Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Console best movie i've ever seen.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

iViewed I usually stay well away from religiously biased films. In this case the film title, The Seminarian, piqued my curiosity as I thought it may either be a unwatchable, cliché ridden, full-on, sex and insensibility, gay scene romp or a philosophical exploration of religious hypocrisy and the oppression it creates for humanity. Thankfully, this film dishes up few of those socio-sexual clichés.The script is intelligently written, with good, if not great, accompanying cinematography. As the subject matter is of a personal, inner nature, no Lean or Powell majesty was required. The claustrophobic atmosphere of a Seminary was suited to the predominantly fixed angle shots.The only weakness of The Seminarian was the actors (especially Ryan, the protagonist). His gentle, considerate and emasculated, though, not effeminate, personality would have been better cast by using a less gay mannered man. Ryan's best male friend, also a seminarist, seemed to have not a clue about his sexuality even though his best friends' girlfriend/fiancée appears to have suspected...all along.I thought Bradley, the focus of Ryan's seemingly wasted affections, was a great character; deeply damaged, Bradley is cruising through a pot-holed life perpetually in the wrong gear and selecting anguish, self-pity, evasiveness, neediness and self-avoiding nymphomania for fuel. Though viewers only get to see him for several seconds throughout the entire film, his actions (don't blink, you'll miss them) are crucial to The Seminarian's thesis.The cast of seminarist's, armed only with their own delusional focus of belief, has certain of them playing right into the hand of another of their God's vile and cheap tricks. The result being natural humanism conflated with a perverse supernatural Abrahamism.I gave it 8/10 purely because the protagonist is so well endowed... No I didn't, silly! Score is because I thought it was a unique and intelligent take on self-oppression coupled with religious dogma.P.S. Nose aside, I hazard Ryan's not a grower, more a shower.

michaelrthomson I'd not read the reviews, or indeed anything about this before downloading it to watch, I thought it could be an interesting storyline - although one we've heard before.The opening ten minutes was enough to prove that one should not bother with this sort of content. I turned it off and went and watched some paint dry which was more interesting than this stinker.Two days later I'd run out of paint so I thought i'd try again, being tenacious and all. What I was rewarded with was the most awful acting, and complete clichés everywhere in terms of the 'gay' storyline. This mixed with an awful presence of religious judgments was enough to do my head in.I didn't really find anything original in this at all, the stories have been told better by plenty of film makers. I'm not surprised I've never heard of or seen these 'actors' elsewhere - their only real expertise was how to remain wooden and expressionless throughout, even in the occasional moments that might otherwise elicit a response.Ultimately this is a good 90 mins of my life I'll never get back, I cannot for the life of me think of any aspect of this movie that redeems it.Oh one last comment, I think the film maker threw in several penis shots just to create interest (or enthusiasm), all it served to do was highlight that this movie wasn't the only flaccid thing going on on my TV screen.I would say if you have 90 mins up your sleeve, and you can't find any drying paint or grass growing to watch, then you could bore yourself with this debacle of a movie.

stef-decloe I am agnostic since more than 25 years but I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I thought there was a difference between "seminarist" (someone who studies to become a priest) and a "seminarian" (as I found out, exactly the same - dixit internet dictionaries).I respect everyone's beliefs as long as they respect me.There must be a difference in sensibility between Europe and the USA regarding this, I think. I thought having been married to someone belonging to an Evangelical (Protestant) confession had learned me more, bit - as it seems - it didn't. The marriage didn't last either. Anyway, I looked a lot up while watching this movie (stop movie, wiki, continue movie, stop & wiki...) and learned a lot.I too found this movie to be a little slow... There were to many close up's on non moving faces. The actors waited very patiently until the other had said his lines and then replied. What I think this movie lacks the most is spontaneity. The acting seems sometimes unnatural.I can understand it was made to make think people about some things (and it worked for me): can we justify our suffering by God's suffering? Providing you believe there is a God, this is a very interesting question. The so called "free will"... The questions "why are you still on seminary" and "why are you still a Christian"...? Is falling in love - be it with a man or with a woman - free will? Some interesting points to discuss with friends (and a bottle of good wine) when we will talk about this film.Apart from the specific situation of the troubled Bradley, we see situations that happen in both gay & straight situations. So, after all we are all the same when it comes to feelings, aren't we? Mark Cirillo is a pleasure for the eye and I think we haven't seen yet what he has in petto. The other actors are OK, but I would have liked a little more spontaneity.Hence, 6/10.

drainart I bought this movie somewhat on a whim after reading reviews on several sites, and I'm glad I did. "The Seminarian" is a thoughtful -- and thought-provoking -- study not only of main character Ryan's quest for love, but of how each person has to find his or her own path to happiness. Some people try to find this through religion, others through friendship, others through romantic relationships, others through purely sexual encounters. Ryan is trying to balance all of these, and sometimes his intense focus on one makes him lose sight of the importance of the others. The other characters represent these different parts of Ryan's existence -- Eugene & Kelli are God's love; Gerald & Anthony are friendship; Bradley is romance; and Kevin is sex. As an allegory, then, these interrelationships worked well for me. Other reviewers have commented on the slow pace, and they're right that this isn't exactly an action flick. But it wasn't meant to be. Some reviews mention the brief nudity in a couple of scenes, and yes, it was probably put there by the director solely to titillate certain audiences. But it was also realistic... No one wears clothes 24/7, so why should the characters in a movie? Bottom line: Take "The Seminarian" for what it is, accept it for what it's not, and I think most people will find it worth their time.