Lent begins in a week with Ash Wednesday.
Obviously it is time to begin a little mental preparation. I like this homily from Father Matthew Green at Perpetual Learner and recommend it to you.
Many bloggers will be offering Lenten links but the best place to begin in past years has been Marcel's comprehensive spot at Aggie Catholics so do swing by there. If you've got a question about Lent, he's got the answer ... from fasting to almsgiving to good blog posts from around the blogosphere.
Now, I am still wrestling over what to give up and what to take on ... but one thing we know for sure, there will still be movies and books in my Lenten plan.
Today, we'll begin thinking about the movies.
There are plenty of places where you will see the usual "Jesus" movies (if you will excuse me for so typifying them), including my favorite for close to Holy week, The Passion of the Christ.
Being a natural contrarian though, I am much more interested in thinking about movies that are not Jesus movies but which carry food for thought about sin, reparation, and redemption.
Here's my quick take on it, beginning with two movies that I can guarantee you I will be watching since they are coming up on the schedule during Lent at A Good Story Is Hard To Find podcast for discusssion. Links are to my reviews unless I haven't done one, in which case they are to Amazon where you may read tons of reviews. I'm not stopping long enough to delineate in my brief comments below for any warnings. These movies run the gamut so if you haven't heard of them be sure to check reviews for R ratings ... and, yes, there are some excellent ones that use bad language and violence to make their point. For that matter, The Passion of the Christ was not for wimps. Just as Jesus' real story wasn't.
- Quiz Show ... I know what it's about but haven't seen it yet. Looking forward to this one, which was Scott's choice for the podcast
- Stranger Than Fiction ... love it and will be rewatching this one for the podcast. Redemptive and life affirming.
- About a Boy
... can't believe I haven't reviewed this and must do that. Suffice it to say it shows the difference between living completely for one's own selfish purposes and the joy and fulfillment that come from living for others.
- Babette's Feast ... huge underlying message about God's unexpected and overflowing generosity and Jesus' complete self-sacrifice ... all wrapped up in a woman who gives all her lottery winnings to cook a perfect meal for a village.
- In Bruges ... for me, this is the perfect Lenten movie. Redemption, sacrifice, humanity in it's worst and best are all mingled and shown here.
- Gran Torino ... hiding behind the racist talk that Church-hating angry, old man Clint Eastwood portrays is a big, big message that has Lent all over it.
- Henry Poole is Here ... do you believe in miracles? The sort that have Jesus' face appearing in the stucco on the back of your house? This one's for those who do and those who don't.
- Tokyo Godfathers ... a surprisingly Christian work of Japanese anime, this movie shows that all life is sacred and everyone deserves a fresh start, no matter where they are at the moment.
- Mary & Max ... a film for those who are interested in richly told stories that are not afraid to explore the heights and depths that imperfection, perception, and sheer humanity bring to our lives and the lives of those we touch.
- Pan's Labyrinth ... as Joi said in the comments box about this movie, "the imagery is amazing, the language beautiful, and the story mythic, AND it honors self-sacrifice as the truest expression of love. [It shows] the road to virtue is not easy, and it's about doing what's right, even if you don't always know why, and even when it hurts.
9 brave one(s) among us:
oh! I am so glad About a Boy and Stranger Than Fiction are on this list.
Would movie about a Muslim family be out of place on this list?
Children of Heaven is a beautiful life affirming movie about an Iranian brother and sister. After he loses her only shoes, they have to share his single pair of sneakers and keep the secret from their parents and teachers. The plot developments are defintely in the Lenten spirit, but I don't want to give too much away.
I've heard of that movie and I think it is even on my "to watch" list. If we can have hardened criminals as in In Bruges, then a Muslim family would be a relief, right? :-D
Hi all!
I forgot to tell you, Julie, that I watched In Bruges and it was BRILLIANT! What a movie. Thanks for pointing it out!
Hope you enjoy Quiz Show... I haven't seen About a Boy or Babette's Feast... loved Gran Torino (powerful)... and I haven't seen the last three on your list. Stranger Than Fiction is one of my all-time favorite movies, so it was great that you picked that one.
I'm glad you found the homily helpful. Thanks for spreading the word!
I really enjoyed Quiz Show and Gran Torino. I haven't seen the rest of the films you list, although someone lent me the DVD of "About a Boy" and it's on my short list of films to watch soon.
You haven't seen Life Is Beautiful? You need to watch it. Great movie.
The two movies I always watch during Holy Week are The Passion of the Christ and The Passion of Joan of Arc. The latter is a silent movie, which I generally have no use for. But this one I own, and I don't own a lot of movies. Make sure to watch it with the wonderful musical soundtrack on.
Another excellent Lent-themed movie is Savior, starring Dennis Quaid. A story of despair and redemption, set in the war in Bosnia. Few people seem to have seen it, but I think it's the best performance of Quaid's career. Contains graphic violence.
Thanks for the list. I always get a few new movies for my Netflix queue when you post one. Your taste is impeccable (i.e., it exactly coincides with my own).
Tom, I have meant to watch The Passion of Joan of Arc for some time. Maybe I will use that for Holy Week this year. I hadn't heard of Savior but I will put it on my "to watch" list. Thank you for the ideas, especially since you point out that we seem to have the same taste. I'm looking forward to these! :-)
By all means, don't miss Passion of Joan of Arc!!! This is Dreyer's masterpiece and Maria Falconetti is unearthly in the role of Joan. It will sear your soul.
My suggestion for a Lenten movie is: Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar."
It's going on the list, Tante! :-)
Post a Comment
I can't hear you ...
(If you're leaving an anonymous message because of trouble entering the system, please "sign" with a "moniker" of some sort at the end of the message. All truly anonymous messages will be deleted as spam. Thanks!)