Entertainment or propaganda?

According to a Washington Post article from today, the independent film “Bella,” which won the Peoples Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and is scheduled for public release in April, is a blatant antiabortion film giving hope to pro-life politicians in D.C. The film is being screened (now up to 10 showings nationwide, many to select audiences in the capital) by the National Council for Adoption, but is decidedly not propaganda, especially when considering its page on the Internet Movie Database. This plot summary never mentions abortion at all, only alluding to life-changing and emotional events. The conflicting descriptions of the film are confusing, to say the least. I’m looking forward to April.

No surprise that the Washington Post article considered the movie in relation to the recent elections, which displayed the Democrat party as a truly pro-choice party (only three of the freshmen Democratic House members aren’t) and transferred 13 seats from pro-life congressmen to pro-choice congressmen.

The film was written and directed by three conservative Mexican Catholics and funded by a wealthy Catholic family from Philadelphia. Now the concern, despite the Toronto award, is how to get movie theaters (dominated by liberal Hollywood folk, say the film’s producers) to show the movie starring unknown actors and an inexperienced director. I guess I’m looking forward to April, on the condition that I can find a movie theater showing “Bella.”