Page - 141 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

Book Review: Komm und sieh | 141 salvation expectations and redemption motifs. Within cinematic dramatur- gy, she shows, motifs of doom and destruction are complementary to the represented redemption. At the end of the analytical film reviews, Kirsner establishes a link to the beginning of the book. She emphasizes the position of digital media and film in shaping social life. The filmic representation of technical and scientific progress again raises the question of how human life can be organized in society. Drawing on science fiction films, she contrasts being human with artificial intelligence and, at the same time, thematizes the ethical responsi- bility of humans towards their environment. The question of the role digital media, and in particular cinema, will play in the fundamental experience and interpretation of reality in the future remains necessarily unanswered. The orienting achievements of movies and the changing and growing pres- ence of digital media in the everyday experience of the audience suggest that we needed a fundamental reconsideration of the implications of digital media for everyday life. The second part of the book focuses on the practical use of films in wor- ship services. In concrete examples, films are examined for their Christian statements and their individual interpretations of life. Examining devotional practices and services in detail, Kirsner shows how films can be interpreted theologically and applied in practice. The films serve as spaces of identifica- tion for the audience and are reflected theologically in sermons and in con- nection with biblical stories. These interpretations are then presented as a finished template with songs, prayers, and liturgical elements. The liturgical embedding of the films is creative, even if the interpretations are sometimes one-sided and do not always do justice to the complexity of cinematic pro- ductions. The book offers a very good and broad selection of Christian references in current cinema. However, these references are interpreted very statically. Individual motifs are covered in the discussion of the films, yet the ambiva- lence and diversity of Christian references within an individual film are not addressed. For the film Arrival (2016), for example, Kirsner notes the main character’s willingness to make sacrifices and the experience of suffering as a form of Christian life. But she ignores the messianic transformations of this figure and the resulting questions about free will and predestination. Thus, the film not only creates a space for the audience to engage their per- sonal suffering, but also addresses philosophical questions about people’s ability to make decisions. Cross-references within the book itself would help www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 139–142