Finally got around to watching this film last night – I had been meaning to watch it for ages – and it was, as expected, an excellent film, highly recommended, although, as a tragedy, it ends up being pretty grim. 4.5/5

However, whilst watching it I was put in mind of the text from Sunday’s service: “he who has been forgiven little loves little”. The turning point in the wrestler’s story is a rejection, which leads to a relapse into bad habits, which escalates into another rejection, and a further relapse, and the man sinks back into the way of death. In other words, it is because of a lack of forgiveness – especially from one crucial person – that death follows. So I see the film as an exploration and presentation of a spiritual law – where choosing love and forgiveness leads to life in abundance, so too does a lack of love and lack of forgiveness lead to death.

Similar themes to the Eastwood film – hence the title of this blog post.