Strange but Interesting

Last weekend Alejandro and I saw a strange but interesting movie. But, then again, the subject matter of the film was quite unusual.  The movie was "The Testament of Ann Lee", and it deals with the founder of the religious group commonly known as the Shakers.

(image taken from the internet)

The Shakers were an offshoot of the Quaker church.  The group began in England under the leadership of Ann Lee in the late 18th century.  She and her followers moved to Massachusetts, and established numerous communities throughout New England and beyond.  They came to be called Shakers because their worship services were characterized by ecstatic shaking and dancing.  At their peak in the mid-19th century there may have been as many as 4000 followers.  The Shakers were rather progressive in that they believed in gender and racial equality. However, their faith also believed in absolute celibacy, so they depended on converts to maintain their numbers.  As of today, there are only three members of the sect remaining.  The subject was of special interest to me, since there was once a Shaker colony in Ohio at the location of the present-day Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.

At times the movie was a bit slow, but the acting and direction were quite good.  The Shaker services included a lot of singing, and the movie included numerous songs, some of them genuine Shaker hymns as well as music written for the film.  Alejandro joked that the title should have been "Shakers - the Musical".