In no way do I seek to belittle this film or its purpose, but I have to question its structure. In his synopsis of the film on Paulist Productions' Web site, DiPersio explained that his goal was to put all the pieces of this issue of forgiveness together in one film that let viewers come to their own conclusions about why we forgive and whether or not we should. But for a film intent on producing such a personal response among viewers, The Big Question expands a very personal issue to global proportions.

Again and again the film comes around to the statement that we must remember the wrongs done to us and forgive those responsible for them, in order that we might not repeat the past. The ultimate goal of forgiveness, in terms of those interviewed, is to prevent atrocities like war, slavery and injustice from reoccurring throughout time. However, history has continued to repeat itself over and over again. Wars continue to rage, people are still enslaved, and small and large injustices are continuous across this country and across the world. In short, when discussed on such a global scale, forgiveness seems like a pointless choice that never really makes a difference.

A valid way around this skepticism—which I freely admit, may be no more than me playing the devil's advocate—might have been to keep the film more personal. Global views of forgiveness only open the door for skeptics to criticize. But truly personal and honest experience with forgiveness and its effects are much more likely to help viewers connect with the concept DiPersio is trying to show.

DiPersio has done an excellent job of scouring cultures across the world for experiences of forgiveness, but I believe in order for deep soul-searching to happen among viewers, the film must remain personal. As an example from the film, I found Martin Luther King Jr.'s best friend providing a personal account of what it was like to forgive King's killers to be much more effective than watching Ravi Shankhar and Deepak Chopra—both brilliant and noble men—expostulate about the global ramifications of human oneness and the universality of forgiveness.

My criticism of this film comes down to one thing: people identify with other people, not with concepts and goals. No matter what biological function forgiveness may serve, no matter if forgiveness is essential to unifying the human spirit across the world…If people see and hear the experience another person has had in being hurt and forgiving the person—or persons—who committed the wrong, that will be most effective in communicating the message of forgiveness' value.

DiPersio has most of it right. He shows how forgiveness is universal by finding individuals from all walks of life to share their experiences as well as cultural and spiritual traditions with forgiveness. He even goes into the biological science behind why we forgive. The majority of the film is intensely personal and highly emotional but well balanced with intellectual analysis of forgiveness. But for me, the expansion into forgiveness as a global act that has life and world-changing capability stretches just a little bit too far for a film seeking to catalyze personal reflection among its viewers.