The Passion of Sophie

I keep a list of movies on my fridge so that when I go to rent one, I don’t spend 30 minutes at the movie store trying to figure out what to get. I update my list every few months, normally based on reviews. I don’t always like the movies that the critics like, but if the majority of critics hate a movie, I find that it’s a fairly good indication that it won’t be worth my time. So, over the last month or so I’ve rented Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler. Both were pretty good, but I didn’t love either of them. I didn't find either of them inspiring, and in a few months I will have forgotten much about them.

The best movie I’ve seen in a long time was one that has been buried on my movie list for several years. It’s a German film entitled “Sophie Scholl – The Final Days.” I’ve been thinking about it over and over again since I saw it a few days ago. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that it’s a very simple movie (not action packed at all). It is inherently Christian without being preachy, and it is deeply moving. I want to write a bunch more, but I hate spoiling movies. Two thumbs way up!

Movies 2007

Here’s a list of the most memorable films I saw in 2007. Not all of these films were released in 2007, but I just happen to have seen them sometime during the past year. These aren’t necessarily all of the “best” movies I saw last year, just the ones that had the biggest impact on me.

1. Once – This is a low-budget Irish musical with a very simple story. When I say “musical” don’t think “Guys and Dolls.” It’s about a folk singer and a girl he meets and they sing songs together. The actors actually wrote and performed all of the songs; it’s actually the most realistic musical I’ve ever seen. Let me just say that this movie is great! It’s beautiful, simple, and very moving.

2. God Grew Tired of Us – See previous post

3. The Pursuit of Happyness – I’m sure most of you have heard about this one. I thought it was a great movie about suffering, purgation, and the love of a father.

4. Amazing Grace – This probably wouldn’t be on my “best” movie list, but I have to give it props for being a “Christian” film that was really well done. I think if Christian film studios made more films like this one, they would have a lot bigger impact in the end. (I’m not sure that Amazing Grace was produced by a “Christian” studio, but I know it was promoted by a number of Christian organizations).

A Meditation on Meditation

Sorry for not posting in a while. I’ve just been really busy at the church, trying to get a bunch of stuff done before Christmas, and my blog has been low on my priority list. When I do get the chance to blog, it seems that I’ve only been posting on movies. It’s probably because I spend most of my time consumed with the work and issues of the church that movies become my one escape and therefore an easy thing to write about.

The latest film that I would recommend is entitled “Into Great Silence.” It’s a documentary filmed at The Grande Chartreuse Monastery which is somewhere in Europe (I think France). It is a foreign film, but you will hardly know it when you watch it since there are all of about 10 words spoken in this two hour long film. Yeah, it’s over two hours long with hardly any action or dialogue, and I found myself being pretty bored at times. But, I think that was one of the points the film was trying to make: that the lives of these godly men are so quiet, simple, and beautiful that it is even hard for a modern viewer to watch them for two hours, let alone imagine entering into that kind of life with them! Day in and day out these monks silently pray and experience the depths of God’s presence. The film forces the viewer to be still and to think about life in a monastery. I couldn’t help but think that these silent and holy men know much more about God than I may ever know in this lifetime. It made me want to meet them and learn from them, but at the same time I thought, “I could never live like that; I’d go crazy.” God may not have called me to the vocation of meditation, but I am glad that there some holy people out there like these monks who are silently praying for us and living in such purity that I know that God hears their prayers.

God Grew Tired of Cheesy Films….

….so He inspired some folks to produce one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. So, stop whatever you are doing right now, and go rent “God Grew Tired of Us.” It is the inspirational story of a bunch of Sudanese boys who escaped the Islamic genocide of Christians in southern Sudan. They made a grueling journey across the desert when they were young boys and spent the rest of their childhood in refugee camps. None of the boys have seen their families since they were little, and many of their families have been brutally murdered during the ongoing Muslim jihad. Now that the boys are grown, the world is trying to figure out to do with them because they cannot safely return to their homeland, and life in the refugee camps offers no future for them. A number of the boys have been chosen to come live in the U.S. to work and to finish their education, and “God Grew Tired of Us” follows several of them during their first few years in America.
This film aroused so many emotions in me when I watched it. It made me angry that the world has stood by and done nothing as the Muslim jihad continues. It mad me cry that these young men are faced with the reality that their families and homeland have been decimated and are forced to live as strangers in a very strange land. It made me feel a deep joy as I watched them adapt to American culture with innocent and open hearts. The first time they all try to go up an escalator in the airport is hysterical. Anyway, all I can really say is GO WATCH THIS FILM!
(There is a similar documentary to this one called “The Lost Boys of the Sudan,” but “God Grew Tired of Us” is considerably better)

A Tale of Two Christian Movies

Jill and I watched two Christian movies this week. I’m not sure if either movie was produced by a Christian company or not, but both films were overtly “Christian” in their content and were marketed to appeal to a Christian audience. Yet, the two movies could not be more different in the stories they tell and the morals they convey.

The first movie was “The Ultimate Gift,” and it played like a cheesy after-school special. I knew it was a "Christian" movie because all of the music in the film was from popular "Christian" artists. The only song that wasn't was Bob Dylan's "You're Going to Serve Somebody," which is the one Bob Dylan song that every Christian seems to know about. Anyway, the movie is the story of a grandfather who dies and leaves an unnamed “gift” to his rebellious grandson, and the only way the grandson will inherit the gift is if he completes certain tasks that are meant to teach him moral lessons. Yeah, the storyline is pretty hokey, but don’t worry, it gets much worse. The characters are so one-dimensional that they become caricatures. The plot takes so many absurd twists and turns that it reminded me of Forest Gump, but unlike Forest Gump, we’re actually supposed to take the plot seriously. It’s a good thing that I didn’t see this movie in the theater. I would have been one of those annoying people who was laughing in all the places where you aren’t suppose to laugh, but I couldn’t help myself. In the end this romantic-comedic-tragic-action-drama mess of a movie teaches us the fundamental Christian moral that if we all live good moral lives, we too will be blessed with great wealth and riches.

The second movie was “Beyond the Gates” which is the story of a priest and a school teacher serving in Rwanda when the genocide broke out in 1994. The Christians in this film must face the reality of great suffering and injustice, and they must decide what they will do in response as they attempt to live out their faith. I found it to be both a faithful portrayal of the Christian faith and a scathing critique of the UN’s handling of the Rwandan genocide. I won’t say much more about this film because I don’t want to ruin it, but I would highly recommend it.

If you couldn’t tell by what I wrote above, I wouldn’t recommend “The Ultimate Gift.” It may be an alright movie to show Jr. High age kids. But, if you rent it expecting an enjoyable movie for yourself, you will experience the ultimate disappointment.

The Call to Ministery

Jill and I just finished watching a mini-series documentary called “God or the Girl” that we borrowed from the library (it’s produced by A&E Television in case you’re interested in looking it up). It follows four young Catholic men as they wrestle with the decision to enter seminary and join the priesthood. I highly recommend it for all my seminary brothers out there. I could relate to the men as they try to discern God’s will for their lives. What I couldn’t relate to was the fact that if they entered seminary they were also committing to the celibate life.

My favorite guy in the story is a charismatic young fellow named Dan from Columbus, Ohio (he’s the long haired guy second from the left in the picture above). As part of his discernment process, Dan and his friends build an 80 pound cross, and Dan carries it 22 grueling miles across the city. It takes him two days to complete his journey, and the suffering he endures helps him focus on his calling and on Christ’s suffering. I think the coolest thing about Dan’s exhausting expedition is that his friends walk with him the whole way, reading Scripture to him and praying for him. They ended up sleeping in a field overnight using logs as pillows. Now that’s true friendship! It reminded me that the call to ministry is not a call to be loan gun. Following God is best done in community, and ministry is most effective when multiple people are carrying the load.

Spirit Filled Bob

I finally finished watching No Direction Home, Martin Scorsese’s Documentary on Bob Dylan. I had seen the first half of it on PBS last year in MN but didn’t see the second part until I borrowed it from my brother. I thought it was pretty good. I think it gave Jill a new appreciation for Dylan.

My favorite quote from the documentary came from some crazy looking hippie who worked with Dylan on one of his albums. When speaking of Dylan’s success, he said, “I believe giving credit where credit is due. I don’t think Dylan had a lot to do with it. I think God, instead of touching him on the shoulder; He kicked him in the (butt). Really, and that’s where all that came from. He can’t help what he’s doing. I mean, he’s got the Holy Spirit about him. You can look at him and tell that.”