[NFB-Talk] The Shack

[Steve Cook]

Hi All, 

Come join the NFB of SC on Friday, July 16, 2021 at 8:00 PM Eastern for the
audio described movie The Shack! 

Plot
Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child
at the hands of his drunken father, who abused his mother as well. One day,
Mack tells the preacher at his church of his abuse, and as punishment, his
father harshly beats him, leading to Mack’s mother’s decision to leave them.
As a 13-year-old boy he chose to poison his father with strychnine in his
whisky. The film does not include any criminal consequences for his father's
murder.

As an adult he has a fulfilling life with his wife, Nan, and their three
children: Kate, Josh and Missy. Mack's life is shattered, when their
youngest child Missy disappears during a camping trip while he is saving
Kate and Josh during a canoeing accident. The police determine Missy is the
victim of a serial killer after finding her torn dress and blood in a vacant
cabin. Kate blames herself for Missy's death because she recklessly caused
the canoe accident in the first place.

The tragedy derails Mack's faith and life until the onset of winter when he
receives an unstamped, typewritten note in his mailbox. The surrounding snow
is devoid of any incriminating tracks. The message is signed "Papa" (which
was Nan's nickname for God) and invites him to meet at the cabin.

Thinking this may possibly be an opportunity for meeting and punishing the
serial killer, Mack borrows his friend's 4X4 and drives there, apparently
narrowly avoiding a collision with a truck. Finding the ruined cabin cold,
desolate and empty, he is overcome with frustration, rage and an almost
irresistible impulse to turn his handgun on himself. But he suddenly
encounters a mysterious trio of strangers who invite him to stay at their
well-furnished, cozy little house situated just down the path and, oddly, in
the midst of a beautiful, sunshiny, summertime wilderness.

The trio of strangers gradually reveal their identities: an African-American
woman is God the Father (Papa), a Middle Eastern man is Jesus, and an Asian
woman is the Holy Spirit. The purpose of their invitation is to first help
him better understand his life as seen from a much broader context or higher
perspective. This helps free him from an inclination to pass judgment upon
himself and everyone else who crosses his path. It is from that new starting
point that he may then continue his long, slow journey healing himself and
his family, and forgiveness for himself as well as for those who have
greatly harmed him and his loved ones.

He helps Jesus build a beautiful wooden box, the Holy Spirit to prepare a
spot in her garden for a planting, and then Papa - in the form of an elderly
Native American man - leads him to the cave where Missy's body is located.
Together they prepare her body for burial, place her in the box, and lay her
to rest in the garden. He briefly sees Missy in Heaven, but is unable to be
with her. Jesus steps through the boundary separating them to visit with
her. Mack also visits another cave where God's wisdom, in the form of a
woman, Sophia, talks to him. Eventually, the trio and Mack encounter the
spirit of Mack’s father, who apologizes for his mistreatment of Mack and he
reluctantly forgives him. Mack also apologizes to his father, whom he
killed, and finally understands that Missy's death was not punishment for
his murder of his father.

Finally able to move beyond his grief and his faith restored, he leaves the
trio and sets out to return home to his family. However, he again encounters
the truck and this time collides with it and wakes up in hospital. The
friend from whom he borrowed the 4X4 tells him that he never reached the
cabin, having crashed on the way there.[a]

Cast
Sam Worthington[5] as Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips
Carson Reaume as Young Mack
Octavia Spencer as God (Papa)[6][7]
Graham Greene as Male Papa[8]
Radha Mitchell as Nan Phillips[8]
Aviv Alush as Jesus Christ[8]
Sumire Matsubara as Holy Spirit (Sarayu)[9][10][11]
Tim McGraw[12] as Willie
Alice Braga[12] as Sophia
Megan Charpentier as Kate Phillips[12]
Gage Munroe as Josh Phillips[12]
Amélie Eve as Missy Phillips[12]
Ryan Robbins as Emil Ducette[12]


Federation Center

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09
Meeting ID: 803 254 3777 Passcode: 124578
One tap mobile +19292056099,,8032543777# US (New York)