John, 316 (2021)

What a unique movie! Definitely not your normal flick about Christianity. It's a modern day retelling of the Jesus story from an religiously objective viewpoint. We get to observe the humanistic benefits of faith as well as the obvious futility of "knowing" if there is a higher power or not. Very entertaining and extremely well done for its low budget status.

**_“Would you sit with me?”_** At a psychiatric hospital in middle America a no-name drifter (Colin Matty) is brought in by the police, covered in a white sheet because he was naked. While he is likable and his eccentric ways win over the patients, the faculty isn’t so sure (Afton Rentz, Griffin Cork, etc.), especially when a new boss takes over (Darrell Portz). “John, 316” (2020) is a mental hospital drama that’s naturally reminiscent of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975), but with a supernatural element similar to “The Green Mile” (1999) and a protagonist who recalls Toni Collette of “The Sixth Sense” (1999). It’s amazing this only cost $75,000 (or $100,000 in Canadian dollars) because it’s a worthy drama with entertaining bits and potent insights. Sure, it’s not on the level of “Cuckoo’s Nest” or “Green Mile,” but I prefer it to “Sixth Sense” for several reasons. You get to know the characters and buy them as real people. Only Portz hams it up a bit, but it fits his antagonistic role. The spiritual points connected with me and they’re way more than just what relates to the title. I’m not going to give ’em away, yet they’re there for all to see; you just have to look beyond society’s programming (brainwashing). One simple scene could easily be missed it’s so mundane, but it speaks deep cosmic truth. The movie runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot in Alberta, Canada, at Alberta Beach & Edmonton (hospital). Alberta Beach is about 45 miles west of the big city. GRADE: B+/A-