The 1993 classic Groundhog Day is one of the best depictions of Purgatory in any art form, alongside Dante Alighieri’s Purgatorio, the second chapter in the Italian poet’s Divine Comedy.
Now a film that features a rodent named Punxsutawney Phil, small-town folks (some obsessed with WrestleMania), blood sausage, Sonny and Cher’s “I’ve Got You Babe” and a character known as “Needle-Nose” Ned Ryerson may not, on paper, appear to rival the complexity and gravity explored on the path Dante’s Pilgrim treks. Yet the movie transcends its romantic comedy genre into an investigation of the soul, fate and purification, much like the 14th century epic poem.
To start, comparing Bill Murray’s Phil Connors — a weatherman for a Pittsburgh news-station — to Dante’s Pilgrim is certainly not a unique perspective. In fact, many others, like this great review written by Jonah Goldberg back in 2005, offer deep insights into the film’s spirituality beyond its Christian themes. However, debates over Purgatory’s existence have divided Christians since the Reformation, and even this author has had to field questions in recent years.
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