This blog post examines how the film “Constantine” combines religious symbolism and human flaws to construct a unique hero. It explores why humans can remain human to the very end, caught between God and the devil.
How is a human hero possible within a religious narrative? This question arises immediately after watching the film “Constantine.” Based on a graphic novel, ‘Constantine’ boldly combines biblical narratives with modern devices. One might expect the film’s message to ultimately rest on familiar moralistic tropes like “live righteously” or “believe in God.” However, the film does not prominently feature such didactic messages. Instead, it shakes and collapses the boundaries between human greed and good and evil, meticulously illuminating the character of Constantine as the most human hero within that fissure.
From the outset, the film repeatedly presents images of ‘descent’. This visually embodies the distinction between God and the devil, hierarchy and directionality, through camera composition. The scene where Constantine drops his cigarette is captured in slow motion, symbolically foreshadowing his death while also metaphorically representing his current predicament. The reason the camera captures Constantine from above, as if looking down on him from the sky, in the early part is also a scene composition designed to emphasize the imagery of descent and verticality. Isabelle’s leap from the rooftop, Gabriel’s first appearance above Constantine, and the scene of Constantine’s dying body rising toward heaven are all examples where vertical structure combines with religious symbolism to build the film’s depth.
This vertical imagery directly connects to the film’s first question: How can a hero bound by human limitations confront Lucifer or Gabriel? He possesses neither the capital-driven technological gear of Batman or Iron Man, nor the divine nature of Superman or Thor. All he has are somewhat crude tools and his assistant Kramer. This naturally leads to the question: does Constantine truly deserve to be called a hero?
Constantine’s hunt for demons in the human world is fundamentally a desperate struggle for his own salvation. Haunted by a past suicide attempt, he lives burdened by an unforgivable sin. According to Catholic doctrine, suicide is a grave sin, second only to murder. By that logic, Constantine should rightfully descend into hell after death. Yet at the film’s conclusion, Constantine nearly ascends to heaven. Though he eventually returns to the human world, that moment was granted because he chose sacrifice—giving up the wish Lucifer had granted him for someone else’s sake. Can this be interpreted as his noble sacrifice?
Throughout the film, Constantine constantly asks the God of Heaven, “Is God truly free in this situation?” He appeals to God about his actions hunting demons in the human world, and his act of throwing the Bible on the floor during his private meeting with Gabriel early on is a physical expression of that question. Constantine tells Gabriel, “You don’t understand humans.” According to religious doctrine, God is a father-like being whom humans worship and follow. However, the gods in the film are depicted as beings of an essentially different class from humans. Among them, Constantine is positioned as a character struggling for survival from a human perspective.
If this film had strictly adhered to religious doctrine, the protagonist would have been portrayed like Eli in the film “Eli.” A figure blinded by faith yet fulfilling his mission under God’s protection—a being resembling the symbol of the blind man borrowed from Oedipus. But Constantine flips Lucifer the middle finger and curses God as he leaves the cathedral. What matters to him is not faith but survival, and this sentiment flows consistently throughout the film.
Nevertheless, several conditions exist that allow Constantine to be called a hero. The first is the presence of his sidekick, Chaz Kramer. The structure of a hero having an assistant is common; in the same vein as Batman having Alfred and Robin, the relationship between Constantine and Kramer follows genre conventions. However, their decisive difference lies in their motivation for hunting demons. While Constantine does it for personal reasons, Chuck Kramer helps humans for fame and a sense of mission. Creamer’s death in the final battle is a moment of true sacrifice for humanity. In the secret ending, Constantine visits his grave and passes on his iconic lighter, evoking the succession of an heir. Yet immediately afterward, Check Kramer resurrects with wings, reborn as an angelic being transcending humanity through his sacrifice.
Another element symbolically embodying Constantine’s human weakness is cigarettes. Lung cancer caused by smoking functions as a device symbolizing the inevitable weakness bestowed upon the hero. This is easily understood by recalling Superman’s kryptonite. It connects to the element of the u-turi in classical folklore and contrasts with how, in modern films, the hero’s anonymity has expanded, transforming weaknesses into family or romantic partners. However, Constantine possesses no such familial weakness. While compassion for Angela appears, it does not form the main axis. Instead, cigarettes function as a humorous element in the film, intertwining with the irony that permeates the entire work. The irony is formed by the fact that Gabriel, an angel, joins hands with Lucifer’s son to threaten the human world, the God who should protect humans stands idly by, and the hero, Constantine, hunts demons not for conscience or duty, but solely for himself. His line, “I’ve never fallen to the devil, and now I’m going down to a damn cigarette?” delivered with a laugh, most clearly reveals this reversal.
The film doesn’t stay within the structure of a hero movie but also incorporates elements of mystery. The process of tracking down the forces behind the demons trying to cross over into the human world resembles the structure of a hardboiled detective novel. Initially, Lucifer is suspected as the mastermind, but after the scene where the half-breed corpse is blown away by the wind, the audience gradually begins to suspect Gabriel. His constant cigarette smoking, walking through the rainy city center without an umbrella while wearing a coat, and his cold-blooded demeanor that reveals nothing faithfully recreates the aesthetics of a traditional detective character.
Some viewers assess Constantine as a challenge to God and a film that shows no consideration for religious figures, but it’s difficult to fully agree with this assessment. The angel and demon motif is merely a setting to make the weak human hero Constantine more compelling; there is no forced sacrifice or faith imposed within it. What is revealed is solely the process of a human hero enduring and persevering through life. The focus is not on confirming the sublime in humanity through God, but on capturing the intimate humanity religion leaves unsaid from a lowly place. Ultimately, Constantine remains the most human detective and, simultaneously, the most human hero.
