Walk The Line

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Johnny Cash! He was one of those guys that if you cared for him at all---you loved him. If you didn't care for him---you tended to dislike him a lot. People seem to feel the same way about his new movie, "Walk The Line." I wouldn't say, "I loved it," but I really liked it a lot! The reviews are mixed. Some say, "It's awful." Others are praising it to the sky.

I make a prediction: Joaquin Phoenix will win the Academy Award for best male actor in 2005.
IN MY OPINION, PHOENIX IS JOHNNY CASH! Over the years I have listened to and liked Johnny's songs. There's a little town outside of Stockton, California, where I lived for 20 years, named Jackson. I never went near there without hearing in my head, the words of the Cashs singing, "I'm going to Jackson...". If I went down to the prison at Tracy, I thought of his performance at Folsom. A deacon in the church said to me, "Johnny Cash is no singer. He just talks. He just tells stories. He can't sing a lick."

"Walk The Line" tells a sad story. The afternoon Charlotte and I went to see the film there were only three other people in the theater. It was showing on two screens. I assume that's because of the evening and weekend crowds. The day we went everybody was at work or out Christmas shopping. There wasn't any applause at the end. The five of us just got up and walked out. It wasn't the kind of movie you cheer for. Some have expressed disappointment that there wasn't more about his Christian life in the film. This movie was about the earlier days of his life. It ended before he changed and began to live for Christ. In his later years Johnny Cash gave a great testimony for Christ. I'm glad!

Driving home I found myself singing quietly, "I walk the line..."