A Movie You Might Have Missed #38 — Internal Affairs (Hong Kong)

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Martin Scorsese remade this as The Departed. Watch the original instead.

This stylistic, smart movie takes the classic crime plot of police versus criminals and turns it into an exciting battle of wits.

Police Superintendent Wong takes his best police cadet, Yan, and has him go undercover to become a mole in the drug-running Triad gang. Unbeknownst to them, the Triad’s leader, Sam, is doing the exact same thing with a young gang member, Lau, who has a clean record and will be accepted into police cadet school.

After years pass both Lau and Yan have become accepted, valuable members of their respective groups. During a drug bust, both the police and the Triad gang become aware that each has been infiltrated by a mole. In an ironic move, the moles are both so trusted that each is tasked by his superior with discovering who the mole is within his own group. Simultaneously, each is contacted by his real boss and told to discover who the mole is in the other group.

What follows is a fascinating plot twist in which each mole struggles to retain his anonymity. while discovering the other’s identity. This movie is gripping until the very end and keeps you guessing the entire time. Everything is masterfully brought together in the last ten minutes with a denouement that gives the entire movie unexpected depths.

This movie was so popular in Hong Kong that it inspired two sequels, Infernal Affairs II which actually was a prequel, and Infernal Affairs III which continues the story begun in the original movie. We watched this movie in the original Cantonese with English subtitles. It was fascinating to hear the large quantity of English scattered through regular conversation. “Channel,” “sorry,” “entrance,” “ok,” “bye,” and “sir” are just a few of the words constantly breaking the pattern of Chinese dialogue.

Spring in Texas

Spring in Texas, Jason Merlo Photography

 

Easter Chick

Chick, N Puttapipat Illustration

 

Prayer is an offering that belongs to God

Prayer is an offering that belongs to God and is acceptable to him: it is the offering he has asked for, the offering he planned as his own. ...

Of old, prayer was able to rescue from fire and beasts and hunger, even before it received its perfection from Christ. How much greater then is the power of Christian prayer. No longer does prayer bring an angel of comfort to the heart of a fiery furnace, or close up the mouths of lions, or transport to the hungry food from the fields. No longer does it remove all sense of pain by the grace it wins for others. But it gives the armour of patience to those who suffer, who feel pain, who are distressed. It strengthens the power of grace, so that faith may know what it is gaining from the Lord, and understand what it is suffering for the name of God.

Tertullian, On Prayer

Reptiles

Reptiles, M.C. Escher

The link above is to Lines and Colors where you can see pieces of this painting blown up and really enjoy the creativity Escher uses. There is also a lot more info about Escher and a link to an article about him.

Three Worlds

Three Worlds, M.C. Escher

 

Hand with Reflecting Sphere

Hand with Reflecting Sphere, M.C. Escher

Up and Down

Up and Down, M.C. Escher

 

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (The Man Who Feels No Pain)

Surya has a rare condition of Congenital Insensitivity to pain meaning he can not feel pain. Hearing that most children with this condition never live past the age of four, his grandpa uses martial action movies to train him to be like Bruce Lee. This seems counter intuitive, but actually works. Surya and  his childhood friend, Supri, who has her own problems, set out to right wrongs.

That's just the first part of the movie and when the story heads into Surya's adulthood is when the real action begins. Surya really believes the good guys win, any obstacle can be overcome, and that true love triumphs over all. He doesn't have a cynical bone in his body. That sweetness and earnestness  make us love Surya, his oddball team of justice fighters, and this movie. 

In many ways it made us think of Amelie and Edgar Wright movies for a story with sweetness, quirkiness, and heart. It is loaded with fantastic action scenes and pop culture. There were many Western cultural references and from reading  reviews I know there are tons that we missed from Indian culture and old martial arts films. The two lead performances were from newcomers who acted with complete confidence and this has what must be the best double role of all time from Gulshan Devaiah.

It is fun and funny, goofy and heart-felt, and shouldn't be missed. Let you think it sounds too crazy, I will add that my 86-year-old mother loved it and was using movie references around the house the next day. 

 Streaming on Netflix.

Rating — for viewers with medium to difficult Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.)

Portrait of Catherine II before a Mirror

Portrait of Catherine II before a Mirror (1762). Vigilius Eriksen.

I found this at Books and Art (link above) where there was this interesting info.

This Danish artist, who worked at the Russian court between 1757 and 1772, produced some 30 portraits of Catherine II with different programs, compositions, and purposes. He was the first in Russia to use this type of portrait with a mirror, making it possible to show the two sides of the subject’s character - the imperious monarch and the sensitive woman.

Psalm 12 — The Promises of the Lord are Pure

When you see the arrogance of the crowd and evil spreading everywhere so that there seems to be no one left who is pleasing to God take refuge in the Lord and say Psalm 12.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

I am fascinated by the fact that in this psalm all the threat comes from words. And all the protection comes from words. It lets us see how powerful the Hebrews considered words. And we ourselves know that words do have special power to wound or to heal.

Silver nugget

 These two quotes are from my hand-written prayer journal.

The Effective Word

The spoken word in Hebrew was fearfully alive. It was not merely a sound dropped heedlessly from unthinking lips. It was a unit of energy charged with power. It is energized for weal or for woe.

John Paterson, quoted by William Barclay

The word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword.

Hebrews 4:12

With those two quotes in mind, let's look at what that concept really means and what it reveals of God himself.

The Effective Word and Divine Transparency

In Bible times ... properly chosen and configured [words] were thought to accomplish what they said. for this reason, on the one hand, curses were not simply cathartic venting of inner rage, as we might think of them today, but were dangerous attempts to injure another that had to be countered or protected against by some ritual or amulet. On the other hand, words spoken in blessing were not just expressions of wishful thinking but really added to the well-being and health of the one blessed.

[...]

The "flawless" character of Yahweh's word, refined like the finest silver seven times, is more than an illustration of the ultimate effectiveness of the divine word. The point of the psalm is not just that God will have the last word. The purity of the divine word also illumines a certain transparency in God. What Yahweh says reveals his true character. God does not dissemble or deceive. he says what he means and he does what he says. Therefore, not only can one trust Yahweh, one can also understand who god is by attending to his words.

Psalms Volume 1 (NIV Application Commentary)

One last thing comes from the Church Fathers who are paying close attention to what the psalmist is actually asking for — a change of heart on behalf of the enemy. That's not something you see every day in the psalms.

12:3 Flattering Lips

Prayer Against the Sin. St. John Chrysostom: Do you see the solicitude of the inspired author, how he prays for them? The remark is not against them, no but on their behalf. He did not ask for them to be destroyed, note, but for the evil to be done away with. He did not say "the Lord will destroy them," note, but the "deceitful lips." Again he asks for the destruction not of their being but of their tongue, their folly, their deceit, and for an end to be put to their arrogance. Commentary on the Psalms

Cassiodorus: Note his piety as he says this, for he inveighs not against people, for many of them were to be converted, but against the vices themselves. Explanation of the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

Night in the Desert

Night in the desert by Maxfield Parrish.
From “The Great South West” by Ray Stannard Baker (1902)

Clearing out the world's sins in the fire of suffering love

On the Cross we meed what Balthasar described as the eternal, Trinitarian project in history: "to clear out all the refuse of the world's sins by burning it in the fire of suffering love." At Calvary, the burning passion of God, which is both the divine wrath at the world's evil and the divine mercy determined to heal what sin has broken, coincide. In the power of the Spirit, the Son offers the perfect act of atonement to the Father, and by that act of obedience, the burning fire of divine love reaches into history and immolates everything in the world that cannot bring forth love, including suffering and death.

George Weigel, Roman Pilgrimage

Tarashana by Rachel Neumeier

Tuyo, the first book in this series, is one I read in record time. I loved the old school fantasy set in a wonderfully imagined world. It was fresh, imaginative, and original. I also really enjoyed watching two men from very different peoples and cultures become friends.

Tarashana is a great sequel. We have the chance to investigate a completely new land when Ryo's people ask if Aras's mind reading ability can help them understand a mute woman asking for help. She is from the starlit land where the people all mysteriously disappeared. Naturally enough, Ryo's people worry about anything that powerful coming after them next. Not only is it an interesting question, but it's perfect timing because Aras has a big problem he can't solve, but that he can avoid by doing this quest instead. So he and Ryo take off for what turns into a huge adventure.

I also read this book in record time and enjoyed the heck out of it. Some of the themes from Tuyo are further developed thanks to the contrast between three different peoples. Ryo's own people are further revealed as a lot of time is spent in the winter country. It would really be impossible to explain this book without spoiling it but Neumeier makes the world a big one with epic battles, friendships, and live-or-die moments.

If you liked Tuyo, you're going to love Tarashana. I was glad to see in the end notes that a novella (?) and a proper sequel to this book will show up in 2022. Woohoo!

Pink (2016)

 

Three men rush to a hospital because one is suffering from a serious injury to his head and eye. One of the men says they'll get revenge on those women. Meanwhile, three shaken and upset women are returning to their apartment in a taxi. They have spots of blood on them and we can tell they are the women who the man was talking about.

And we are off and running with one of India's biggest film hits from 2016. Although we're dropped into the middle of the story, we all know that one of these women had to take extreme measures to defend her virtue. 

This is a serious movie about a topic that Americans have had held up to the public eye for decades. But in India, that isn't the case and this movie was made to point out the double standards applied to women and the violence that can ensure.

 As the story continues we see the escalating forms of revenge the men attempt, the helplessness of the women,  predictable keepers of the status quo, and unexpected acts of kindness. Something the girls don't expect is when an old, possibly creepy, neighbor comes to their assistance as their legal counsel. Anyone used to Indian films knows from the beginning this will happen because he is played by acting legend Amitabh Bachchan. Of course he's the lawyer. 

However, the story really belongs to the young women and it is artfully and sensitively shown through small vignettes as they must come to terms with the relentless siege they suffer and their limited ability to fight for their voices to be heard. Indian films are usually very good about inferring sensitive topics rather than showing them and this does a good job at that.

We avoided this for some time because, as Americans, we've seen this sort of story told many times and I also don't like movies with victimization. However, it was a very good film in its own right, well told, and a fascinating look inside Indian society at a condition that their films are now exposing to the light of day.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!) 

Hannah and Rose discuss Pink in episode 53 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

The Pyramids Road, Gizeh

The Pyramids Road, Gizeh by Edward Lear, via Gandalf's Gallery

Cutting One From the Herd

Cowboy cutting one from the herd on the LS ranch, 1907.
Via Traces of Texas which consistently has great Texas images.

Louise Hollandine

Louise Hollandine - self portrait

This is via J.R.'s Art Place on Facebook, which consistently features great art. In this case, there is a fascinating story about Louise Hollandine's journey from Protestantism to Catholicism.

Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate was the daughter of Frederick V of the Palatinate and King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart. Raised in a Protestant household in the Netherlands, she showed great artistic talent. Her family arranged for her to study under one of the greatest artists of the time, Gerard van Honthorst.

The painting shown here is a self-portrait by her circa 1650. It was in 1657 that she, for unknown reasons, fled the Netherlands with the aid of her aunt Henrietta Marie de Bourbon, the widow of Charles I of England. In France she converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Cistercian Abbey of Maubuisson. In retaliation, she was left out of her mother's will.

In 1664 she became Abbess of Maubuisson. She continued painting after entering the Abbey, mostly of religious subjects.

The most perfect of prayers

The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of prayers ... In it we ask, not only for the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

The Lord's Prayer Contains It All

Run through all the words of the holy prayers [in Scripture] and I do not think that you will find anything in them that is not contained in the Lord's Prayer.

St. Augustine

Magic Window

Magic Window, Remo Savisaar

 

The summary of the gospel

[The Lord's prayer] is truly the summary of the whole gospel.

Tertullian, De orat

The Meadow

 

The Meadow (1875), Alfred Sisley

Church in Moret

Church in Moret (1889), Alfred Sisley

 

Psalm 11 — Trust in the Lord

If anyone wishes to disturb you, hold on strongly to your confidence in the Lord and say Psalm 11.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

These days I think many of us can sympathize with the psalmist. Chaos is all around — the pandemic, rioting, political division, anger, and the foundations of what is "normal" all seem swept away.

Like the psalmist, we must keep our sense of perspective and lean on what we know to be true. The righteous man can lean on God who we know is unchanging and eternally in charge.

Bird hunter from Palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad, c. 725 BC
"Flee like a bird to the mountains. For look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string." (11:1-2)

Notice how the psalmist shows us some key truths about God.

11:4-6 Yahweh the Examiner

The dual description of Yahweh as "in his holy temple" and "on his heavenly throne" is significant. The former is an indication of God's immanent presence among humans (most particularly the faithful), while the latter emphasizes the transcendent power and authority that separates him from the chaotic futility of human power. God is at once among his people, strengthening, empowering, and saving, and at the same time above all the humans, ruling, examining, and rendering righteous judgment.

[...]

Contemporary Significance. Whatever else it means, taking refuge in God does not mean escape or avoidance of pain and suffering. Part of the reason for this is that fleeing is self-focused and self-concerned. We flee when we are concerned about protecting ourselves. By contrast, the kind of refuge that God offers calls us to give ourselves away: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9:24). Taking refuge in God is other-focused. Those who enter that refuge hold onto God by letting go of self and thinking instead of others.

Psalms Volume 1 (NIV Application Commentary)

I like knowing this ancient use for sulfur and coals.

11:6 Fiery Coals and Burning Sulfur

In Akkadian texts, sulfur burned on coals is described as a fumigating agent ... The terms here are reminiscent, though not identical, to those used in the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24)

NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

Though the psalmist is saying the enemy will be destroyed it seems fit that fumigation from evil is the mental connection, and also fit that such "fumigation" was deemed just for Sodom and Gomorrah. These ancient contexts are fascinating.

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

St. Martin Canal

St. Martin Canal (1870), Alfred Sisley

Look at that light!

The Ties That Bind

True interior life and a loving relationship with God are excluded by anyone who does not break off the ties that bind him to things, to people and to his own self in a disordered way — no matter how casual and tenuous such bonds may seem. It makes little difference, says St. John of the Cross, whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. For even if tied by a thread, the bird will be prevented from taking off just as surely as if it were tied by a cord — that is, it will be impeded from flight as long as it does not break the thread. Admittedly, the thread is easier to snap, but no matter how easily this may be done, the bird will not fly away before first doing so.

Detachment increases our capacity for loving God, people and all the noble things of this life.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide

A Movie You Might Have Missed #37 — Everyone Says I Love You

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.   

If you've even heard of this movie, I tip my hat to you. It is a rare one. 

This hasn't been available for a while so when I saw the dvd at Amazon I grabbed it. Why had I been on the lookout for it? Because this is one of my favorites of Woody Allen's movies. Few people know that he wrote and directed a musical and for those few who do know it, no one is neutral. We really liked it and, upon viewing it last night I was surprised that it didn't seem to have aged. The only tell that this movie is 17 years old is how extremely young some of the actors seem.

This is Woody Allen's love letter to musicals, Hollywood love stories, and New York, this is the tale of a wealthy family's year. It is told as a musical, with the large cast of well known actors all doing their own vocals. The songs are classic, fit into unexpected situations, and occasionally accompany dance routines. The actors don't come off as professional singers or dancers, but have just enough awkwardness to lend everything a sincere, realistic feel. As with many musicals from earlier times, the plot is a simple vehicle to move everything along and much of the pleasure is in seeing the movie unfold.

Alfred Sisley and His Wife

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and his Wife, 1868

Penance is getting up on time ...

Penance is fulfilling exactly the timetable you have fixed for yourself, even though your body resists or your mind tries to avoid it by dreaming up useless fantasies. Penance is getting up on time and also not leaving for later, without any real reason, that particular job that you find harder or most difficult to do.

Penance is knowing how to reconcile your duties to God, to others and to yourself, by making demands on yourself so that you find enough time for each of your tasks. You are practicing penance when you lovingly keep to your schedule of prayer, despite feeling worn out, listless or cold.

Penance means being very charitable at all times towards those around you, starting with the members of your own family. It is to be full of tenderness and kindness towards the suffering, the sick and the infirm. It is to give patient answers to people who are boring and annoying. It means interrupting our work or changing your plans, when circumstances make this necessary, above all when the just and rightful needs of others are involved.

Penance consists in putting up good-humouredly with the thousand and one little pinpricks of each day; in not abandoning your job, although you have momentarily lost the enthusiasm with which you started it; in eating gladly whatever is served, without being fussy.

For parents and, in general, for those whose work involves supervision or teaching, penance is to correct whenever it is necessary. This should be done bearing in mind the type of fault committed and the situation of the person who needs to be so helped, not letting oneself be swayed by subjective viewpoints, which are often cowardly and sentimental.

A spirit of penance keeps us from becoming too attached to the vast imaginative blueprints we have made for our future projects, where we have already foreseen our master strokes and brilliant successes.

Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God,
quoted in In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez

Broccoli-Cheddar Rice Casserole

 Perfect for a Friday in Lent, but we liked it so much that we're not going to limit it to just that time of year. Get it here.

The Battle for Middle Earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings

This is the last of the major LOTR commentaries that I hadn't read. Somehow Lent during the time of Covid, social division, and angst seemed the right time for this and, indeed, it did prove to be very inspirational.

Instead of zeroing in on themes and then pulling examples from throughout the text, Rutledge takes the unusual tactic of working her way through the book from beginning to end, commenting along the way on the links between the book and Christian themes. It is very effective because we can see the themes develop and grow as the story itself grows in complexity. There are many good insights that open up the book even further for the attentive reader.

As others have commented, it isn't a perfect work. There are some points that are often repeated many times, often unnecessarily since the sort of person reading this book is already steeped in LOTR. (Also, what difference does it make that Tolkien didn't like Shakespeare? And why do we have to be told that three times?) I also didn't agree with all of the author's conclusions, though admittedly there weren't a lot of points I took umbrage with. Just enough to annoy me every so often.

None of that takes away from the fact that this is a really good commentary and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Conversion of Our Hearts

Moral conversion, or the conversion of the will, takes place along the frequently stony path by which we learn to choose what is truly good, and to do so freely and as a matter of habit. This is the lift of growth in virtue (the medieval synonym for "habit") and into true freedom. For freedom is not a matter of doing what we like (which is a slavish habit, but of freely choosing what truly makes for an authentically human life.

The conversion of our hearts is that lifelong process by which we disentangle ourselves, emotionally and psychologically, from unruly passions and disordered affections so that our hearts and wills are drawn, like iron shavings toward a magnet, to what is truly good, true, and beautiful: God, the Holy Trinity.

George Weigel, Roman Pilgrimage

Cosmos

"Cosmos" by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1902

 

The great mysteries of redemption unfold gradually

The great mysteries of redemption celebrated in the Church's liturgy always unfold gradually. Throughout Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas, the Church's worship slowly and steadily unfolds the mystery of God-made-man, until we see him in the flesh born of Mary "in Bethlehem of Judea" [Matthew 2.5]. The same process of unfolding takes place during Lent, intensifying its character as a pilgrimage. The "exterior" of that process takes us, with Jesus, up to Jerusalem, where the decisive events of human history will dramatically unfold. The process has an "Interior" as well: as the people of the Church walk with Jesus from his temptation in the desert to his temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then to the final temptation to despair on the Cross, we see unfolding before us (and within us) a cosmic struggle between good and evil—between God's purposes and all the forces that resist the power of divine love.

George Weigel, Roman Pilgrimage

Psalm 10 — Plea for God's Judgment

In the Psalms we read how afflictions must be borne, and what should say both during and after the affliction.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

The psalmist makes a strong case for how God seems to be absent and the evil that is allowed and even applauded. I like the descriptions of the wicked — we all recognize it. 

When it gets to the part about sitting in ambush in the villages, murdering the innocent in hiding places I really thought of how many times I've seen that scenario in Indian films where evil village headmen are common characters and often are able to commit heinous crimes. It made me think of how we can still relate to the scriptures because human nature hasn't changed. 

That's also how we understand when the psalmist laments on behalf of the afflicted. We've had those feelings too.

Shema Yisrael at the Knesset Menorah in Jerusalem.
Verse 16 is part of the Bedtime Shema.

As with psalm 9 (part one of this two-part psalm), I love the fact that part of this psalm is included in daily prayers. According to Wikipedia, before going to sleep, the first paragraph of the Shema is recited. This is not only a commandment directly given in the Bible (in Deuteronomy 6:6–7), but is also alluded to from verses such as "Commune with your own heart upon your bed" (Psalms 4:4). 

 The wicked man boasts, the greedy man renounces the Lord, and the proud man thinks, "There is no God." Again, this is familiar territory. I like what St. John Chrysostom says and the lesson he draws for us to keep in mind in our own lives.

10:5 Out of God's Sight

The Peril of Flattery. Chrysostom: Do you see the folly? Do you see the unutterable ruin. Do you see the destruction gradually increasing? Do you see the things prized by the mindless, in reality full of deep misery, and now they sink from sight? Those people are applauded in their sins, commended in their wrongdoing. This is the first pitfall, sufficient to trip up the unwary. Hence it is much more necessary to welcome those who censure and correct us than those who applaud and flatter us to the point of destruction. The latter, in fact, prove the ruination of the stupid and impel them to worse evil—as though even by puffing up these sinners they led them on the way to folly.  Commentary on the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

We briefly mentioned that this is related to Psalm 9 because of acrostic beginnings to each line which go in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Here is a reflection that these two psalms are related to a larger grouping. Again, we're reminded that the editors of the big book are giving us the opportunity for a cumulative message.

The Relationship of Psalms 7-10

With the exception of Psalm 8, all of these psalms are pleas for deliverance from trouble. Singly and together these compositions call on Yahweh to serve as refuge and defender of the faithful and to act as righteous judge in revelation to the wicked. We can observe a shifting identification of the enemies from the more localized wicked who oppress the individual faithful person in Psalm 7 toward the more generalized criticism of the "nations"—the non-Israelite goyim—who are called to account for their treatment of the community at large (Pss. 9-10). ...

As a result of reading these four psalms as a thematic unit, a powerful message of divine power and human responsibility is displayed. this is not to say, however, that we only read these psalms rightly when we read them together. The ancient editors of the Psalter, who arranged the psalms in their present order, saw fit to preserve the psalms as individual compositions ... Each psalm has its own integrity, shape and voice that ought to be heard and appreciated.

What I am suggesting here is not an exclusive way of reading the psalms but another way to appreciate the ensemble that the ancient editors created and arranged in the Psalter. In reading the whole Psalter as an ensemble, one hears new voices and new tensions between voices that offer new and challenging insights that are overlooked in isolation. It is something like hearing the overture to an opera on a CD collection of overtures and then hearing it as it was originally intended—as part of the whole work. The music can be appreciated either way, but with different effects and understandings. The same is true of the music of the psalms.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

This also makes me think of the wisdom of continually meditating on the psalms so that one is familiar enough with them to pick up the themes and insights as threads in a bigger book — not only that of individual psalms to the whole collection, but of the psalms to the rest of the Bible.

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

100 Dante Cantos - 100 Videos

Tommaso Todesca is a Goodreads friend of mine who I know as Tom LA. It turns out he's a big fan of the Divine Comedy who has been working on 100 youtube videos, one for each canto. He's commenting on the Divine Comedy for his English-speaking friends, as an Italian amateur who loves the poem and is at Inferno 21 now.

He got the idea since this year is the 700th anniversary of Dante's death (Sep 14th 1321). I just found out about it and enjoyed the videos I samples.

Watch it here!

A Movie You Might Have Missed #36 — 12 Angry Men (1957)

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.  

So many strikes against wanting to watch this movie ... it is black and white, it is old, we "know" what it's about. But there is much more to it than that. 

I've seen so many jokes and references made to this classic that I thought it was time to actually see the movie itself.

In brief, 12 Angry Men is the story of a lone juror (Henry Fonda) who has reasonable doubt of the guilt of the defendant in a murder case. Everyone else is positive that the defendant is guilty. The jury must be unanimous either way. Complicating matters are intense heat in a time of no air conditioning, a wide range of personalities, and various personal needs that seemingly overrule the needs of careful deliberation.

This was legendary director Sidney Lumet's first feature film and the talented cast included Henry Fonda, E. G. Marshall, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, and Jack Warden. They truly created a film that is still great over 50 years after it was made.

12 Angry Men is an illustration that the story is what drives a film. As the one dissenting "not guilty" juror (Henry Fonda) asks the questions he wished would have come up in the trial and thinks things through aloud, I was pulled into the case details myself. Likewise, as the other jurors comment we are given insight into this very diverse group of men.

It works on so many levels including, not intended I am sure, how very different twelve white men can be even though we have been trained by society to think of them as peas from a pod. We also see why we can't just accept what we are told, why individualism and working as a team both matter, and much more. I have been on several juries and seen some very similar situations arise.

On a side note, I also appreciate my air conditioner anew.

Although unintended on my part, it was also the perfect movie to watch on Memorial Day weekend as I wound up feeling proud to be an American. Who'd have thought that I would have felt that way about jury duty? Just one more reason the movie is a classic.

God's distribution of talents

On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth. The "talents" are not distributed equally.

These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular "talents" share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures...

1936-36, Catechism of the Catholic Church

I really love this and the way it elevates all our particular qualities for their place in God's plan. It really puts into perspective the fact that what we think are good or bad qualities are all being used for a purpose we can't see. In that way, for me, it links to "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Love of Winter

 

Love of Winter, George Wesley Bellows

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik is adept at weaving completely original and compelling stories from the merest thread of a fairy tale (Uprooted, Spinning Silver). Her Temeraire series is an imaginative telling launching from both the Master and Commander series and the Dragonriders of Pern series.

So when I was reading this book and the word "Scholomance" made me think of Dracula, I went looking for information. In this case, Scholomance originates in real folklore (read more about that here) that was used by Bram Stoker in Dracula. It's just a sentence or two about how Dracula essentially was schooled at, as a friend told me once, "the devil's Hogwarts" So I was thinking of that and ... found this from Dracula.

The Draculas were, says Arminius, a great and noble race, though now and again were scions who were held by their coevals to have had dealings with the Evil One. They learned his secrets in the Scholomance, amongst the mountains over Lake Hermanstadt, where the devil claims the tenth scholar as his due.
...
He dared even to attend the Scholomance, and there was no branch of knowledge of his time that he did not essay.

What Novik has done with these beginnings is to turn the Harry Potter magical boarding school on its head. This is a school where there aren't any teachers, where supernatural monsters roam the halls, and where students form alliances hoping that they will survive graduation. There is a lot more to this magical world and, as always, Novik's world building is wonderful, with all the ramifications followed through to logical conclusions, sometimes in surprising ways. It is told by El who has the power to destroy multitudes but whose New Age mother taught to be respectful of life. Which really puts her in a bind when it comes to exercising enough power to pass her classes.

In many ways, this is a typical school scenario where the heroine is an outcast who has to gather a band of fellow students around her to accomplish their goals. There's a high level of angst which I found somewhat tiresome by the end. However, it is a great adventure told with humor, irony, and a certain innocence that worked for me. And, its heart is in the right place.

I’ve been taught any number of ways to manage anger, and they really work. What [my mother's] never been able to teach me is how to want to manage it. So I go on seething and raging and knowing the whole time that it’s my own fault, because I do know how to stop.

El's mother taught her well and El draws a number of thoughtful conclusions which enrich the story and give it a good anchor. I'm looking forward to the second part of the series.

Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris (World’s Fair) 1900

 

   Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris (World’s Fair) 1900

Psalm 9 — Confidence in God

When the enemy is being accused and creation saves, do not take the glory for yourself but know that this is the victory of the Son of God and sing to him in the words of Psalm 9.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

This is one psalm in Greek but two psalms (9 and 10) in Hebrew. We follow the Hebrew numbering. The reasons for thinking of it as one long psalm are because psalm 10 has no title and seems to be loosely connected to the theme of psalm 9. Also the psalms actually form a single acrostic poem. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

This psalm is a real celebration of God from all angles even though the psalmist is still suffering and awaiting deliverance. But he is confident in God's faithfulness.

A shofar, symbol of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
Verse 4 of psalm 9 is found in the repetition of the Amidah on Rosh Hashanah.

I like the mention above that part of this psalm is used in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy. Because that is how we Catholics experience the psalms — as part of the liturgy.

On this psalm, Didymus the Blind is the one who caught my attention with the two points made below.

 9:10 Those Who Know God's Name

God Never Abandons Us. Didymus the Blind: Those who have a perfect knowledge of your name trust in no other thing. They are not abandoned by God. This word must be understood with wisdom and reverence, considering that one should not think that the person who lives rightly in his daily affairs is abandoned by God. One who thinks thus is deceived. Indeed several of the impious have thus believed. Some say that Abel, who was killed, was abandoned, as also the prophets and apostles, for these individuals were afflicted continuously, and many of them even murdered by people. With this distinction made, we say that the person who is with God up to his last breath is not abandoned, even if he suffers innumerable wounds from his enemies. Fragments on the Psalms

===================

 9:15 The Pit They Made

The Wicked Caught in Their Own Sin.. Didymus the Blind: Secretly [the wicked] build traps of deceit with their own plans and words, so they may seize someone unsuspecting. But by that very trap that they have hidden they are punished, for vindicators will keep those very ones they have caught. This punishment is done by the providence of God. For what other is the judgment of God than that the sinner is caught by his own deeds, because he holds the reason for his own condemnation for those who live unrighteously. This agrees with that which is said before: "He who has opened a pit for his neighbor will fall into it (Ps. 7:15)." Fragments on the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

Some Good Pandemic News - For a Change

I receive The Dispatch's free morning roundup newsletter. It was so refreshing to read some of this good news, instead of continually being bombarded with gloom and doom. I'm not saying everything is sunshine and roses but it is really nice to look at both sides, because there is positive to go along with the unrelenting negative I see on the news.

I thought I'd excerpt it.

• If you’re looking for some coronavirus optimism these days, you don’t have to squint too hard to find it. On the infection and hospitalization data itself, just take a look at the chart above. Per our analysis, the seven-day rolling average of confirmed new COVID-19 cases peaked on January 11 at 257,927. Today, that number is 70,591—a 73 percent decrease in six weeks.
• It’s not just cases, either. The seven-day average of test positivity—another marker of virus prevalence—has dropped from over 14 percent in the first week of 2021 to 5.3 percent this morning. On January 6, 132,464 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. That figure has decreased for 40 straight days, and is now nearly 60 percent lower at 55,403. Deaths are a lagging indicator, but they, too, are beginning to fall off after a sustained plateau above 3,000 per day.
• And then there are the vaccines. Last March, you’d have been laughed out of many rooms if you said the United States would be on track to inoculate about 50 million people against COVID-19 by the end of February 2021. The laughter would have only grown louder if you added that those vaccines would be 95 percent effective at preventing symptomatic illness, and close to 100 percent effective against hospitalization and/or death.
• In recent days, the news has only gotten better. One study found that Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine is up to 85 percent effective after a single jab, and that it doesn’t actually need to be stored in burdensome, ultra-cold freezers as previously believed. A second (preliminary) report from Pfizer, BioNTech, and Israel’s Health Ministry found the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine to be 89.4 percent effective at preventing infections, meaning the vaccine limits most asymptomatic transmission of the virus as well.
  
  
Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the news couldn’t be much better. “The two mRNA vaccines we have been using have 95 percent efficacy against all manner of disease: mild, moderate, and severe. And [they] may—likely, I think, probably—reduce shedding, it just hasn’t been studied carefully,” he told The Dispatch. “And to date in the preapproval studies, we couldn’t find any evidence for serious adverse events in tens of thousands of people. And now the vaccine has been in tens of millions of people, so you can say with some confidence that the vaccine doesn’t even cause a rare serious adverse event. So I’d say it’s remarkable. I don’t think anybody could have predicted this a year ago.”

A Movie You Might Have Missed #35 — Searching for Sugar Man

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed. 

In America we've never heard of Rodriguez, an enigmatic rock musician from the early 70's whose two records flopped. In South Africa, his records are bigger than Elvis. The legend surrounding him always includes a colorful death on stage ... by self immolation, pistol to the head, drug overdose, etc. Two South Africans set out to find out how Rodriguez died.

Why Rodriguez is so well known in South Africa is worth a movie of its own. When you include the discovery made by the men tracking down his legend, it propels this story into the "truth is stranger than fiction" category.

The documentary is put together like a well told piece of detective fiction and we were riveted by the story of the American musician we'd never heard of before.

Le Songe de Jacob (Jacob's Dream)

Nicolas Dipre, Le Songe de Jacob, c.1500

 

Moët Chandon Crémant Impérial poster

Moët Chandon Crémant Impérial poster, Alphonse Mucha
via My Daily Art Display

 

Sin most clearly manifests during the Passion

It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, (Cf. Jn 14:30) the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

1851, The Definition of Sin section,
The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Of course, that makes so much sense and is so true.

I'm left with no insightful observations of my own because this is just something that never occurred to me. It is something I will try to keep in mind especially during Lent.

Stations of the Cross - Vatican, Bishop Barron

Sculpture at Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross, Jerusalem
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

It is traditional to reflect upon the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent and especially on Good Friday. Most churches have them at 3:00 p.m. as that is the time that Jesus died.

My problem is that I find group Stations of the Cross to be anything but conducive to reflection. Most of the time the devotions read aloud are simply sappy and, though that can be a sincere form of devotion, it doesn't do much for me. I really feel that eye rolling during the stations isn't good for anyone's spiritual health so I tend to reflect on them at home instead.

In past years I've used various meditations from the Vatican index of past years from the Way of the Cross. You get a wide range from guest meditations to papal ones and there are English translations as far back as 2000.

Bishop Barron has a series of excellent meditations as either video or audio. You can download a print pdf from the page for the video link. They are excellent.

Flying Mink

Flying Mink, Remo Savisaar

 

Prayers during this cold, cold weather

 It's not news that in Texas ... and here in Dallas, of course ... we're suffering from extremely cold weather with temperatures way below freezing and a lot of people out of power. 

We ourselves are very lucky to have not suffered any power loss, although we've got friends and family within 5 miles who have. We're doing what we can in using a minimum of power. Hannah, Mark, and Andy are on their way over to shelter here until their power comes back on.

Please keep everyone in your prayers.

When "light sins" aren't so light

While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.
St. Augustine, quoted in #1863

===============

Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root. #1865

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church in the section looking at mortal versus venial sins.

I have to admit there is a certain comfort in knowing I'm clear of mortal sin. Unfortunately that gives a tendency to think of venial sins as light and not worth worrying about as much. Until we consider the points made above. I think of gnats which seem so little and "light" until one is caught in a cloud of them. What venial sins are clouding sight and mind until I can't even imagine life without them?

Avane Srimannarayana

In the pursuit of solving an ancient mystery of the small south Indian town of Amaravati, Narayana, a corrupt cop must battle the dangerous clan of dacoits [bandits] and it’s fierce leader.

This is a mashup of a Western, an action thriller, a swashbuckler, rivalry between murderous brothers, putting on a play, and an Indian mythological fantasy of sorts. If that sounds bonkers it is, kind of. But it is a kind of bonkers that I found really entertaining. A lot of the fun lies in all the genres that are ruthlessly shoved together with humor, excellent production values, entertaining dialogue, and engaging screen presence from Rakshit Shetty who portrays Narayana.

Despite all these elements it still remains unremittingly Indian as exemplified by four gunfighters who wear cowboy hats, leather dusters, and dhoti. And it works.

I'm pleased to hear that there is a spinoff being considered, featuring Cowboy Krishna, who is "protecting American culture" in the town with his saloon.

 This is not a Bollywood movie but a Kannada language film from "Sandalwood." (I love the creativity with the "wood" names.) 

It is a long film with a lot going on. The plot is complicated (although we kept up without more difficulty than occasionally losing track of who was who in the secondary characters. And it is loaded with visual jokes and references. Some of these are easy for Americans like the saloon and Western stuff and some are going to go right over your head (as they doubtless did for us). But it doesn't matter. The story works without getting everything.

 Rating — for viewers with medium to difficult Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.) 

Watch it on Amazon Prime.

 

Living Well with the Cardinal Virtues

To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).

St. Augustine, quoted in 1809 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church

St. Augustine sums it up perfectly. Now, getting to the point where we can live the cardinal virtues that well is a lifelong task ... a.k.a. striving toward sainthood.

Go to The Virtues section at the link above to read about the cardinal virtues which is what leads up to this quote.

Dreams

Dreams, 1896, Vittorio Matteo Corcos

 

Metropolis — Nuts in a Good Way

 

I watched this 1927  silent film as part of my 2021 Book and Movie Challenge. I knew it was really influential. I knew it was a big story set in 2026 about the downtrodden workers under the city and the rich people living in a futuristic city of splendor. This made it seem as if it would be preachy and boring, although with gorgeous sets.

Forget all that. This movie was nuts. And I mean that in a good way.

Let's start with a sexy female robot, mad scientist, forbidden love, a rooftop chase with fistfight, a horrifying chase of the heroine through the catacombs, and a really effective double role for Brigitte Helm playing both the heroine and the evil robot. All set off with amazing style in which I could see influences for Frankenstein movies, Bladerunner, Star Wars, and a ton of other movies. All the times I'd read about this movie no one said it was science fiction. I was actually on the edge of my seat at times wondering where this crazy story would go next.

I was really surprised also to see a lot of religious symbolism throughout. This begins when the hero leaves his world to see what lies below and has a vision of the workers being fed to the demon Moloch. Numerous references to the Apocalypse, complete with Biblical readings, are accompanied by Dies Irae  music to carry the theme home. Crosses, the seven deadly sins, the Tower of Babel, a flood, and the importance of the coming of "the Mediator" are just a few of the other things rounding out the religious references.

There aren't tons of title cards telling us the dialogue but we usually know what everyone's talking about. As Norma Desmond said in Sunset Blvd., "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!" Sometimes the acting is way over the top which is understandable since a lot of these actors came from theater where you've got to go big to reach the back rows. However, there was surprisingly subtle acting sometimes where closeups allowed. 

 In many ways I was aided by many years of watching indie or foreign movies where you learn to just let them wash over you in the hopes of the big reward by the end. And, I was helped by our Indian movie watching where you learn you won't catch every line or reference but you'll get most of it by the end. Also, Bollywood has trained me to be very tolerant of "big" acting.

As you can probably tell from what I've said, this isn't what you'd call a subtle movie but it is amazingly effective at being both entertaining and getting the point across.

The Morality of the Passions

The passions are natural components of the human psyche; they form the passageway and ensure the connection between the life of the senses and the life of the mind. Our Lord called man's heart the source from which the passions spring.

There are many passions. The most fundamental passion is love, aroused by the attraction of the good. Love causes a desire for the absent good and the hope of obtaining it; this movement finds completion in the pleasure and joy of the good possessed. The apprehension of evil causes hatred, aversion, and fear of the impending evil; this movement ends in sadness at some present evil, or in the anger that resists it.

"To love is to will the good of another." (Cf. Mk 7:21) All other affections have their source in this first movement of the human heart toward the good. ...

In themselves passions are neither good nor evil ...

1764 - 1767, The Morality of the Passions
Catechism of the Catholic Church

I've been reading the Catechism very, very slowly over a few years now and have gotten to the Life in Christ section. I continually admire the clarity and depth with which the Catechism puts things. In this case I was really struck by the idea that the passions connect our sense and mind. Of course. That makes so much sense but I'd never really thought about it before. 

The whole section is worth reading if this also grabs your attention the way it grabbed mine.

Red Squirrel

 

Red Squirrel, Remo Savisaar

We've got plenty of squirrels but none with ears like those! Click through on the link to see this photo in full size glory.