The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Believe … to understand
Since its birth, television has had a troubled relationship with cinema, to the point where a professional in one industry could not work in the other. The most common is that successful movie generate television series. When the reverse happens, like “Mission: Impossible”, “Star Trek” and “The X-Files”, there is always some dissatisfaction. That is what happened with “The X Files: I Want to Believe” (USA, 2008), second movie based on the famous television series.
“The X-Files” was a television series that remained for eleven seasons, between 1993 and 2002, which addressed topics such as conspiracy theories involving aliens, senior government officials covering up facts, paranormal activities and even mystical themes such as Satanism, ghost sightings, etc.. The show had two actors of great identification with the public, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, living the FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
In addition to the strange facts they dealt with, the way they viewed situations was also curious. Mulder was always open to the possibilities, while Scully, very skeptical and rooted to their religious convictions, lived in friendly conflict, not to mention the sexual tension between the couple.
The movie “The X Files: I Want to Believe” follow the life of the two several years after the events covered in the previous film, “The X-Files” (USA, 1998). Scully had come back to exercise her medical profession in a catholic hospital, while Mulder, currently wanted by, kept himself reclused in a secluded property, researching things that he himself did not have idea about.
The two were forced to return to active when an FBI agent was kidnapped and just disappeared. The only clue about it is provided by an ex-priest (Catholic, obviously, since Catholicism is a minority in the United States), who said he had visions that come straight from God.
Agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet), who leads the investigation into the disappearance of her colleague, decides to turn to Mulder, even against opinion of her partner Mosley Drummy (rapper Xzibit) and most of the FBI. To enter the case, Mulder gains pardon from the organ, but demands that Scully also accompany him.
In addition to the agent, other women also had fade gone, which leads researchers to believe that they are faced with a serial killer or something more strange. The problem is that the only clues seems to come from Father Joe (Billy Connolly), a convicted pedophile who had abused sexually 37 boys in the past.
The one who most resents the case is Scully, because while Mulder dives deep, accepting the priest’s views as true, the doctor rejects the latter, not only because of his past as an abuser, but also because he contradicts her rigid religious convictions (she, obviously, is also Catholic). To make matters worse, she is involved with a child suffering from a degenerative disease considered incurable, and refuses to stop the treatment.
All roads lead Mulder and Scully to investigate organ trafficking, because they believe that the disappearances of women have to do with this basic cause. Now, finding the missing victims still alive becomes a matter of time.
Interestingly, the viewers who most rejected the films were former fans of the series, for not finding elements common to TV episodes, such as extraterrestrials, government conspiracies or supernatural appearances. People who had never heard of “The X-Files” before, on the other hand, considered the current film to be a good piece of police action.
The movie has a great cinematography, engaging soundtrack and an extremely dynamic edition (the initial scene is breathtaking). In the end, it is a movie that pleases and displeases both Greeks and Trojans.
But, as I always say, each opinion is unique, and liking it or not has to do with each person’s heart. The recommendation? Watch it and form your own opinion.