I WENT FOR A HAIRCUT AND left with a lesson on world religion. It was time to get a haircut and when I walked into the establishment, I noticed my usual stylist was not there. Since I was in desperate need of a haircut, I remained and sat with this new person. When I explained I was getting my hair cut for a special occasion, it led to a discussion about each of our heritages. She spoke of the hardship she had leaving the country of her birth for her daughters’ sakes. There was no opportunity for them to grow and become self-sufficient if she had remained there. Instead, she emigrated to the United States and worked hard to provide for her daughters; one became a doctor and the other a lawyer. Everyday, she said, she was grateful for having the strength to have made that hard decision to leave her country. From the things she spoke about, I could tell she had had issues with people in her country who were in positions of power, who were extremists. I shared with her a family member’s story about their childhood, where they would be hidden in a forest anytime military guards came around the town. The guards were sent out periodically to hunt for male children of a different religion, to kill them. It was up to the parents to not only get their children well hidden in the woods, but to then remember where they hid them after the guards left.      AS OUR CONVERSATION CONTINUED, I TOLD her of my uncomfortableness with anyone who was extreme. Whether they were religious, political, conservative or liberal; I was never comfortable around individuals who had such extreme mindsets. She made an interesting observation about the atmosphere presently around our country; that it felt like to her as if a faction of citizens were trying to create a fascist state. And it bothered her when people in government made decisions based on their religion instead of thinking about the country filled with people of many faiths. I thought that was both a powerful and insightful statement on her part. We discussed how religion played a part in past world events. I mentioned how turned off I get when a person talks and acts as if their religion was the only true/right one. That is why I get offended when someone tries to convert me to a different religion. In my opinion, all religions have a place at the table; who is anyone to judge someone’s religious beliefs? Keep in mind all of this is taking place over the sound of her electric clippers going around my head. The interesting part to all of this is the fact that after my haircut, I went and saw this engrossing, Oscar nominated drama.      A GROUP OF WOMEN LIVING IN a small religious community come together to decide if they should stay or leave after they find out how they received the marks on their bodies and their miraculous births. With Rooney Mara (Nightmare Alley, A Ghost Story) as Ona, Claire Foy (The Girl in the Spider’s Web, The Crown-TV) as Salome, Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, The Lost Daughter) as Mariche, Frances McDormand (The French Dispatch, Nomadland) as Scarface Janz and Judith Ivey (A Life Less Ordinary, Flags of Our Father) as Agata; this powerful story had the perfect cast to tell it. The whole cast was magnificent; they were like a dream team for actors. The story posed many questions and opinions on current topics, but in a non-confrontational way. I would have appreciated seeing more development in how the characters got to their current place; but in the scheme of things, their performances and discussions were riveting enough to keep me engaged. It almost felt as if the writers wanted to make sure they got their points across first before working on each character. This is the type of movie that generates curiosity in the viewer and stays in their mind for a time afterwards.                                    

3 ½ stars