and its associated activities had come to an end,
Carter took five years out. He went surfing, learned to fly and
climbed mountains. In addition, he says, he came "closer to faith". He
seems to have returned to the X-Files destined to reinvent the
franchise for a new age in the light of his own epiphany, consciously
or otherwise.

In his film, the message is laid on with what at first seems like
excessive and unpersuasive zeal. The wintry Virginia landscape is as
unforgivingly frozen as our own faithless world. In enforced
retirement, Mulder clings stubbornly to his belief that there are more
things in heaven and earth than Horatio dreams of. This leads him to
endorse the apparently psychic visions of a paedophile priest, who in
turn trusts in God's forgiveness. Scully is the sceptic on all of
these counts, but puts her faith in untried medical treatments (she's
now a doctor) and the God of the Roman Catholics.

By which of this rag-bag of beliefs are we expected to set store, we
ask through much of the action. However, as in the best police
procedurals, purport awaits the denouement. It turns out that the
priest may be a faker who's in on the crime. Or, he may not. Faith
doesn't deliver truth. It doesn't necessarily deliver happy outcomes,
either. The fate of the child that Scully is treating remains
unresolved.

Where we should actually place our faith turns out to be up to us. The
Foxes (20th Century and Mulder) not only challenge the claims of
truth, but neglect equally to endorse freedom, justice, religion or
the American way. The quest for belief itself, however, is now so
serious, apparently, that we mustn't squander it on indulgences, like
the extra-terrestrials of the TV show. Faith is the key to fighting
crucial battles. We cannot simply duck out of these, since the
darkness finds us, not we it. Faith is what preserves our ability to
press on in the face of the horror of it all. We must therefore
embrace it, not scorn it.

Trite? Corny beyond belief? Well, try "Love thy neighbour". Naive or
not, The X-Files' message addresses the troubles of our times. There
may well be an appetite for it. The tide of Obamamania suggests that
lots of people are indeed seeking a repository for faith. Those who
pay attention to this film, instead of hankering for the solace that
its TV progenitor provided in what is now a faraway age, will be
rewarded. They will find that it fulfils the task it has set itself
with unusual skill, force and panache. If imparting a moral with
intelligence, precision and passion were the test, Gillian Anderson's
performance would win her an Oscar.

Show faith. Ignore the critics, and go and see The X-Files. It might
do you good. And don't leave as soon as the credits roll, or you'll
miss one of the most affecting cinematic scenes of all time.

###

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Monday August 04
2008. It was last updated at 11:56 on August 04 2008.
* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008


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