The Celestine Prophecy (film)

The Celestine Prophecy is a 2006 American film directed by Armand Mastroianni and starring Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, and Sarah Wayne Callies. The film is based on James Redfield's best-selling novel of the same name. Because the book sold over 23 million copies^[3] since its publication and has thus become one of the best-selling books of all time, Redfield had expected the film to be a success.^[4] However, the film was widely panned by critics and was a box office failure, with a total worldwide gross of $1.5 million.

The Celestine Prophecy
DVD cover
Directed by	Armand Mastroianni
Screenplay by	James Redfield Barnet Bain Dan Gordon
Based on	The Celestine Prophecy 1993 novel James Redfield
Produced by	Barnet Bain
Starring	Matthew Settle Thomas Kretschmann Sarah Wayne Callies Jürgen Prochnow
Cinematography	R. Michael Givens
Edited by	Maysie Hoy
Music by	Nuno Malo
Distributed by	Celestine Films LLC
Release date	April 21, 2006 (2006-04-21)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.5 million[1][2]

Cast

• Matthew Settle as John
• Thomas Kretschmann as Wil
• Sarah Wayne Callies as Marjorie
• Annabeth Gish as Julia
• Héctor Elizondo as Cardinal Sebastian
• Joaquim de Almeida as Father Sánchez
• Jürgen Prochnow as Jensen
• John Aylward as Dobson
• Cástulo Guerra as Father José
• Obba Babatundé as Miguel
• Tequan Richmond as Basketball Player
• Vinicius Machado as Spanish Conquistador (uncredited)

Plot

Having lost his job as a middle school teacher, John Woodson (Matthew Settle) finds himself at a turning point in his life. He takes a vacation to Peru, where he spends his time exploring and searching for the ninth scroll, lost from a set of eight ancient texts, rumored to reveal the future of humanity.

Reception

Box office

The Celestine Prophecy grossed $1.2 million in North America^[1] and $286,444^[2] in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.5 million.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 4% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 2.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Adapted from the bestselling self-help tome, The Celestine Prophesy [sic] is indifferently directed and acted, and its plotting is virtually tension-free."^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 23 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[6]

Film critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "clumsy -- not merely unconventional but awkward in its narrative development and dialogue", and added: "characters are sketched in shallow terms".^[7] In his top ten list of the worst films of 2006, LaSalle called it a "misbegotten film, an awkward, undramatic effort", and ranked it third on the list.^[8] Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times said "the movie is flatly acted and extremely ill-paced, lacking any sense of urgency, momentum or fun".^[9]

Bibliography

• Redfield, James; Joynes, St Leger; Joynes, Monty (2005). The Celestine Prophecy: The Making of the Movie. Hampton Roads Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-57174-458-6.

See also

• Cinema of the United States
• List of American films of 2006