Prophetic. And I'm NOT kidding.

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2010)

A lot of commentary on this film appears to range between "pointless" and "fun".
I thought "Goats" was prophetic. I think the real initial split is between the folks who recognized certain key messages and the folks for whom the film was a sort of character-based light show. If you're among the latter group, then I understand how the film could disappoint. Without that overarching message--a genuine struggle between the forces of light and darkness--"Goats" may be good for a postmodern chuckle or two, but fairly empty on the whole.
The fact is that the story that Jon Ronson hit on has very, very far-reaching implications: And those implications are spiritual in nature.
Perhaps the strongest overall message relates to how the New Earth Army vision affords us perhaps the perfect witness: A clear and clean counterexample to what came out of the Bush/neocon/PNAC (Project for a New American Century) "vision" for the future of American global power projection. Jon, in essence, seems to be saying, if you want to understand what happened with Bush II power projection, this can genuinely be best understood in the context of the New Earth Army phenomenon from 50-odd years ago.
And I think that's a powerful message.
Watch the movie with that key contrast in mind--seriously trying to grapple with the full implications of this turnabout in national spiritual choices--and I guarantee you'll strike gold.
Really. Do yourself a favor and watch and listen carefully, sifting out these profoundly contrasting worldviews. You might even find yourself crying at certain points in the storyline.