Keeping the Faith

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

8th February 05

Keeping the Faith

Keeping the faith is a film based around a friendship between the three main characters. Brian, Jake and Anna grew up together. Anna moved away when they attended high school but Jake and Brian remained good friends. Their friendship lasted the time, even though they both felt very strongly about their religions, which were different. This didn’t mean they felt out but instead they educated each other about their beliefs and continued to grow up side by side. Jake became a successful rabbi and Brian, a popular catholic priest. Jake and Brian used their friendship to connect their religions. They held events that were attended by both Jewish and catholic followers. They used their friendship to show their followers that people of different religions can be friends. They became popular and well liked in their religions for showing that this is possible. Brian gets a phone call from Anna to say that she is coming to visit them as she has business in their area. Jake and Brian meet Anna, excited to see how their friend has grown up. For the time that Anna is meant to be staying she again becomes good friends with Jake and Brian and they regain the close friendship they once had showing that friendship can be dormant for years but doesn’t necessarily disappear. Jake and Anna get into a relationship but do not tell Brian. They both try to convince themselves that it is not serious however, Anna tells Jake she has fallen in love with him and is prepared to give up a good job offer in order to stay with him. Jake finished the relationship because his job means that he had to marry a Jewish girl and Anna is not Jewish. Anna is very upset and turns to her friend Brain to get some support. He doesn’t listen to Anna and tells her that he loves her and is prepared to give up his job for her. However, when he finds out that she loves Jake he doesn’t offer his support but walks out. Brian gets drunk and sleeps rough that night and confronts Jake the following morning to accuse him of stealing his girlfriend. He ruins Jake’s reputation with his following because he wasn’t going out with a Jew. However, Brain forgives Jake for not telling him and gives him a rabbi card, which Jake had wanted since childhood. This is a real symbol of their friendship. Brian and Jake decide they should see Anna before she leaves because of their friendship. Towards the end of the film, Anna and Jake end up going out while Jake gains the full support of his faith and his friend, Brian the two most important things to him.

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The Jewish faith states that to progress to a senior Rabbi the Rabbi must get married to a Jewish girl. In the film Jake’s congregation send him on lots of dates with young female members of the congregation. Jake feels pressurised to find a girlfriend although he explains that it is important to be friends first and to gain chemistry before it goes any further. However, Brian’s faith states he must be celibate. This means that he cannot have a sexual relationship or get married. Also he should not have thoughts of a sexual kind. It is classed as wrong in both Brain and Jake’s faith when they fall in love with Anna. It is wrong for Jake because he should only love a Jewish woman and should marry her and Brian is not allowed a relationship at all. Jake’s mother had broken relations with her other son Ethan. This is because he married a woman who was not Jewish. In Judaism it is the woman/mother that passes on the religion, which is why most Jewish families find it so important for the son to marry a Jewish girl. When Brian told Anna that he loved her, he realised that he had decisions to make. He knew that he couldn’t have both his job and Anna. It was a similar scenario for Jake although eventually his job allowed him to remain a Rabbi and have a relationship with Anna.

Jake and Brian held very modern services within their religions that tried to bring in newer people into the religion as well as keeping the current congregation happy. The new services brought more fun into religion and brightened up the services. However, some of Jake’s congregation were not happy with his services. His congregation thought that new ideas in their religion were not kosher and tradition gives people continuality and comfort and they also believe that religion is something that people should be led to and not pushed into it. Jake thinks that he is doing the right thing because he is encouraging people to join his religion and putting more fun into his faith.

I think that the film was quite fair to religion. It was quite a negative look on religion though because religion was to blame for all the problems. It was the reason that Jake’s mum was not talking to her other son, Ethan. It was also the reason that Jake could was not meant to be in a relationship with Anna. It was also the reason why Brian must have been celibate. However, towards the end of the film religion prevails because it forgives all the sins that have occurred. However, I don’t feel that religion really explained why religious people held their beliefs for example it didn’t really explain why Brian was celibate and also it never really explained why Jake’s mother had fallen out with Ethan. However, the film has helped me to learn quite a lot about religion. I am now more aware of the Christian and Judaism faiths. I have learnt about how relationships are one of the most important things with faith. For example Brian could not have a girlfriend but Jake had to and she had to be Jewish. I have learnt that religion will forgive sins. Overall, I think it is a good film based around religion although you should not rely on the film to teach you everything about religion and should have some background knowledge on Judaism and Christianity before you watch the film so that you are completely of what is happening and why.