Daylight. A Hollywood Jesus visual film review.

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Daylight is an unacknowledged remake of The "Poseidon Adventure." The story line draws heavily on the Moses exodus story and incorporates the idea of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ. The film blew me away with surprise with all its biblical connections.

DAYLIGHT
(1996)
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By David Bruce

Daylight:
The way of the cross leads home.

Kit Latura: Sylvester Stallone, Madelyne Thompson: Amy Brennaman, Roy Nord: Viggo Mortensen, Frank Kraft: Dan Hedaya, Steven Crighton: Jay O. Saunders. Directed by Rob Cohen. Written by Leslie Bohem. Running time: 109 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for disaster-related peril, death and destruction).

Note the spiritual symbolism in the poster. Contacting the light from above! The film Daylight is also filled with such symbolism. The story line pulls heavily on the Moses/exodus story and incorporates the idea of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ. It is an unacknowledged remake of The "Poseidon Adventure." It also has basis in fact. In the 1940's there was an explosion in the Holland tunnel due to toxic materials.

The film opens with three trucks loaded with toxic waste headed into the tunnel from Manhattan to New Jersey. Some diamond thieves speeding through the tunnel, evading police crash their car into the waste trucks, causing an explosion that seals off both ends of the underground tunnel.

Kit Latura (Stallone), former head of New York City Emergency Medical Services, is chosen to save the trapped motorists because of his knowledge of the tunnel. There is only enough air for three hours. In order to reach the people Latura must descend from above through a one-way airshaft. Parallel: In order for Christ to save the world he had to descend to earth and become like one of us.

Latura has to win the confidence of the people in order to lead them to safety. This is accomplished by his leadership through several Moses-like plagues involving fire, water, explosions, and even rats, all symbols of chaos and evil.

Like the Pharaoh in the Moses story and the enemies of Jesus, so the authorities in this film want to destroy Latura and the people in the tunnel (see the film to learn why). This provides the tension and a sense of helplessness that propels the story. How can they be saved? How many have already died? The answer comes in an old abandoned chapel within the tunnel that had been used in years past for the employees. Latura has to lead the people through the water (Red Sea and baptism) and into the chapel. Shining their flashlight around the chapel they see the head of Christ on an old crucifix attached to the back wall. Safely in the chapel, they notice rats fleeing to the cross. The rats know the way out. Looking behind the cross they discover a hole leading up the surface.

One film reviewer, Alex Brenner, has commented: "There can be no doubt that the film as a whole is intended as a dramatization of a Dantean or Miltonian theme - 'long is the road, and hard, that leads up out of darkness and into the light'." Coming out of the darkness of water and discovering even rats can be saved through Jesus to the daylight is the subtle message here.

There is a cross-like sacrificial death in the film, which I have not mentioned. You'll have to rent the video for this, but there is a "death", burial and resurrection at the end of the film, which I picture above. Latura, like Gene Hackman in Poseidon Adventure and Moses in the Bible, does not pass through with the others. The platform he is on helping others gives way and down he goes. Unlike Hackman, however, Latura has a Christ-like descent into the watery abyss where he is buried in mud and then is liberated by an explosion that sends him to the surface of the river and daylight (resurrection).

BULLETIN BOARD

WORTH THE RIDE
Subject: Great movie.... beyond words Daylight
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000
From: Akin

This movie had me going all the way. Just the way that everybody got together and survive as one really moves me. The musical score was great. The music is played at exactly the right time you should hear it. An example of it is when Kit Latura ( Sly Stallone ) must go through the fans to get to the survivors. Rather than overplay the score.... there is no music till he reaches the end. Another time is when the group must move on to survive and leave behind the guard who cannot be helped anymore. He says his goodbye's and the music picks up. Making the audience feel the pain of driving on. This was a great all around movie. No matter what my friends say about this flick. I had to go 3 hours of driving to get this movie on DVD. It is definatly worth the ride.

Response: I really enjoyed this film too. I think it is highly under rated. -David

PERSONAL INSIGHT INTO DAYLIGHT
Subject: Motivational thought
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000
From: Brian

Thanks for your website. I check it whenever my wife and I are going to rent a video. Another thought about Daylight is a bit evangelistic. Many people in my city are trapped in another kind of destroyed tunnel - life. I'm not a perfect person, like Kit Laturo, but God still wants to use me to rescue some. I really like the portrayal of Kit - he wasn't a cocky hero like the guy who tried to climb out at the beginning. He was just a guy who was doing his best, making stuff up as he went along, but knew the meaning of sacrifice. This motivates me in my life - (I work with youth in my city). I want to make the necessary sacrifices in order to help more people in my city find the Daylight through the cross of Jesus.
Brian

ANOTHER PARALLEL
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000
From: Doug

My wife and I saw this movie when it was released and enjoyed it very much. The chapel scene had one more thought-provoking moment for us that you did not mention in your writeup, but I'm sure you caught. After all but Sly and the lady get up the stairs, and he and she have to descend back down through the chapel to find some other way out, they swim past the now-submerged crucifix. The survivors could have met their demise in the water, but here Jesus took their place in the watery tomb. Pretty cool.
Great website. Keep up the good work!
God Bless,
Doug

My response: Wow! Great insight there Doug. Thank you!

ONE OF MY FAVORITES
Feb 10 1999, I know this movie didn't do that well at the box office, nor did it do well with some critics. But I consider it to be one of my favorites. I love watching these people from different backgrounds, come together throughout the movie. And also the way they changed indiviually. For example, those who believed they would never get out of the tunnel, would gradually have more faith throughout the movie and did believe they would get out.