DVDs for Fall
Reflection
and Programming
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The following ten films are recommended for pastors and educators getting
ready for their fall and
winter preaching and teaching. Each film is first of all entertaining and
secondly, filled with challenging
material for reflection and discussion. (Indeed, the reviews of them published
in Visual Parables include sets of extensive questions.) This list is based
on my annual “Top Ten Films” printed in the Spring issue of VP.
I have eliminated several of the “best” 2007 films so as to include
better ones that have been released on DVD during the first six months of
this year. As I do for virtually every film reviewed in VP, there is one
or more Scripture passages that relate to the film’s theme or a character.
1) Lars and the Real Girl
Rated PG-13. Directed by Craig Gillespie. MGM Home Entertainment. Running
time:1 hour 46 minutes.
1 Cor. 13:7 & 11; Romans 15:1 & 7.
Recommended audience: Adult
Can a sex toy become a means of grace and the focus of attention bringing
together a family, town, and
church? I almost skipped this film because of the quirky plot involving the
pathologically shy Lars turning to an “anatomically correct female
doll” for companionship. Lars, taking it around in a wheel chair, introduces “her” as
Bianca, a Danish/Brazilian missionary he met at a conference. His compassionate
sister-in-law leads her husband into accepting Lar’s delusion, both
of them glad that Lars finally is socializing. The family doctor is the next
to support Lars, then his church, and finally, virtually the entire town.
Told with no tone of mockery or condescension, the story is as inspiring
as it is amusing. As the wise doctor had surmised, their loving acceptance
leads to Lars emerging from his enslaving shell into wholeness and freedom.
Seldom has a church and pastor been shown so positively.
2) Persepolis
(French, with English subtitles)
Rated PG-13. Directed/Written by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Sony
Home Entertainment.
Running time: 1 hour 29 min.
Luke 23:34; Romans 12:2.
Recommended audience: Adult & mature youth.
Although the filmmakers use flat animation, this is probably the most realistic
of films, thanks to the au
tobiographical story of co-director Marjane Satrapi , whose graphic novels
form the basis of the film. Beginning in Iran during the days of the Shah,
this coming of age story follows the progress of a little girl coming to
maturity amidst the regress of her country from tyranny under the Shah to
a far worse one under the fundamentalist mullahs who rise to power. Determined
to be her own person, Marjane resists her teachers trying to convince her
that the veil is freedom that her liberal parents decide to send her to Vienna
for her safety. Her clash with the nihilistic pop culture of the West and
her series of mishaps that lead to deep introspection are wonderfully captured
by the largely black and white animation and the expressive voices of the
actors. Informative as to the recent history of Iran and inspiring through
its feminist them, this is a good film for all ages above junior level to
see and discuss.
3) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(In French with English subtitles)
Rated PG-13. Directed by Julian Schnabel. Miramax Films. Running time: 1
hour 52 min.
Matthew 10:29-30.
Recommended audience: Adult.
How can one communicate when one’s body is so paralyzed that the only
part of the body that moves
is the left eye? And if one could, wouldn’t it be best to ask for euthanasia?
Jean-Dominique Bauby had been the editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE
when a terrible stroke left him paralyzed. The answer to how he can communicate
comes from his ingenious therapist Henriette Durand who devices a chart of
letters beginning in descending order with those most often used in speaking.
He winks his eye when she (and family members and friends whom she trains)
comes to the right letter, and then moves on to the next, and so on. It is
so slow that the frustrated Bauby does want to give up, but Henriette will
not allow this. How he and his loved ones struggle to communicate, eventually
he writing his memoir, makes this one of the most inspirational testimonies
to the human spirit that you are likely to see.
4)The Lives of Others
Rated R. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Sony Pictures Classics.
Running time:2 hours 17 min.
Matthew 5:16 & 13:33.
Recommended audience: Adult
It is relatively easy to show the power of evil, but goodness is more difficult
without the portrayal becom
ing cloying. The old saying “one bad apple spoils the bunch” is
turned around in this Oscar-winning film that shows the power of goodness
in the least likely of circumstances, the last years of the East German government.
Secret Police Capt. Gerd Wiesler is assigned to spy on Georg Dreyman, the
nation’s leading playwright, to catch him in a subversive act or word.
Bugging the man’s apartment, the spy listens for long hours, discovering
much about his intimate life, but nothing about any subversive thoughts or
activities. Dreyman is no saint, spending much time with the actress who
is his lover, but he supports his blacklisted mentor without endorsing his
cause. Ultimately Wiesler does an uncharacteristic act of grace, the film
ending with a subtle but moving moment of thanks.
5) The Great Debaters
Rated PG-13. Directed by Denzel Washington. Weinstein Films. Running time:
122 minutes.
Ephesians 6:10-14.
Recommended audience: Adult & Youth.
Set in 1935, director Denzel Washington’s social justice film tells
the story of a controversial poet and
professor at an all-black college in Texas whose radical ideas about organizing
share croppers, white and black, aroused the ire of the local sheriff and
other white leaders. Using unorthodox teaching methods, Prof. Tolson coaches
four carefully selected students so well that they become the first team
to debate and win against a white team. In the face of immense racist-based
opposition, they win an invitation to debate the greatest team in the nation—at
Harvard (though actually it was the University of Southern California.) A
powerful true story of the triumph of the oppressed.
6) Sweet Land
Rated PG. Directed by Ali Selim. 120dB Films/Libero. Running time:110 minutes.
1 John 3:14-22 & 1 Corinthians 5:13.
Recommended audience: Adult & Youth.
Set in rural Minnesota two years after World War 1 when hatred of the Germans
was still strong, this is the
story of a man and woman’s love overcoming the prejudice of their community
and pastor. Seen in flashbacks, Olaf Torvik with his best friend Brownie
meets his mail order bride from Norway, Inge. However, when it comes to light
that Inge is not Norwegian but German, Minister Sorrensen refuses to marry
them. Supported only by Brownie and his wife Marta, the couple vow to make
a life together. They almost fail economically, but divine help, delivered
through the church, saves the day.
7) In Bruges.
Rated R. Directed/written by Martin Donagh. Universal Home Entertainment.
Running time: 1 hour 47 min.
John 15:13.
Recommended audience: Adult.
In this dark comedy two hit men are dispatched from Dublin to the small
Medieval city of Bruges, Belgium
to wait until the heat over a killing has subsided. Ken, the older of the
pair, is to baby sit Ray, who has just botched his first job. In dispatching
his target, a priest, he also killed a boy who was present, and to their
boss Harry, the killing of a child is unforgivable. Ken grows to love the
city and its art, but Ray will scarcely look at anything, preferring to complain
while longing to be back in Dublin. Then the two come across a crew shooting
a film, a main character being a dwarf. One of the crew members is a beautiful
girl, whom Ray befriends and arranges to meet the next night for dinner.
Ken stays behind in their room to receive the expected phone call from Harry.
When it comes through he is disturbed that his order is to kill his undependable
partner. Meanwhile, Ray is launched on an adventure that includes his fending
off a robber and befriending the dwarf as well as the girl. The dwarf turns
out to be a racist. Back at their lodgings Ken wrestles with his conscience,
believing that there is potential for good in Ray—and yet his orders
are explicit, including instructions on where to go to obtain a gun for the
job. The film takes several unexpected turns, resulting in loving sacrifice
and tragic irony that will leave you thinking about the ending for some time
to come.
8) Into the Wild
Rated R. Directed/written by Sean Penn. Paramount Vantage. Running time:2
hours.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-5. Recommended
audience: Adult & Youth.
Based on the life and death of 22 year-old Christopher McCandless, this
marvelous entry into the road
genre film is packed with the young seeker’s earnest encounters with
grace-filled people whom he meets on the road to Alaska. After graduating
from Emory University, Christopher has been accepted into Harvard’s
Law School, but he turns his back on it and his family’s materialistic
lifestyle and heads west, burning his credit cards and money along the way.
He meets an aging hippy couple, a wheat farmer in the Dakotas, a teenaged
singer, and a lonely old man who wants to adopt him as his grandson. To each
and from each Christopher imparts and receives grace and wisdom. His end
in Alaska is sad, but the maturity gained, as seen by such observations in
his notes as “Happiness is only real when shared,” shows that
he did not live in vain.
9) Man Dancin’
Rated R. Directed by Norman Stone. Vision Video* Running time: 1 hour 53
min.
Isaiah 53:3a & Matthew 23:27-28.
Recommended audience: Adult & Mature Youth.
When Jimmy returns to Glasgow from prison his former gang boss and the corrupt
police officer expect
him to return to his life of crime. However, he has changed, which we see
right away when he offers to take the beating which his drug addicted younger
brother deserves. Under the tutelage of a priest Jimmy reluctantly joins
the church drama group, winding up in the role of Christ in a passion play.
How Jimmy changes those around him as he fights the dark powers trying to
draw him back to his old ways makes for inspirational viewing. The film is
not for every one, the R being well deserved for profane street language
and sexuality, but those who liked Jesus of Montreal will appreciate this
modern day passion story.
* Man Dancin’ as of this writing is not available in video stores but
can be ordered from its co-producer: Vision Video | P.O. Box 540 | Worcester,
PA 19490. (610) 584-3500 | (800) 523-0226 • info@visionvideo.com
10) There Will Be Blood
Rated R. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Paramount Pictures. Running time:
2 hours 38 min.
Psalm 52:1-7 & Matthew 6:24. Recommended audience: Adult.
I had no intention at first to include this dark film in this list, but
after seeing it and discovering the many
Scriptural connections (see the review in this issue), I reluctantly decided
to eliminate August Rush to
make room for this one. Like Treasure of the Sierra Madre (which Mr. Anderson
says he watched many times in preparation for filming his story), this is
the chronicle of a man losing his soul as he cuts himself off from human
contact during his quest for wealth and power. Some see it as a critique
of the ruthless business culture of the robber barons that began to dominate
America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Certainly Daniel Plainview
(played by Daniel Day-Lewis, for which he won an Oscar) would have agreed
with the anti-hero of Wall Street, who declared, “Greed is good.” Daniel
sacrifices his foster son, fakes a religious conversion, lies and cheats,
and murders, finally reaching an end, when, even though he is in an alcoholic
haze, he says “I am finished.”
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© 2008 Edward McNulty, visualparables.net