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<>Ahead of the Class. Drama based on real-life events. Marie
Stubbs, a diminutive Glaswegian
headmistress who is coming up to retirement age, takes on one last
challenge: to improve the fortunes of St George's School in north west
London which was facing closure after the notorious murder of its
previous headmaster, Philip Lawrence, in 1995 as he was breaking up a
fight between his pupils and those from a rival school. Details.
Almost
Peaceful (Un monde presque paisible).
Beginning
in the summer of 1946, this film, based on the autobiography of Robert
Bober, a French writer and film-maker, this is
the story of a Jewish tailoring family and their friends, as they try
to re-establish normal lives after the horrors that many had
encountered during the war, and the continuing anti-semitism of some
Parisians, including the local inspector of police. Beautifully
and sensitively filmed, mostly in central Paris, with a strong cast of
young children as well as adults (French,
with sub-titles). Details
of film.
Angela's
Ashes. Memories
of a boy growing up in the slums of Limerick during the 1930s, with an
unemployed drunkard of a father and a somewhat ineffective
mother.
A poignant story of days before the social safety net, with some
challenging
insights into the attitudes of the established church and those
administering
social assistance towards those who are destitute. Details of film.
Au Revoir les
Enfants. A
touching and true story of life at a French boarding school during the
German occupation, and issues surrounding the presence of Jewish
students who are hidden by the Friars who run the school. The
boys, also, must guard this secret.... Details of film.
A
Beautiful Mind. This
film
is based in part on the true story of the 1964 Nobel Laureate in
Mathematics.
A brilliant if egocentric Ivy League professor begins to suffer
delusions
that he is working with the U.S. military on vital code-breaking work
during
the height of the Cold War. Valuable insights are given into the
meaning of Schizophrenia for the individual, his family, and
sympathetic
colleagues as together they strive to make the delusions less real and
reintegrate the victim into normal society. Details of film.
Available
at Movie Gallery.
<>Bon
Cop-Bad Cop. A successful
Canadian
film, based on the premise that a body is discovered atop a sign
marking the boundary between Ontario and Québec; this
necessitates a joint investigation by the Sûreté de
Québec and the Ontario Provoncial police. The two
detectives are very different character- the Torontonian is
well-dressed and well-educated (Upper Canada College and the Sorbonne),
speaking immaculate English and French, and following his police
mandate in the extreme. The Québec representative, in
contrast, is sloppily dressed, drives a rusted jalopy at excessive
speeds, does not speak either English or French very well, and cares
little for the limits imposed on policing by current legislation.
There is rather much of the violence of the "action film," but this
movie does address the "Deux Solitudes" in an interesting way,
emphasizing that differences between our founding peoples lie as much
in culture as in language. You can watch in English or in French,
as you prefer. Details
of film.
<>
Bonheur
d'occasion.A story
of
the life of the lower economic group Québecois living in
Montréal during the Great Depression, based on the novel by the
classic french
Canadian novelist Gabrielle Roy.
Money is perpetually tight, mother is
almost always pregnant, and the annual community day when leases are
terminated sees a progressive move of the family towards more dreary
lodgings in the industrial area of the lower town, surrounded by the
noise and soot from locomotives. A younng child dies of
tuberculosis in a bleak catholic hospital, and a brother enlists in the
British Army, mainly to get a greatcoat for the coming winter.
This story gives a new insight into our two solitudes. Details
of film.
Bowling
for Columbine. A
pseudo-documentary
that explores with biting and ironic wit the American obsession with
gun
ownership in the context of a major shooting tragedy at a U.S. high
school. Details of
film. English,
available at Movie Gallery.
Bye-Bye
Blues. A
Canadian
film, based loosely on the experiences of the author's mother who moved
with two small children from a life of luxury in India to her husband's
family farm in rural
Alberta during World
War II. Her physician husband
is captured in the fall of Singapore, and may well have died. The
wife bravely faces the dual hardships
of providing for her family and keeping
alive the memory of her missing husband. The poignancy of the film is
lightened by some
great
dance music from the 1940s. Details of film.
Caché.
This
is a film about acceptance of
communal and personal responsibility for past misdeeds. The
specific basis is an incident in 1961, when French Police drowned
several hundred Algerians in the Seine. The son of one of the
victims is maltreated by one of the main characters when the Algerian
child was brought to the white boy's house. The film poses
questions rather than offering pat solutions, and the discussion with
Director Michael Heneke is a particularly interesting feature. Details of film.
Highland Video.
Calendar
Girls.
A gentle and largely true story
about a Women's Institute in
North Yorkshire, where the normal events are lectures on gardening and
jam-making. The husband of one of the members dies of leukemia,
and they resolve to raise money to fight this disease by producing a
calendar featuring the members in various provocative poses.
Issues raised include the reactions of the media and the impact on the
individuals and their families. Details of film. Highland
Video
Cecil
Rhodes. Did
you
ever wonder how that red of the never-ending British Empire spread
itself
across the Globe- was it the White Man's burden of civilising
savages?
This epic challenges such a view, showing the strong influences of
personal
ambition and entrepreneurial greed which still have their
after-currents
in southern Africa. The British are prepared even to resort to
inducing
morphine dependence to get the consent of tribal leaders to their
colonial
plans. A representative of the London Missionary Society (an arm
of the British Congregational Churches) plays a not too laudable role
in
this BBC three video saga. English,
available at Squamish Public Library.
Central
do Brasil.
This
emotionally affecting Brazilian drama directed by Walter Salles is one
of the best films of 1998. Dora (Fernanda Montenegro is a cynical and
selfish former schoolteacher who earns a living writing letters for the
illiterate in Rio de Janeiro’s busy railroad station. Viewing most of
her clients as "trash," she never even mails their missives. Nine year
old Josue (Vinincius de Oliveira) comes to the station with his mother,
who has Dora write a letter to his father in a faraway town. Then his
mother is struck and killed by a bus. With nowhere to go, Josue sleeps
in the station. Dora reluctantly takes him to her cramped apartment
where he finds the letter with his father’s address. But the next day,
she sells him to some people who claim to be in the adoption business.
She buys a new television with the money from the transaction. Her
friend Irene is horrified at her callousness. The boy, she warns, is in
real danger of being killed for his organ parts. Dora decides to rescue
him and return him to his father. The two get on a bus and flee the
city.
All the world’s religions celebrate compassion as the quivering of the
human heart in response to suffering. Central Station depicts the slow
opening of Dora’s heart as she and Josue travel across Brazil. After
she tries to abandon him once, and he loses all the money she gave him,
they are picked up by a friendly fundamentalist Christian truck driver.
Dora welcomes this respite from her loneliness, but he rushes off once
he realizes she is interested in him physically. The miraculous
hatching of Dora’s heart occurs when they end up in the middle of a
rural religious pilgrimage. Once again, the old woman becomes a letter
writer, but now she approaches it differently. Perhaps for the first
time in her life, she senses her kinship with other people and their
mutual yearning for love and connection. Further experiences with the
boy awaken within her a tenderness for life. She is transformed by the
end of the journey.
Catholic writer Henri J.M. Nouwen
once wrote,
"The joy that compassion brings is one of the best kept secrets of
humanity." This extraordinary film publishes that secret, and we
receive it with tears and glad tidings. More details of film.
Sub-titles. Available at Squamish Public Library.
84
Charing Cross Road. A gentle
story
that
uses the device of correspondence to narrate the relationship that
builds
between a New York writer and an old-fashioned bookstore in central
London
that finds cheap copies of classic books for her. She sends food
packages to ease the misery of ratuioning in post-war London, and the
bookstore
employees go to endless trouble to find the books that she is
seeking.
A star-studded cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft and Judi
Dench. Details of
film.
<>
Le Chateau de ma
Mère. This film is a companion to
"Le Gloire de Mon Père," and is based on a gentle but charming
story by the classic author Marcel Pagnol. The family spend their
summers in the hills of Provence. Marcel likes it when they
reach the
cottage, but in the period of the story (turn of the century) they have
to walk about 5 miles to reach it- a very long and tiring journey for a
small boy and a sick mother. With the co-operation of an
ex-pupil of Marcel's father, they find a shortcut along a canal,
through the
backyards of some excentric people. During one of these holidays Marcel
meets Isabelle, a pretty but conceited girl to whom he becomes
enslaved... Details
of film.
The Chronicles of Narnia. Based
on the book of C.S. Lewis entitled
"The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe," this delightful saga tells of
the adventures of four children, evacuated from the World War II
bombing of London to safety in the large house of an Oxford
Professor. A game of "hide and seek" takes them into a magic
wardrobe which opens into the strange Kingdom of Narnia. Here,
also, there is a battle between the forces of good, lead by a
magnificent Lion, and an evil witch who seduces and captures one of the
children. There are tremendous animation effects, including two
memorabvle beavers, and theologians point to the willingness of the
lion to give his life for a betrayer, with the ultimate rending of his
tomb and his resurrection. Details of film.
The Constant Gardener.
This
film is based loosely on the book by John LeCarré, about the
current hot topic of the Multi-national testing of dubious medications
on unsuspecting African slum dwellers, and the complicity of western
governments in this endeavour. The movie simplifies a very complex
story and skips much of the witty dialogue of the original text, as
well as the almost true "Canadian" connection to a university that
fired a professor who blew the whistle on a major pharmaceutical
company. However, it brings to life vivid images of life in the
slums of Nairobi amd in the drought-torn regions of sub-Saharan
Africa. Available at Highland Video. Details of film.
Control Room. A fascinating
glimpse of "embedded" journalists during the second Iraqui war, as seen
(mainly) through live footage and the eyes of the Al Jazeera television
network in Doha, Gulf States. The horrors of war, how national
leaders try to manipulate images, and the courage of some journalists
(including, surprisingly, the representative of CNN) in resisting such
manipulation. Details
of film.
Available at Squamish Public
Library.
Cool
Hand Luke . Cool hand Luke (1967) is the
moving character study of a non-conformist, anti-hero loner who
bullheadedly resists authority and the Establishment. One of the film’s
posters carried a tagline related to the character’s rebelliousness:
“The man…and the motion picture that simply do not conform” With this
vivid film, director Stuart Rosenberg made one of the key films of the
1960s, a decade in which protest against established powers was a key
theme. One line of the film’s dialogue from Strother Martin is often
quoted: “What we have here is…failure to communicate.” Rich, religious
symbolism, references and imagery are deeply embedded within the
narrative, with some critics arguing, that Luke represnts a modern-day,
messianic Christ figure who ministers to a group of disciples and
refuses to give up under oppression. More detail of film.
Copenhagen.
Based
on a stage play, this film involves only three well cast characters,
representing the half-Jewish physicist Niels Bohr, his wife, and a
German pupil Heisenberg who became Professor of Nuclear Physics at
leipzig during World War II. Based on a meeting with his former
pupil in occupied Copenhagen, it explores interactions between Danes
and their former German friends during the war, and it asks the
question why Heisenberg did not develop a nuclear bomb. Was it a
crisis of conscience, or did his theoretical calculations miss some
important step such as the rate of diffusion of particles in Uranium
235? More
details of film.
The Detective. Based on the Father Brown stories
of G.K. Chesterton. A parish priest (Alec Guiness) plays amateur
detective, often at variance with Scotland Yard, since his objective is
reform and redemption of the criminal rather than imprisonment.
An older film (1954), but nevertheless a witty romp around the Auction
houses in London, Paris, and the Chateaux country, in the tradition of
British film comedy. Details of film.
Edward VII.
An
epic
six-reel panorama of Victorian
and Edwardian history, tracing the intricacies of Queen Victoria's
family connections throughout Europe, with delightful vignettes of a
succession of British prime ministers. The story underlines the
problems created by the unduly strict education of Edward imposed by
Prince Albert, the obstinacy of Queen Victoria, particularly in her
later years, the stoicism of Princess Alexandra of Denmark in the
face of her husband's succession of liaisons, and the pride of the
young Kaiser presaging World War I. English, available at Squamish
Public
Library.
Finding
Neverlands.
Tells
the story of Sir J.M. Barrie and
his relationship with an impoverished widow and her four boys, which
provided much of the inspiration for the play Peter Pan. A
beautifully staged production, a little sad as the widow gradually dies
of tuberculosis, but very suitable for family viewing. Johnny
Depp manages to sustain a very convincing Scottish accent throughout,
and Kate Winslet and the child actors are also delightful. This will
stimulate you to read more about Barrie! View
Trailer.
<>
The
Four Minute Mile
The
story
of Sir Roger Banister's assault on the "Four Minute Mile" is a very
authentic
portrayal of Bannister, Chris Chattaway and John Landy.
Although
set in the 1950s, many of the problems still face us in the schools of
today. Banister ran so that the other students would not tease
him
for studying hard to become a doctor. In terms of training
schedules,
there was tremendous pressure to make preparation for running a
full-time
endeavour, and Sir Roger did not allow himself to be bullied into
taking
what he regarded as unnecessary training. The ideals of good
sportsmanship
and friendly competition are maintained throughout, and there are some
strong comments on the impending professionalisation of "amateur"
competition.
Incidentally, Sir Roger is related to Doreen Ramus, and I have also had
close professional contacts with him over the years. Details of video. Seen
occasionally
on TV- a joint BBC/Australian Broadcasting Corporation Production.
Ghosts
of Rwanda. A
PBS documentary giving the reactions of people from various parts of
the world to the Rwandan genocide. A Belgian Red Cross worker, a
Senagelese and several US nationals (including Madeleine Albright) show
in a favourable light, with the Clinton administration and Kofi Annan
in a more compromised role. There are also extensive quotes from
Romeo D'Allaire (see also "Shake Hands with the Devil," One of
the important lessons from this documentary seems the number of lives
that were saved by the bravery of unarmed civilians during this
conflict. Details of film.
La Gloire de Mon
Père Based on Marcel Pagnol's
classic novel, this film gives a gentle and delightful impression of a
young boy's middle-class life in turn-of-the-century France. The
success of his teacher father allows the purchase of a vacation
cottage, where there are many spirited battles over religion versus
rationalism with the arrogant
Uncle Jules. Marcel befriends a local boy and learns many of the
secrets of nature in the hills in Provence. It is a companion
story to Le Chateau de ma Mère. Details of film.
<>
Goodbye, Mr. Chips. This
film tells the story of a teacher (Mr. Chipping) at one of the "better"
public schools in Edwardian England; it includes the brutality of the
teachers towards the boys, and the boys towards eachother, the terrible
loss of former pupils, and the hatred against a German teacher in World
War I, all mellowed by the brief love of Mr. Chipping for an attractive
feminist. There are three versions of the film, the original
(1939) starring Robert
Donat, a second one screened in 1969 at Sherbourne College
(starring Petula
Clark), and a third prepared for Masterpiece Theatre
and shot at Winchester College in 2003. All make very pleasant
entertainment.<>
Goodnight, Mr.
Tom A heart-warming tale
about the impact
of war on civilians in England. John Thaw plays an elderly
curmudgeon who is required by the British government to offer the
shelter of his country home to a young boy evacuated from the slums of
central London. Both learn much from the experience! Details
of video.
Gosford
Park.
The
setting
is a weekend shooting party at an enormous English country mansion
during
the 1930s, seen mainly through the eyes of an army of servants - both
those
belonging to the household and those brought by the guests. A
star-studied
British cast includes Maggy Smith playing a totally self-centred member
of the aristocracy, a tenor with a beautiful delicate voice
playing
the actor and playwright Ivor Novello- tolerated by the nobility as a
source
of musical entertainment for the weekend, and an American film-producer
who fails to realise that those educated at Eton expect breakfast to be
served buffet-style. The sombre background to murder of the
Lord of the manor unfolds through snatches of conversation caught by
the
servants as they pursue their never-ending and thankless
duties.
This film offers a fascinating critique of the English class-system,
and
leads us to ask how far we are exploiting others lower in the world
social
hierarchy. Details
of film.
The Grand
Highway. Originally issued as "Le
Grand Chemin," this
film by Jean-Loup Hubert, offers a delightful performance by the
director's young son
Antoine, who plays a sickly eight-year-old shipped
off from urban life to visit his country relatives while his mother has
a baby. The
boy's subsequent adventures run the gamut from delightful to
terrifying. Details
of film.
<>
I
Heard the Owl Call My Name. This
is a beautful adaptation of the novel by Margaret Craven about a young
Anglican priest who is sent to minister to a remote Indian community on
the west coast of Vancouver Island, with Tofino the nearest approach to
"white" civilization. The priest at his first Christmas service
talks
of a ship that will carry this people to the white person's country,
but
by his second Christmas he has learned the strengths of the indigenous
people, talks about building about building a bridge for two-way
traffic,
and decides he would like to remain a part of the community. Details
of film.
<>
An
Inconvenient Truth. Al
Gore has lectured in more than 1000 cities on the theme of global
warming. This film gives a gripping and scientifically accurate
presentation of his slide show, in which Gore's intelligence and global
understanding is very evident. See the impact on features of our
environment ranging from fatal heat waves in Paris to the melting of
Greenland, the disappearance of lake Chad and the flooding of
Florida. Details
of film.<>
The
Inner Tour An
unusual and controversial TV
documentary prepared by an Israeli film-maker, with an Arab
co-producer, immdediately before the beginning of the 2000
Infafada. A group of Arabs, mostly living in Refugee Camps, get a
chance to visit Israel, in some cases to see their former homes, to
talk and mix with Jews, and for their children to see sights that they
could not even dream of in a refugee camp. The camera remains on
the bus, and you can share the poignancy of their comments throughout
the three day trip. Avai;able at Squamish Public Library. Details of film.
Into
the Arms of Strangers A
moving
account of the "Kindertransport", a plan that allowed some 10,000
Jewish
children to move to Britain to escape Nazi persecution, narrated by
those
involved, with fascinating footage of pre-war Germany and discussions
of
the reactions of the children to their new environments. Baron
Rothschild
is seen as a particularly helpful figure in these events, opening his
own
home to 20 Jewsih children. Many British families show true
Christian
love for the exiled children, although some seek to exploit them as
servants. Details
of film.
Jesus
of Montreal.
Directed by
Denys Arcand,
Jesus of Montreal won the
Grand
Prize of the Jury at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and gained 12
Genies, the Canadian equivalents of the Academy Awards. The drama takes
place in modern day Montreal, where Father Leclerc (Gilles Pelletier),
a
priest with an interest in theatre, hires Daniel (Lothaire Bluteau), a
talented and intelligent actor, to direct the annual Passion play
staged on the grounds of a hillside shrine overlooking the city
(Sacré Coeur). Using
data from the latest archaeological finds and new translations of the
Talmud, Daniel reworks the traditional Stations of the Cross. Father
Leclerc is pressured by the church hierarchy to shut the show down,
because it portrays to radical a view of Jesus. The struggle between
church hierarchy, the Jesus of history and Christ who walks the streets
of modern Montreal gives all who see this film a different entry into
the Christian story. Sub-titles. Available at Squamish
Public Library. More
detail of film.
Kandahar "The
best film of the 2001 Cannes festival." A fascinating and very
topical glimpse of life in Afghanistan- the bleak countryside, the
grinding poverty, hunger and thirst, primitive schooling and medicine,
the restrictions imposed by the Burka, and the enormous number of
civilians with limbs destroyed by land mines, as a Canadian Afghani
woman attempts the perilous journey to visit her suicidal sister in
Kandahar. More
detail of film.
<>Liam Set in depression ravaged
Liverpool of the 1930s, Liam shows the corrosive affects of poverty on
a family as seen through the eyes of the youngest child, the insular
seven year-old Liam. Dealing passionately and at times melodramatically
with issues of religion and racism, Liam is a powerful and moving drama
that highlights the fortitude and frailty of human spirit in the face
of unrelenting hardship. Starring: Ian Hart, Claire
Hackett, Anne Reid, Anthony Borrows, David Hart, Russell Dixon,
Megan Burns. More
details of film.
<>
The
Lost Prince John
was
one of the children of George V, but his name is rarely mentioned- he
was
an autistic child who had occasional fis of epilepsy, and to avoid
damaging
the "royal image", the young prince was secluded on the Isle of Wight,
with just a very faithful nursemaid for company. The coldness of
the royal parents is vividly portrayed, and there are also some
fascinating
glimpses of palace life in the period immediately preceeding the first
World War. Details of video.
BBC
television
film.
<>
Manor
House A
cross-section
of our current generation are invited to spend three months in an
imposing
Scottish manor house- one group as the Lord and his family, the other
as
the servants from Butler to scullery maids. All must live
according
to the social norms and etiquette of early Edwardian England. The
lord rather enjoys his pampered existence, justifying the thankless
18-hour
days of the servants on the basis that Jesus said "The poor are always
with us". It offers a fascinating commentary on a by-gone
era,
and poses the question "Will a subsequent gneration be equally repelled
by the social distinctions that we currently accept as a part of the
fabric
of our society?" BBC
television
film.
<>
Millions. A five-year
old in
Liverpool has
recently moved with his father and brother to a plush new housing
development. The boys have a fort built of old boxes near a
railway track. One day, it demolished by a large duffle bag that
contains millions of pounds. Unknown to the boys, it is currency
marked for destruction, and stolen by a gang of thieves. The
youngest of the boys thinks it is a gift from God, and plans to give it
to the poor. But this is more complicated than it might seem,
particularly when living in a wealthy suburb... A great family film,
apart from some rather tedious visions of Catholic saints that afflict
the youngster. Details
of film.<>
Miss
Potter. The
life
story of Beatrix Potter, the famous illustrator of Peter Rabbit and
other children's books. Her parents have independent
inherited wealth, and lead rather vacuous lives as Edwardian
socialites. She is still unmarried at age 32, much to her
mother's dismay, and seeks to live an independent life as a writer of
illustrated books. Finally the publishing house of Warne accepts
her first book, largely as a make-work first project for the ailing
younger son of the publishers' family. Beatrix falls for him, but
unfortunately hr dies of pernicious anemia during a trial separation
imposed by her parents. She mov; finally, she marries a childhood
friend, now a rural solicitor, again considered of too low social
status by her ambitious mother. Details of film.
Mrs. Brown Queen Victoria continues to
live in mourning after the death of Prince Albert, while affairs of
state languish. But then a Highland gillie, John Brown, tempts
her out of seclusion. Soon, rumours begin to circulate of a
romantic attachment between the Queen and the outlandish
Highlander. An outstanding performance by Dame Judi Dench as the
Queen. Details
of film.
<>
The
Ninth Day One
little-publicized aspect of the Nazi concentration camps is that
several thousand priests from various countries were held at
Dachau. About a half of these died over the course of the Nazi
regime. This true story from the Mar del Plata film festival
tells of one Luxembourg survivor, Father Kremer, who was given a
nine-day "leave" from Dachau in the hope that he would either persuade
the Archbishop of Luxembourg to endorse the Nazi regime, or would
himself set up a "Quisling" pro-Nazi church in exchange for the
release of himself and any other priests who would endorse the new
regime. Available at Squamish Public Library. Details of film.<>
<>
No
Reservations A young executive chef living in Manhattan suddenly finds
herself with the responsibility of caring for a nine-year-old niece
when her mother, the chef's sister, is killed in a car crash. She
has a rather rigid personality, and is not well-equipped for this task,
but learns to cope with the help of a young sous-chef with a
diametrically different personality. For once, a pleasant story,
with pleasant musical accompaniment. Details of film. <>
<>
Obachan's
Garden A
true story of Japanese fisherfolk and boat-builders in Steveston,
including their forcible displacement to a farm in Manitoba during
World War II, and their subsequent search of Japan for a missing
daughter of a 100-year-old grand-parent. Vivid pictures of
traditional Japanese culture, modern Japan, and the mores of Canadian
Japanese settlers. Details
of video. National
Film Board.
<>
Orwell
Rolls in his Grave A vivid plea from senior US
journalists and academics in Departments of Public Media to curb a
monopolistic control of U.S. television and newspapers that has
currently reached Orwellian proportions. Entertainment and the
gathering of audience for advertisers has replaced the spreading of
information, with the result that corporations and politicians with
media linkages prosper at the expense of their more honest
counterparts. The challenge now is to conserve the remaining
independence of the internet. Details of film.
Squamish Public Library.<>
<>
The
Passion of Christ
It
seems universally
agreed
that
Mel Gibson's film is very violent, and some have also accused it of
antisemitism. "There
is no doubt that
Jesus
died a violent death at the hands of the Romans. But the unrelenting
and
excessive focus on Jesus'
suffering, apart from his life
and ministry, and separated from the lives of all those suffering under
the Romans, runs the risk of
glorifying violence and
celebrating
suffering," says Bruce Gregersen, General Council Minister for Programs
for Mission and Ministry."
The
film could give
the
impression
that suffering and sacrifice are the only way to win God's love. We do
not
worship a sadistic God who
is satisfied or appeased by sacrifice and blood. Jesus' suffering in
fact
comes from his standing with
the
poor and the oppressed, not
to pay a debt for human sin. As a church we believe that God is present
to all who suffer and thatGod
does not desire suffering
in any form." "Jesus'
passion should
lead us
to reflect on those who in our own time suffer oppression, torture,
marginalization,
and die from
poverty
and violence. Jesus
showed
God's love for them. We are called to do the same today. When people
witness
the suffering of
Jesus
in The Passion of The
Christ,
the United Church calls on them to see through that suffering to the
people
Jesus loved and loves
and to witness to hope by
sharing
God's love and in seeking justice."
Rabbi
Tovia Singer
speaks out
against Mel Gibson's The Passion with an eye to the situation in
Europe.
He outlines the core statements in the the four Gospel's depiction of
the
passion, statements that fueled pogroms and the Holocaust. He
concedes
that in Christian theology the question about " who did it" is
irrelevant,
but feels that the reaction to the movie in Europe, which is caught \in
a medieval mindset regarding Jews, will be one of great tragedy. Rabbi
Daniel Lapin
attacks
Jewish
organizations for hyprocisy in their attacks on The Passion, stating
that
they will cause far more
problems in the USA than the
movie itself does. He defends artistic freedom and claims that
there
is a double standard in
social criticism on the part
of the Jewish community within North America. More details of film.
Pauline and Paulette A
moving Belgian film about the problems of three sisters, as they deal
in turn with the problems of care for their fourth sibling, who is
mentally challenged. Care for Pauline infringes upon the
operations of a small business, a role in the local operetta and a
liaison with an attractive Frenchman. But Pauline also has
important lessons to teach each of the sisters. Flemish, with
subtitles. More
details of the film. Squamish Public Library.
PollyAnna Masterpiece
Theatre has made
an engaging family film of this American Classic about a young girl who
brings happiness to many grumpy people in a small village by her
positive attitude to life. The English version of the story has
been reset very effectively in the beautiful scenery and period houses
of the Thames Valley. Available in Squamish Public Library.
Details
of film.
Pride and Prejudice The
2005 big screen version of Jane Austen's story has many points of
similarity with the BBC dramatizations, and gives a faithful
reproduction of Austen's witty dialogue. There are some gorgeous
shots of English country mansions such as Chatsworth, and a careful
editing of the
story where marriage was the only alternative to poverty and fear for a
young woman. Canadian film buffs may enjoy Donald Sutherland as
the father of the five girls, and Dame Judy Dench makes a memorable
mother for Darcy. Details
of film.
Priest A powerful film with screenplay
by the author of "Liam," above. Father Greg Pilkington (Linus
Roache) is torn
between his call as a conservative Catholic priest and his secret life
as a homosexual with a gay lover, frowned upon by the Church. Upon
hearing the confession of a young girl of her incestuous father, Greg
enters an intensely emotional spiritual struggle deciding between
choosing morals over religion and one life over another.
More
details of film.
The
Queen The
dramatic story of
the week following Princess Diana's death, told from the perspective of
the Royal Family and the Prime-Minister (recently elected Tony
Blair). A stunning performance from Helen Mirren as the Queen,
caught in a time warp between the perceived dignity of the monarchy and
a public outcry for a dramatic funeral, a personal dislike of Diana and
the need to express the nation's sorrow. Much historical footage
is woven into the film. It gives a realistic insight into the politics
of Buckingham Palance and Balmoral, and interactions between the
monarch and the Prime Minister, as well as striking vistas of the
Scottish wilderness that is Balmoral.
More details of the film.
Rabbit-proof
Fence. This
Australian film provides a dramatic counter-point to the issue of
Residential Schools in Canada. In Western Australia in the 1930s,
all half-caste aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their
parents and taken to residential schools. The plainly racist
concern of the government was to contain the size of the growing
half-caste population; these individuals were to marry only white
partners, so that progressively the aboriginal blood would
disappear. In this true story, three Aboriginal girls escape from
their school and attempt the 1500 mile journey across the desert back
to their homes, tracked for two months by police and an aboriginal
tracker. Beautiful photography of the Australian
desert. Available at Squamish Library. Details of film.
<>
Regency
House Party Somewhat analogous to Manor
House, ten modern men and women live out the courtship rituals of
the Regency Era over a weekend house-party in the English
countryside. The men learn the manly arts of pedestrianism, and
the women ways of communicatging their affectation by the way that they
wave their fans. Details
of video. BBC Film.<>
Remains
of the Day
How
should
you balance loyalties between your boss, a lover, and an aging
parent?
Anthony Hopkins, as a butler to a large English country house, seems
prepared
to accept blatant anti-semitism from his employer, and to subjugate any
feelings he may have for his dying father or the woman he loves, in
order
that a conference between British politicians and Nazi leaders may
proceed
smoothly. Emma Thompson gives a vivid protrayal of the younger
housekeeper
who is drawn to him. A powerful drama. Details
of film. Available
at Squamish Public Library.
Roger and Me. A
scathing criticism of the American dream, based largely on newsreel
footage of the closing of GM plants in Flint, Michigan, and
illustrating the callous disregard of senior management and their
families as former employees, unable to meet their rents, are evicted
from their housing on Christmas Eve. Available at Squamish Public
Library. Details of film.
<>
Seducing Dr.
Lewis (La Grande Seduction). A
gentle French
Canadian comedy easily understood with sub-titles. A remote
fishing village must survive on welfare cheques with collapse of the
fishing industry. Salvation
is seen in a plastic container factory, but to land this prize, the
village must recruit a permanent doctor, raise a "bribe" of $50,000,
and convince the financiers that there is a population of 200 rather
than 125. The entire village conspires to seduce Dr. Lewis
through such tactics as pretending to understand and enjoy cricket
matches, and hooking enormous fish on to his line with the help of a
diver. Trailer
of film. Available at
Highland video.<>
<>
Shadow of the Wolf The
story of a
traditional Inuit, Agaguk, surviving the rigours of the Canadian Arctic
in the 1930s. A murder in the tribe forces him to flee through
the desolate landscape, trailed by a determined Mountie. Details of film.<>
<>
Shake Hands with the
Devil. General Romeo
D'A;;aire's graphic account of the war in Rwanda, and of the
unwillingness of Canada and other nations in assisting him to bring
peace to that country. Details of film. . <>
Simon Birch. Based on the
John Irving Novel "A prayer for Owen Meany," this charming family story
was filmed in Linenberg, Nova Scotia. A very small 12-year-old
pituitary dwarf has only two friends in the village- a friend of the
same age, and a single mother. The rest of the community,
including the vicar and a very snooty Sunday School teacher see him as
a freak, and a source of disaster from Christmas pageants to baseball
games. But Simon believes he has a mission from God- is it t o
help his frienf find his father, or is there some other mission in his
life? Details of
film.
<>
The
Son's Room. A
touching story about a dedicated psychiatrist who deals gently and
effectively with a variety of patients, supported by a loving
family. Then his adolescent son dies in a tragic diving accident,
and he must learn how to cope with his own grief while still seeking to
help his patients. Italian, with English sub-titles, available in
Squamish Public Library. Details of film.
<>
The Story of English A
fascinating
look at how our English language developed and became the dominant
means
of world communication, despite the efforts of the French Academy to
preserve
the international status of French (shots of Mulroney and Mitterand as
they discuss alternatives for Le Jumbo Jet!). Details
of video. BBC
television,
available in Squamish Public Library.
<>
<>
A
Talking Picture A young history professor
takes her seven-year-old daughter on a bucolic cruise through the
Mediterranean in order to join her husband in India for a family
vacation, and to acquire first-hand
knowledge of and introduce her daughter to historical sites en
route. There are beautiful shots of the ruins of Pompeii,
Athens, the pyramids and Istanbul as the mother strives to separate
myths from
irrefutable histories. In the dining lounge of the ship, three
famous women from different nations and cultures talk about their past
and the legacies of Western
history. Discusssions of rhetoric and history are halted when a
strange threat disturbs the cruise. Squamish Public
Library. Details
of film.
Trudeau. A
CBC
film
dramatising an important period in Canadian history, including the
Québec
separatist crisis, the repatriation of the constitution, and the
passing
of the Bill of Human Rights.
<>.United
We Stand. This
film
is set in Czechoslovakia during the German occupation of World War
II.
One night, a former co-worker of Jewish background turns up at the
hero's
apartment, on the run. Should he offer shelter, and risk the
lives
of everyone on the street? How far should he and his wife go in
protecting
this fellow human being? Does such compassion extend to
working
with another former colleague, now a Nazi collaborator, who is selling
the possessions of Jews sent to concentration camps and is sexually
attracted
to his wife? How far will the wife go to preserve the secret of
their
apartment? And when the war is finally over, how far should the
hero
show compassion towards the collaborator? This is a strong
film, which poses some gripping human and moral questions. Czech
and
German, with English subtitles, available at Movie Gallery.
<>
The
Unknown Jesus This
is
a recent commentary on the life of Jesus, enlivened by religious art
and
modern shots of the Jordan, Sea of Galilee and other biblical
locations.
A fair range of current opinion is presented, mostly by mainstream
professors
of religion- for example, some experts argue that Jesus must have been
married, since He was a law-abiding Jew, and this would have been
required
of Him by the age of twenty; however, a Jesuit representative maintains
that Jesus originally began as a member of the Qum Raan sect, and they
were an exception to this rule. Details
of video. A
&
E Biography Series video.
Voyages,
A
poignant tale of three Jewish women who continue to be affected by the
holocaust. One is on a bus trip to the Polish concentration
camps, another encounters her father whom she thought had died while
interned, and the third (an elderly Russian) decides to emigrate to
Israel in the company of some youthful neighbours. Her story is
perhaps the most poignant. She speaks only Russian and Yiddish,
but finds modern Israel an alien land where most people are Israelis
rather than jews, and Yiddish is an unknown tongue. her
experience musy be shared by many elderly immigrants to Canada,
Squamish Public Library. Details of video.
<>Wag
the Dog Do
you
ever
become frustrated with American "news" programmes and their blatant
propaganda?
In this 1997 movie, attention is diverted from Presidential sexual
shenanigins
during an election campaign by asking a film producer to stage a
terrorist
campaign conducted by Muslim terrorists in Albania, including a
simulated
village destroyed by the terrorists, a suitcase bomb with weapons of
mass-destruction,
and a full military funeral for an imaginary GI killed behind enemy
lines.
There is a strong parallel with more recent world events, and a
frightening
portrayal of the capacity of the media to distort information. Details
of film.
<>Waking
Ned Devine What
happens in a
small Irish village when Ned wins the lottery (6 million pounds!), but
dies of a heart attack with the ticket in his hands? His friends
think the best plan is to impersonate him and claim the money for their
impoverished village. Fortunately, the priest is on a trip to
Lourdes, and the curate thinks mainly of what the money could do for
their church. The lottery inspector unfortunately turns up in the
midst of Ned's funeral, but quick thinking by the instigator of the
caper keeps the inspector satisfied, and all of the villagers treasure
Ned's memory to the tune of 180,000 pounds a head. Beautifully
filmed in the Isle of Man. Details of film.
Highland Video.
<>
Winged
Migration Top
photographers
from French and other European TV networks combine to provide
stunningly
beautiful images of a wide variety of birds taking their annual
10,000
km migrations to and from the Arctic, crossing some of the most
fascinating
landscapes in the world. In contrast with most U.S. nature films,
the dialogue is sparse, and the birds are allowed a chance to tell
their
own stories. The perils of migration, from hunters and the
polluted
industrial areas of eastern Europe to natural predators, injury and
exhaustion
are indicated in a sensitive manner. Details of film.
<>
You've
Got Mail. This
film
looks at an e-mail chat-room relationship that develops between a man
and
a woman- one the owner of a chain of "Big-Box" bookstores, the other
the
owner of a gentle, family-owned children's bookstore on the adjacent
street
corner. A gentle romance, it also offers insights into the
driving
business-oriented personality and the problems faced by small
commercial
enterprises in current society. Details
of film. American,
available at Squamish Public Library.
Religious
Theme Movies
"Sell"
May 31, 2003,
San Antonio Express-News.
Hollywood is producing more films
with religious themes
than ever
in recent box office history, and it's proving what religious film
critics
have said for years: They sell.
"The Matrix Reloaded" and "Bruce
Almighty" are the
season's
hottest
opening movies, the first raking in $93.3 million in its first weekend
and the latter $86.4 million. Other popular films with religious themes
or subplots released recently or soon to come include "A Walk to
Remember,"
"The Passion," "The In-Laws" and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
That's no surprise to Ted Baehr,
publisher of Movieguide,
a
Christian
publication that critiques films and tracks their success.
"The number of films with religious content has been growing
geometrically,"
Baehr said. "In 1985, we found one film with positive
content. There were more than 100 last year." Among the 25
top-grossing films last year, religious-theme movies grossed
$255 million, and moral and family-content films $232 million.
Baehr said his statistics have helped convince film executives that
Christian-content films do better at the box office than movies
loaded with sex and violence.
"USA Today said that there wasn't
one negative film in the
top 20
last year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that
means,"
Baehr said. He said the increase reflects the concern of film
executives
who are parents themselves, as well as the psychological and spiritual
condition of American society.
David Bruce, Web master of
Hollywood Jesus (www.hollywoodjesus.com),
a Web site that critiques films from an evangelical perspective, noted
that the 1999 film "The Fifth Element" and even "Superman" are widely
seen
as remakes of the Jesus story. "French Kiss" is a recasting of the
Gospel
story of the Prodigal Son and the Old Testament story of Esau selling
his
birthright. He said evangelical Christians and Hollywood
executives
are seeing each other with new eyes. "Hollywood now sees
evangelical
Christianity as a market that should be courted and has softened its
stance,"
Bruce said. "Fuller Theological Seminary, a major evangelical
institution,
hosts the City of Angels Film Festival every year. They invite the
Hollywood
film directors, screen films, and then have dialogue about them.
Stephen
King spoke about his faith at one of them."
NavPress, which publishes
apologetical material, has
tapped into
the popularity of "The Matrix Reloaded" by producing "The Gospel
Reloaded"
as an evangelizing tool for youth.
It's quite a switch from a time
when Martin Scorsese's
"The Last
Temptation of Christ." was released amid boycotts by
evangelicals.
"They were (also) protesting films made by Catholics and other
evangelicals.
They couldn't see their own story in many of these films. Now,
Christians
want to understand films and look for connections rather than
disjunctions,"
Bruce said. In the past, evangelicals rated movies according to
their
suitability for small children, missing the rich religious content of
many
films for adults. "That's a bogus standard," Bruce said. "You
wouldn't
rate an adult Bible class as 'anti-family' that way, even though it
wasn't
suitable for your
9-year-old."
But Gerri Pare, director of the
U.S. Catholic bishops'
office of
film and broadcasting, said religious content is largely in the eye of
the beholder. "A summer with 17 sequels coming out points to a
certain
lack of creativity in Hollywood. I wouldn't say this is the best of
times.
But the fact that movies like 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'Bruce
Almighty,'
which have positive religious content, can be successful is a positive
sign," Pare said.
________________________________________________________
Doug Goodwin
BC BROADCAST
dgoodwin@hwy16.com