Religious Themes in Film - Blog Entries

29/3/10
Last Friday to celebrate the school holidays I got to the cinema to see The Blind Side - the film that won a Best Actress award this year for Sandra Bullock. It tells the true story of a black teenager, uniquely skilled at American football, adopted into a white family. It was moving, uplifting and absorbing, though overlong and certainly sentimental.
There's a faith dimension, but it's not too preachy. Bullock does a great job playing the mother of the adoptive family, a gutsy Christian woman who opens her home to the homeless boy, who is enrolled into a private Christian college. When the authorities there are reluctant, considering the boy's background, one character suggests that the word "Christian" on the school's sign should be painted over or taken seriously. A challenge to all our Christian schools.
Themes of racism and family conflict are touched on subtly, but there are no huge conflicts. This makes the film less intense, but more gentle, and it's certainly imbued with a respect and love for its characters - at the end we get to see footage of the real life characters the film is based on.
This family is certainly well off (huge house!), and while their material wealth isn't questioned there is an empathy for those who are poorer, e.g. in Bullock's visit to the boy's birth mother.
Maybe I'd like it to have been a little rougher around the edges. Is the family too sweet to be wholesome? Perhaps, but it was good for a change not to have the family members having clichéd rows just for dramatic effect. It was certainly believable.

26/2/10
On Monday last I got to see the Irish Premier of the film Lourdes, shown as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It tells the story of a young woman, almost paralysed with MS, who visits Lourdes with a pilgrimage group, helped by Order of Malta volunteers.
It's a hard one to review as I have conflicted feelings about it. It certainly held the attention throughout its ninety or so minutes, even though for much of it there was nothing dramatic going on. I found it completely unpredictable, which helped, and I suppose because it was subtitled I had to concentrate all the more. The characters were ordinary, but still interesting. Sylvie Testud as the main character Christine was superb - the whole thing might have collapsed without such an intriguing performance. She managed to capture a whole range of emotions - sadness, anger, enthusiasm, loneliness - and yet there were times she was inscrutable.
The location work at Lourdes captured the atmosphere really well, in fact at times it had a documentary feel to it. But it was difficult to figure out what the viewpoint of the film was. Yes there were possible miracles, lots of prayer and devotion, and the main character, despite her suffering was at least open to faith. But ultimately it seemed like an agnostic's view of the Lourdes experience (and here I'm not making any assumptions about writer-director Jessica Haussner, except that she's highly talented). I felt the film lacked warmth towards faith, and I didn't feel any sense of relationship with Our Lady or Jesus. It's as if Haussner was saying: here's what might happen on an average pilgrimage to Lourdes - what do you make of it?
And yet it wasn't entirely objective or dispassionate. There was a quiet empathy with the invalids, especially as so many little cruelties were shown to them - e.g. when Cécile, the chief nurse announces that there will be an outing next day, but that those in wheelchairs would have to stay behind. The carers do their job, often with a smile, but too often they are more interested in flirting with each other - believable but unsettling. "We are not here to have fun", says the irritating chief nurse, and sure enough there is little enough of it. Everything is just a bit too slow moving and uninspiring.
The pilgrimage chaplain is a very average priest, mostly OK with the pilgrims, but his answers to their deep questions smack too much of platitude. The other pilgrims are a mixed bunch, from devotional to cynical. The chief nurse is all smiles and efficiency, not too likeable, but then she is shown to have her own suffering. The chief Order of Malta man attracts the eyes of all the ladies, including the main character, but he too, ultimately, seems hollow.
Talking to some people after the film confirmed what I suspected, that people will have wildly different assessments of the film. Maybe this lack of a clear stance will charm some and disconcert others, but while I did find it riveting, sometimes funny, and even quite hopeful at times, I thought the final impression it left was on the bleak side.
For that reason I wouldn't be rushing to show it in school, though there was one interesting Confession scene with the main character and the chaplain, where she calmly confesses her anger. I like collecting Confession scenes from film and TV drama, and this will be a worthy addition.

17/2/10
Last night I got a chance to see one of the first Irish screenings of a new feature film about the appearances of Our Lady of Fatima.
The 13th Day was written and directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins. It's great to see Catholic filmmakers turning their talents to spiritual matters in such a creative and imaginative way. Visually the film is a treat - it's not surprising that the Higgins brothers come from an artistic background. Each frame of the film would make for a beautiful still picture - mostly it's black and white, with colour being used when Our Lady appears and Heaven touches the earth. Watching it I was reminded of arty YouTube videos, European cinema, and even The Blair Witch Project (visual effect not content!).
It was almost surreal in its presentation, which made it quite captivating at times. The film seems to tell the Fatima story faithfully, framing it by using the reminiscences of Sr Lucia as she writes her memoirs. For me the telling of the story was somewhat episodic, always a potential problem when filming real life events. I also felt there was too much narration and not enough dialogue given to the actors which made it difficult for them to really inhabit their roles. That being said the girl who played the young Lucia, Filipa Fernandez, had a striking screen presence, crucial when she was the central personality of the film.
One thing the filmmakers have achieved is to present this timeless story to a modern audience in an idiom they can understand and relate to. I didn't find it corny or preachy or sentimental, and these are also traps that a religious film can fall into.
As always I wondered about its use in Religious Education. There would have to be plenty of discussion afterwards, and the teacher would want to be well informed about the background to the Fatima story. The vision of hell and one rather scary angel make it more suitable for secondary students. For teachers who might like to use just an extract, the scene of the miracle of the sun is quite striking and captures the essence of the film. At the time of writing The 13th Day is available only on Region 1 DVD (USA).

5/1/09
With constant repeats on RTE and Channel 4 one can get overdosed on the Simpsons, but to be fair it takes a lot of repeating to drain the humour out of it. Last weekend both channels showed The Simpsons Movie, and like a lot of comedy shows transferring to the big screen it was a questionable exercise - yes, the movie was funny, but it didn't offer much more than a typical bunch of episodes shown back to back. As always there was an amount of religious content - and while you might welcome films that show religion as a common part of life (airbrushed out of most American shows) you'd smart at the sharp barbs thrown at believers. The story began on a Sunday morning with Homer once again grumbling about going to church - why, he says, can't he be allowed worship God in his own way - "like praying like hell on my death bed". He grouches about Rev Lovejoy's congregation, "pious morons" with their "phoney baloney God". Grandpa Simpson starts speaking in tongues about some apocalyptic event, and wouldn't you know, it was to be an environmental disaster. The show often pokes fun at those believers who are big into "the end times". There was one hilarious scene when the end of the world was nigh (yet again) - the believers abandoned the church and headed for the bar, while the drinkers rushed out of the bar and made for the church. The sign on the church said "We Told You So"!
While Ned Flanders was presented, as usual, as a Holy Joe, he is also portrayed as the most human and caring of the Springfield folks - providing such a stable father figure that Bart wants him as father instead, but only for a while of course. Yes, its mildly crude and borderline irreverent, but its definitely funny, and even thought provoking. And suitably for the time that's in it, it gave an outing to the idea of "epiphany" - Homer must get a deep insight into his selfishness or he won't be able to save Springfield and win his family back. And was there every any doubt about the outcome?

30/12/09
Got to have another look at the film Millions on DVD last night. It's a film by Danny Boyle of Slumdog Millionaire fame and features a young boy who's a moral anchor for those close to him who compromise so easily. He tries so hard to be good, and is fascinated by the stories of the saints, many of whom appear to him, complete with halos, in little vignettes through the film. A big bag of money, the proceeds of a train robbery, comes his way - he thinks it's a gift from God and wants to use it responsibly, but finds it so hard just to give it to the poor. It's a sweet film, but not overly sentimental, and it's imbued with a warm attitude to religious faith. The scenes with the saints are particularly clever and amusing. It's not for very young children as there is some menace, complex moral issues and a one-night stand (with possibilities for the future!) between the widowed father and a charity worker.

11/12/09
Recently I got to see the Irish premiere of a multi-award winning documentary The Human Experience. Can documentaries be regarded as art? Whatever the case, this film was well put together, and it should prove a great resource for teachers doing classes on the search for meaning. Unfortunately it is not available on DVD yet. It tells the story of two young American brothers, Cliff and Jeff Azize, who are searching for meaning in their lives. They live with the homeless in their native New York, visit a care centre for disabled children in Lima, Peru, and visit a leper colony in Ghana, Africa. I thought the Peru segment was the best - the children were so positive, considering their situation. One of the things I liked about the film was the way they let the people they visited speak for themselves. Also, the fact that it is segmented makes it particularly classroom friendly. There is a parallel story running through the film - one of the brothers reflects on his own upbringing and has many issues to confront - this culminates in an emotional reunion with his father. There are many thought provoking quotes interspersed through the film, which again should help in the classroom context. It's a film I'd like to see again to make a fuller judgement. Some of the film makers were present at the screening which was a treat. I asked about the DVD release but was told it would be a while yet as they were working on distribution arrangements. For the moment check out the film's website, and watch the trailer above.

3/11/09
I know it's unseasonal, but last night I got to attend the multimedia screening of A Christmas Carol - this is Robert Zemeckis' new film adaptation of the Dickens story for Disney, and what a treat it is! Those who have seen his Polar Express will be familiar with the kind of animation applied here - a technique of motion capture that has the characters looking incredibly like the actors that do their voices. The effect here is immeasurably heightened by the eye-popping 3D effects. And it's not just the occasional gimmicky scare with something being flung at the audience - the 3D effects are seamlessly integrated throughout and you'd wonder how you could ever bear to watch it in 2D cinema or DVD. You seem to fly through the air with the characters, it seems to be snowing in the cinema, and yes, occasionally a few things appear to fly into the audience, the most delightfully disgusting being Jacob Marley's ghostly spittle as he tries to warn Scrooge about the consequences of leading a selfish life. The amount of detail is incredible - we see textured wrinkles and spotty skin, which doesn't sound very appealing but in the context it's brilliant.
The technical wizardry is jaw-droppingly impressive, but without a good story it would ultimately leave an empty feeling. Of course, Dickens provides a timeless and very human story of redemption at Christmas time which is told faithfully in this adaptation. Jim Carrey plays the central role of Scrooge with his usual zest - he savours the role, wallows in it, hams it up at times, and yet, despite many laughs it is a very serious story and we get to feel all of Scrooge's changing emotions. Yet, for some reason it fell that little bit short at the emotional level, perhaps because of the fact that the characters are animated no matter how realistic the detail. I felt this particularly to be the case when Scrooge is given a glimpse of the sweetheart of his youth, estranged by his over concern with money. The emotional resonance should, I thought, have been much stronger here. One of my favourite previous versions was the Muppet Christmas Carol and amidst all the crazy Muppets, the real Michael Caine did a better job at capturing the humanity of Scrooge.
The film doesn't hedge on either the frightening or the religious elements of the story - if anything they are heightened. Smaller children may get a legacy of nightmares from the death coach that chases Scrooge, or the horrors of the graveyard scene where the ghost of Christmas come lets Scrooge see what a miserable future and death he will have if he continues with his self-centred behaviour. After a series of horrors he finds himself dangling over a yawning grave, with his open coffin waiting for him, and under that a hellish red glow. Then there's the horrific appearance (video clip on left) of the ghost of Scrooge's deceased partner Jacob Marley - he seems to have come from hell or more likely purgatory carrying the chains he has made for himself in life (reminded me of the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet). And as he leaves we get a scary vision, worthy of Dante, of many other troubled souls, tortured by the choices they have made in life.
But it's primarily a story of redemption and salvation and so the other religious elements are more positive, apart from a dig at "men of the cloth" who seem responsible for Sunday closure of a place where the poor can cook their food (reminded me of those who criticised Christ for healing on the Sabbath). There was liberal use of traditional Christmas hymns on the soundtrack. Sometimes it's just a hint, (Ave Maria), sometimes more prominent (Hark the Herald Angels Sing) and sometimes quite central (Adeste Fideles). On the end credits there's a new song, where Adrea Bocelli takes up Tiny Tim's "God Bless us Everyone".
Christmas Carol is due in cinemas on Nov 6th - go see it! For more info and trailers see the official website.

7/6/09
Got a chance at the weekend to see a preview of the film Sinner, a new independent film from USA. It looked promising, but was a real disappointment. The storyline features a middle-aged priest (Fr Romano) who had a secret love affair in the past that he feels guilty about. He has to share a parish with a young priest (Fr Stephen) who is conservative but in an unpleasant way (surprise, surprise) e.g. he rails against Vatican II liberals. Eventually Fr Romano sends him away for psychiatric evaluation! Yes, it's a bad time to be conservative! Into this mix comes a prostitute who preys on priests - Fr Stephen hits her - to protect his celibacy, he says. She tries to blackmail him but Fr Romano takes a more compassionate approach, though resists her advances. Meanwhile Fr Stephen takes pictures to build up a case against Fr Romano with the bishop. It's a pretty hackneyed male fantasy pot-boiler as might be obvious by now, but perhaps something good might have been made of it. However it's ruined by poor pacing and plotting, stereotypes and most of all by many objectionable elements - nudity, loads of foul language and many distasteful scenes.

5/1/09
Happy New Year to all and best wishes to religion teachers for the new school year!

I saw loads of interesting material on TV over Christmas, hard to keep up with it all. Watched a video of the absorbing film The Apostle, starring Robert Duvall in a tour de force portrayal of a fiery preacher in the Deep South of the USA. His character is intriguing if not entirely appealing. Old style preaching is his life, but he is also a womaniser and prone to violence, yet conscious at times of his sinfulness. After beating up his wife's new boyfriend he has to escape and sets up a church in a new location, making a new life for himself, but temporarily. As I watched I wondered if I could use any of this in religion class - there's a brief scene early on where he prays to God in his bedroom, which is restrained enough, and a sequence where he drives around in his bus gathering worshippers for a service. The many extended preaching sequences might be useful as a study in cultural context, though our students might just find it all very weird. I find they often lament the tameness in Irish liturgical events, compared to the American style black gospel approach, but I'd say this might cure them! Still, it's always good to see a meaty religious film that takes its subject seriously.

7/12/08
Last Saturday night's film on RTE 2 was also very violent, sometimes excessively so, and there was plenty of profanity and more than a few clichés, but there was still more than a touch of humanity in Proof of Life, a kidnap drama set in South America. It helped that the leads were played by Russell Crowe as the rescuer/negotiator and Meg Ryan as the wife of the victim. When religion surfaced it was indirect but respectful for the most part There was a positive priest character - a wily Frenchman who was formerly in the foreign legion and was also a kidnap victim - who showed compassion and courage when trying to help the husband. Married love was seen as valuable - though they had conflicts, the Ryan character remained devoted to her husband, despite her growing attraction to Crowe.

15/11/08
Have just watched yet another ghost-ish story, that kept reminding me of Ghost Town (see below). Just Like Heaven featured Reese Witherspoon as a workaholic doctor who has a crash and ends up haunting (sort of) the new occupant of her apartment. It's an enjoyable romantic comedy, though not very innovative. As in Ghost Town the religious aspects of the next life don't figure much. At one stage, in desperation, the new tenant (Mark Ruffalo) hires an exorcist, but I thought that scene was a little tasteless - the priest thunders away calling on the spirit to leave the building by the power of Christ, but his ritual makes no impression (we discover the reason later - it's not that Christ doesn't have the power). The psychic owner of a nearby occult bookshop (another endearingly dopey role for Jon Heder of Napoleon Dynamite fame) comes across more appealingly than the priest, and more tuned in to the spirit world. Again there are broad themes of love and redemption (not of a specifically religious kind) but I can't see any major use for it in the classroom (also, it includes some mildly unsavoury sexual elements). The right-to-die issues surfaces, but it's not pushing any particular line. In fact, if anything, it would nudge the audience against being over hasty in switching off life support.

14/11/08
Saw the new film Ghost Town recently and enjoyed it. It's one of those films that deals with the next life without getting very religious about it. The main character, played by Ricky Gervais, had a near death experience and now sees ghosts, and they want him to do their unfinished business, so they can "move on". Unfortunately the Gervais character is a rather selfish type, and doesn't really like his fellow human beings, dead or alive. It won't be everybody's cup of tea and reviews have been mixed, but I laughed out loud at some of the more bizarre scenes and chuckled throughout at the dry and subtle wit. I don't see much potential in it for classroom use, unless perhaps when covering the "last things", though I'm not sure how sound the theology is - all these ghosts hovering around in a sort of purgatory-limbo state, with no sign of God at all. He does get a mention - when "acts of God" are mentioned, Gervais dryly says - "Why does he do those things?". There are broad themes like love and redemption, and certainly belief in an afterlife, and though there are a few rude bits there is a very strong disapproval of adultery - the main ghost (Greg Kinnear) has to come to terms with the harm his adultery has done.

15/9/08
I wasn't expecting to use clips from Amazing Grace (see entry for 14/9/08 below) so soon in RE class, but we doing a class on morality and the law and predictably the question of slavery came up - I showed the scene where Wilberforce speaks from the deck of a slave ship, and it seemed to hold the students attention and illlustrate the point. The clip on left is a shorter version but contains the relevant speech.

14/9/08
Now that I've survived the shock of getting back to school I'm fit to write again. One new resource I'm going to use soon is a film I saw recently, Amazing Grace. It tells the story on the campaign to abolish slavery in England, focussing on the efforts of William Wilberforce to get an anti-slavery bill through Parliament. It moves slowly, goes back and forward in time quite a bit, but still holds the attention. There are so many clips that could be used in religion class, and not just on slavery and justice issues. For example there's an early sequence where Wilberforce tries to discern his vocation in life - torn between the work of God and his political activities. Eventually he believes he can do both by campaigning against slavery. Other useful clips include a scene where he meets his mentor John Newton, writer of the song Amazing Grace and a former slave ship owner who is now haunted (metaphorically) by the ghosts of the slaves he carried. The representation of slavery is not that graphic, but there are descriptions in another early scene where a group of like minded friends gather at table to discuss the issue with Wilberforce, and later when some well off citizens are given a close quarters experience of a slave ship. The scenes where he addresses parliament should also be useful in holding students' attention and introducing issues.

10/8/08
A few films I saw recently on TV got me thinking again about religion in the movies, and in many cases there were interesting marriage scenes that might be useful ice breakers in class when discussing relationships and marriage.
Intolerable Cruelty is another cracking film from the Coen brothers (their most recent being Oscar winner No Country for Old Men). It was quite raunchy in spots, but was a marvellous send up of American divorce culture. Despite all the marital shenanigans the film did seem to favour real love and lifelong commitment. Dealing as it did with marriage, it wasn't surprising that religious imagery figured - there was one wedding scene in particular worth mentioning. It was a garden wedding, and the priest, strumming his guitar, approached the happy couple while singing Simon and Garfunkel songs! Grist to the mill, I'd suspect, for those who might not be enthusiastic about the liturgical changes of recent years. The "religious" wedding was a more attractive proposition than a later registry office wedding which had a Scottish theme, complete with a bagpipe version of Bridge Over Troubled Water. Yuk! I didn't find the religious wedding imagery in any way offensive, perhaps because there was a good humoured warmth about the film.
The wedding scene in Wedding Daze was more problematic. A third rate made-for-tv movie, it started well I thought, as a warm tale of a father and his three daughters, but it quickly descended into pure and irritating corn. A triple wedding was arranged, the father delighted in the money he was saving in not "renting" the cathedral. This time the priest didn't turn up at all and so, as they weren't too fussy they persuaded a nearby rabbi to do the honours! The religious sensibilities of a groom's Italian parents were quickly overcome.
I really enjoyed The Bachelor, which starred Chris O'Donnell as a young man with commitment issues. His miserable efforts at proposing to his loved one were particularly hilarious. When told he must marry by a certain deadline to inherit the family fortune and save the family company he becomes even more desperate, leading to one of the most bizarre wedding scenes ever (the priest is in a police car, the groom on a nearby fire escape, and the bride sandwiched between hundreds of other brides). And there's an earlier attempted wedding of convenience that might also be a useful clip for R. E. class. The film is ultimately pro-marriage and pro-commitment, but some may find the treatment of the sacrament lacking in respect. The Catholic priest (another fine turn by James Cromwell) seems quite willing to go along with efforts at the inheritance driven marriage with scant regard for Church standards, but there is a touching scene, about two thirds way through, where he has a chat with the groom in a boat - telling how he was married with children and became a priest late in life when his wife died - he has only the best of praise for marriage and this helps the groom to overcome his fear of being tied down.
More troubling was the use of religious imagery in Shanghai Noon, This was one of Jackie Chan's comedy martial arts westerns so we can't get too worked up about it, but for no reason to do with the plot the final shoot out took place in a church. From the statement of the crooked Marshall Van Cleef (a good, bad, or ugly joke?) - "I'm glad to see we're all church goers here", it smacked of disrespect. Statues were shot to bits and we were supposed to laugh. In fact the whole church was pretty much wrecked when the mayhem was over. Overall it was a funny film, but it's hard to find sacrilege and desecration funny.
The religious imagery in Before and After was brief but more positive - we saw a funeral scene with a priest comforting a woman whose daughter had been killed - an image that's more true to life. The young man who was the chief suspect ran away from home, but wrote to his parents, telling them he knew they didn't pray, but asking them to pray now, for him. The father (Liam Neeson) impulsively covered up for the son, but the mother (Meryl Streep) was more pure of heart - she wanted to do what was right and tell the truth, even though she was mocked for her principles and "absolutes" - not too often you find a leading character supporting the idea of objective and absolute truth. Not only that but the film seemed to support that point of view - it was seen as a healthy thing for the family to face up to the truth, even though there was a cost. The film wasn't entirely enthusiastic to religion however - some religious bigot harassed the family by phone when the son was a suspect (yes, I know, there are plenty like that who give religion a bad name), and there was a negative comment from the father about the Abraham and Isaac story, which raised father-son issues that he thought relevant to his own situation. Overall a thoughtful and unpredictable film.

8/8/08
Finally got to see The X-Files: I Want to Believe, recently arrived in Irish cinemas. There are lots of scenes I'd like to look back on, so perhaps I'll revise my initial opinions when it comes out on DVD. First off, it was great to see Mulder and Scully back in action - it's been about 6 years since the TV show ended. The film was certainly true to the spirit of the show, though apart from the principals only one other character reappeared. As with the TV show there were strong religious elements - the title "I Want to Believe" says it all.
I'd say religious believers won't be entirely happy with the way religion is presented - one of the main characters is a paedophile former priest, still referred to as Father Joe, played with deadly earnestness by comedian Billy Connolly, a strange but effective casting choice. Scully can't hide her revulsion when in his presence, but at least he seems repentant. So though, on one level, the character might be reinforcing lazy stereotypes, he is humanised and challenges the judgementalism of Scully and the viewer. But there is negative portrayal of other priests also - in particular a rather cold fish at the Catholic hospital where Scully is treating a young boy for an apparently incurable disease. At best this priest is a fussy administrator, but the young boy says he doesn't like the way this priest is looking at him.
The plot centres around "Father Joe" helping the police find some missing women because he says he has been having visions. Is he in league with the perpetrators or has God answered his prayers of repentance? Mulder in particular wants to believe he is genuinely psychic, but Scully is more doubtful, still conflicted about such matters, though Fr Joe describes her as "a woman of faith". She was often thus in the series, so it seems her character hasn't progressed much in the intervening years, and for that matter Mulder seems driven by the same concerns as always, though the alien theme of the so-called "mythology" episodes doesn't figure this time. There are many discussions about faith during the film, especially a dramatic confrontation between Scully and Fr Joe when she reluctantly goes to seek his help - (in this scene he says of abusers that they hate themselves and hate each other). Other discussions fall into the trap of wordiness that was one of the faults of the TV show. These are the scenes I'd like to see again to form a more rounded judgement.
The plot also features the stem cell research issue, and treats it in an interesting way - Scully dabbles in it to try and save her young patient, but the bad guys are also into it for more gruesome purposes, so it advocates and critics alike may feel somewhat satisfied. The distinction between adult and embryonic stem cell research doesn't figure.
For most of the X-Files series Mulder and Scully were just good friends - this close but platonic relationship was one of the show's attractions, but if I remember correctly there was a hint in the 9th series that the relationship had become physical, and in this film they seem to be living together at least some of the time. And in another sign of the times two of the bad guys are married to each other! Have tried not to give away too much here, but if you do go to see it be sure to stay until the end of the credits!

(for my article on the religious themes in the X-Files TV series click here)

23/7/08
Got to See the film Road to Perdition again last night. Tom Hanks, excellent as always, plays Michael Sullivan, a gangster in US prohibition times. His son Michael is curious about his work, and is shocked when he sees his father involved in a murder. More tragedies follow as father and son take to the highways to avoid a hired assassin. The cinematography is beautiful, the music striking, the characterisations reflective.
The gangsters are Irish Catholic in name and culture (the Sullivans say grace before meals), but it's disconcerting to see the worst of them attending mass looking devout. The main gangster, played by Paul Newman, goes to Communion in one scene, but in a subsequent chat with the Sullivan character says that one thing is sure, none of them will see Heaven. Sullivan, also a killer, seems to agree, but thinks that his son has a chance to avoid that particular road to perdition. Neither gangster seems interested in changing his situation, no sign of redemption, or repentance - too much to loose I suppose, rather like Macbeth - "I am in blood stepped in so far that returning were as tedious as go 'oer". This scene might be worth using in senior classes, it's about two thirds way into the film.
Like a lot of the "Catholic" gangster films they are supposedly great family men. This is fairly true for Sullivan, but in the pursuit of revenge he does turn down a chance escape to Ireland with his son to start a new life.

15/7/08
Nicholas Cage was in missionary territory in Lord of War, last Thursday night's film on RTE 2. But instead of a gospel of love he brought death to the people of the third world. Cage played a freelance arms dealer who liked the work, not just because it made him rich but because he was "good at it". This arrogance led to the death of his brother, alienation from his family, separation from his wife and child, and he still kept at it.
His religious upbringing was curious - his mother was Catholic, but his father pretended, with great enthusiasm, to be Jewish (for immigration reasons if I remember correctly) - in fact it was at synagogue that the Cage character, Yuri, met his first important arms dealing contact. He was painfully adept at rationalising, accepting no responsibility whatever for the destruction caused by his weapons. He sold to murderous dictators in West Africa but hid behind the weakest of platitudes - it's not our business what they do with the weapons, someone else will do it if I don't etc The film was marred by grauitous sex, drug abuse and the foulest of language, a pity coming from writer director Andrew Niccol who had scripted the subtle Truman Show, but in other ways it was moral, even to the point of being preachy. There was little doubt that the film showed the arms trade as hugely cynical and destructive. An Interpol agent of impeccable integrity (well played by Ethan Hawke) tried to nail Yuri but was thwarted by the shady military connections his adversary had made in high places.
It was here that the film became most preachy - hammering home the point that however repulsive the arms dealers were, the super power governments of the world were worse. And I was uneasy about the way the Yuri character was portrayed - cool, charismatic, successful on a material level, perhaps an attractive role model for some young or immature viewers? Just a little close to those films that purport to be anti-war and yet seem to revel in violence.

27/12/07
On St Stephen's Night I watched Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, with Russell Crowe in the lead role - it was set during the Napoleonic Wars, as a British warship tried to track down a French frigate. It was well directed and written (by Peter Weir), with battles at the start and finish and lots of interesting events in between, in many ways an old fashioned epic. The main characters were religious, but not in any overbearing sort of way - and there are some prayers especially as crewmen are buried near the end. Yet it is violent - including amputation flogging for discipline and suicide. There is little questioning of the need for war in the first place though the on-board surgeon does rebel a little.

28/11/07
I'm currently in the middle of a module on religious themes in film with Transition Year class. Firstly I divided them into small groups – each group had to lists films with religious themes in various categories – e.g. comedy, horror, serious drama, biography, and “weird” (films about cults, dodgy faith healers etc, the movies often focus on this aspect of religion). This was a useful 40 minutes as I could ramble from group to group discussing the various issues that arose. I then took feedback and filled the board with all the films named in their categories. The next step was to show clips that would represent some of these films and categories. I used the parting of the waters scene from The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. de Mille version, 1956) as an example of the old fashioned Bible epic, some scenes from Sister Act (including the first appearance of the gospel choir) as an example of comedy, the scene from The Field where the priest upbraids the community for hiding a murderer (I find the film version to have an anti-clerical bent not present in the original John B. Keane play), and the similar but more positive scene from On the Waterfront where the priest (Karl Malden) remonstrates more kindly with his community, also for staying deaf and dumb about a murder) – both examples of serious drama. As an example of “weird” I used a clip from one of my personal favourites Static, about a collector of faulty crucifixes who believes he can tune in heaven on his TV. The scene where he reveals his invention always holds the students’ attention. It raises interesting questions about heaven, and has echoes of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea but I don’t find it disrespectful, and it’s certainly unpredictable. Next, I’ll be moving on to a class or two about films on the life of Jesus.

4/11/07
Saw Spiderman 3 last night and wasn’t expecting any deep themes, religious or otherwise. But I was in for a surprise. The most overtly religious scene was decidedly odd. Spiderman, going through a bit of an evil alter ego experience (as you do when you’re a superhero), looked up a church, as if longing for goodness, and perched himself on the steeple for a bit of a think. Meanwhile inside the church, one of the villains was actually praying to Jesus to kill Spiderman! This guy was no stereotype villain – he was a young photographer who had let ambition lead him to do wrong (quite a bit like Macbeth). Mind you, he was under the influence of a parasitic alien life form, but seemed quite willing to go over to the dark side. There was a strong message against revenge in the film (Spiderman’s aunt warns him against the inner corruption in a scene that I might use in class), and there is a significant redemption theme when he is reconciled with one of his friends at the end, and when he forgives one of the villains for unintentionally killing his uncle. I’m not sure how useful this segment would be in class as they students mightn’t thank me for giving away the ending.

9/10/07
Meanwhile, in class I’ve managed to use a good few artistic resources. Continuing the “Images of God” classes in third year I used clips from Oh God You Devil, with George Burns as a genial old God – I used the scene late in the film where the main character contacts God by phone! The Insight video Jesus B.C. has its problems but the scene where Father Son and Holy Spirit discuss what to do with the rebellious human race is a useful attempt (the only one I know of) to portray the Trinity – with three actors – the Holy Spirit is portrayed as a black woman! Martin Sheen’s portrayal of God as a cocky young man in a white suit in the Insight video The Walls Came Tumbling Down sparked a few interesting comments – I used the opening 10 minutes. Would have used the scene from Bruce Almighty where Bruce meets God for the first time (hilarious) but my copy of that has gone astray. Tomorrow I’ll complete this module with a prayer service, which I’ll write up soon as I’ll be using some appropriate music along with scripture readings.

30/9/07
Saw The Fighting Temptations on RTE 2 Friday last - a film that centres around a gospel choir. There's great music, but the storyline was a tad corny and predictable - in order to get an inheritance a guy must get the local (and useless) gospel choir into shape for a competition. Guess what the outcome is! The film is favourably disposed to faith in a lukewarm kind of way, though church busybodies get a lash! The main character is a habitual liar, but he learns to be true to himself, though without any major religious conversion. The stereotypes would make you cringe at times, but the script is witty, and the whole thing so cheerful and upbeat that it's easy to enjoy and hard to get annoyed at. Some of the gospel music segments (including gospel rap - my son left the room in disgust at this stage!) might be useful in class to illustrate the variety of religious music, and the whole movie might make a useful example of a film with religious themes.

31/8/07
Saw a couple of interesting films in August that might be useful in class. Evan Almighty was something of a disappointment after Bruce Almighty, but it wasn't a washout. The scene where Evan is persuaded that Morgan Freeman (reprising his earlier role) is really God is useful for "Images of God" classes, though the equivalent scene in Bruce is far better and more focussed. Overall the film is passable entertainment, genial and well disposed to faith, the main characters pray, and it's less crude than Bruce. Apart from the scene already mentioned there's an interesting exchange between God and Evan's wife when she is getting frustrated at Evan's efforts to be a modern day Noah. The Ark scenes are impressive enough, though the environmental message is a bit hackneyed.
I bought Saints and Soldiers in a sale after hearing some good reviews, and it was worth it. It's a war film, set shortly after the D-Day invasion when some American troops get caught behind enemy lines. One of the soldiers is a religious person (a Mormon I think) and one a cynic, leading to some interesting exchanges. There are sound human values in the film, but it's not sentimental. The opening scenes and closing are quite violent, but there's a lull in the middle that makes for good character development.

30/7/07
There was an appealing priest character in last Friday night's film on RTE 1. The Runaway Bride was a sharply scripted comedy with appealing performances by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the leading roles and a rake of great supporting characters played by Joan Cusack and Paul Dooley among others. In one scene we learned that the runaway bride had abandoned at the altar one guy who went on to become a priest. Despite the real hurt back then he was now quite happy in his vocation.

17/3/07

In class I've been doing religious themes in TV drama. I started with a brainstorm from the students on what TV dramas they've seen that featured religious themes, and among the programmes that featured in the feedback were Father Ted, The Simpsons, Lost and Ballykissangel. I then showed some relevant clips, which were spread over two double classes. These are clips I have built up over the years and keep adding to, though not as diligently as before. Hard to find the time. I don't like using too many old clips, so I was glad to be able to show a clip from an episode of Lost which been on a few days previously - this was a scene where the Hurley character had prayed for enlightenment and got it. I also used a few earlier Lost clips - including the scene where Claire and her baby are baptised by Mr Eko. Some of my Lost clips are actually lost, so I had better trawl through my videos and catalogue everything. I used some clips from the X-Files as well, though as time goes on students are less familiar with this series. My article on the religious themes in the X-Files is on the articles section of the website. In one scene one of the main characters, Scully, is saying the rosary (you don't see that too often in TV drama), while her partner Mulder is blowing the lid on yet another government conspiracy. I also used a clip of Scully going to confession, where she talks about being afraid that God is speaking but that no one is listening.
I used a short Father Ted clip just to illustrate a point about stereotyping of nuns and priests and to raises issues relating to the respectful treatment of religion. However I don't particularly like the underlying attitudes in the show and was somewhat reluctant. The attitude of the boys was that it was only a bit of fun. Joan of Arcadia got a look in as well - the US show where God appears to a young girl in various guises. A clip from 7th Heaven was necessary to be comprehensive, though I got the feeling some of the lads didn't like it. I used a nice clip from a popular (but rough and sometimes adult in nature) series Band of Brothers, which is about the aftermath of D-Day. In an early episode a captain reflects and prays on the day's events, and promises God that if he survives the war he'll live a peaceful life. My Ballykissangel clips tape has gone missing, but I showed clips from Paradise Island, the American version, a short-lived series which was quite enjoyable. Next week I hope to do a class on relevant animated series, especially The Simpsons and God, The Devil and Bob. More of that anon. I plan to turn these clips into digital files so I can play them from the laptop, perhaps as Powerpoint presentations.

Have seen an excellent film recently that might be useful in religion class. I saw The Execution of Private Slovik many years ago and it made a lasting impact. It's the true story of Eddie Slovik (played superbly by Martin Sheen) the only American soldier to be executed since the Civil War - he was shot for desertion in World War Two. It's hard to get and I finally found the video on Ebay recently - the only version available seems to be this American NTSC video which means it won't play correctly over here unless you have an NTSC compatible video machine. I got one of those recently so I could finally catch up on some American tapes (including some Peter, Paul and Mary concerts which include gospel material). I hoped I wouldn't find it dated (it was originally broadcast on US TV in 1974), but thankfully I didn't. It was simple basic and hard hitting, and as moving as ever. Two scenes in particular are useful for class - around the middle of the film the chaplain talks to the firing squad about the morality of it all, and towards the end there is Slovik's final experience of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He prays on the way to execution, but this scene is tough going and may not be suitable for younger classes at least. And without the context of the full film the emotional impact wouldn't be the same.

21/2/07
Recently saw the film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days - it's about a young student, motivated by her Christian faith, campaigning against the Nazis in Germany during the war. The religious element is there, but subtly integrated. In German, with English subtitles, it is riveting as we see her interrogated by the German police, and all the more poignant as it is based on real events. Julia Jentsch does a brilliant job in the main role. Despite the setting there is no graphic violence, but there is plenty of tension. One scene of particular use in class starts with Sophie praying one night in prison, leading to a scene with her interrogator where conscience is discussed. I hope to use this clip after mid term break as I'm doing conscience with fifth year students. Another useful exercise I've found doing this issue is to get the students drawingtheir own symbols for conscience. I like to ramble around the class (purposefully of course!) chatting with individuals about their symbols. Usually some will draw the angel-on-the shoulder image, but whatever comes up it is a useful discussion starter.

31/10/06
And finally a school update. Finished my classes on religion and film with Transition Year on Friday last, with a final look at Jesus films - showed two clips from The Passion of the Christ - the atmospheric opening scene in the garden which I love, and a brief clip from the way of the cross - where Jesus meets his mother at a cross roads on the way to Calvary - it's very touching, especially when intercut with the flashback of when Jesus fell as a child. Perhaps more of the brief flashbacks and less of the intense violence would have helped the film achieve a broader perspective on the life of Jesus.

29/9/06
Was looking at religious themes in films today in Transition Year class. In a previous class I had broken the students in groups, each to list films with religious themes in various categories - horror, serious drama, comedies, biographies, and weird (films about cults, dodgy preachers etc). Today I followed up this exercise with clips from relevant films. The clips went down well I think: from Ken Loach's Raining Stones the scene where the Irish priest (Tom Hickey, excellent) tries to persuade the main character not to spend too much money on his daughter's first communion dress; the sermon from The Field where the priest (Sean McGinley, very unsympathetic) lambastes the locals for hiding a murderer; a similar scene from On the Waterfront, where the priest (Karl Malden, very sympathetic) encourages the dockers to stand up to the mob and reveal who killed one of their members; the few scenes from Sister Act were enjoyed, especially the scene in Church where the new choir gets its first outing - corny I know; I felt I had to give an example of a Biblical epic (can't stand 'em) so I showed the parting of the waters from The Ten Commandments (great skit on that in the soup parting from Bruce Almighty). The students were attentive, made some very interesting points in discussions between clips and laughed at the more subtle humorous moments (I've had classes that have sat stony faced watching Fawlty Towers (English class!). Next week we're doing films on the life of Jesus.

24/9/06
Finally saw Walk the Line last night - the Johnny Cash biopic. More could have been made of the importance of religion in his life, but there were some nice moments - his brother Jack getting familiar with scripture to get ready for life as a preacher while Johnny listened to country music on the radio. There's a funny incident when Johnny sings a gospel song for a record producer who finds it too ordinary and unconvincing - Cash misinterprets this as the producer thinking he, Cash, doesn't believe in God! It's clear all along that both Cash and future wife June Cater were inspired by gospel songs from an early age, and when she gets him to leave behind the drink and pills it is suggested by a Church visit that religion has a part to play in this turn around. But Cash is shown warts and all, and his cheating on first wife Vivienne is particularly painful. The film well deserves all the accolades it got, especially tghose for the two performances at the heart of it - from Reese Witherspoon and Joacquin Phoenix.

17/5/06
The Da Vinci Code film is out today - shown in Cannes and previewed in Ireland. First indications are not so good, it seems the awful image the book created for the Catholic Church has not been softened. It's hard to get time to follow the controversy but I managed to write about some of it for this week's Irish Catholic column (out on Thursday). Last Monday in school a speaker from Hope Ireland (who have set up the excellent www.davincicodeireland.com website gave a presentation to the Transition Year students (the Powerpoint slides, with notes, are available free to download on that website). I gave up 2 free classes to hear it! The presentation was excellent and the speaker very knowledgeable (there's a section of the website to request a speaker).
It was a tough audience, lots of awkward questions and comments, but he handled it well. Just to show the prejudices out there - one student accused the Church of flexing its censorial muscles! But this group is not calling for boycotts or protest campaigns - the approach is rational and informative. In fact the speaker assumed that many would be going to see the film. A handful had read the book, some were obviously influenced, while some couldn't remember much about it! The hour we gave to it was probably too short - a double period would be needed, especially if the students are responsive, as mine were. Personally I had a qualm - would all this attention give the film more attention, publicity and even credibility? Probably it will be getting all this anyway, so responding to it to clarify all the inaccuracies is probably a sensible way to approach it.
By September it will probably be out of the cinemas, so the next wave of publicity for the film will be when it comes out on DVD, presumably near Christmas. When the students ask, I say I'll hardly go to see the film as I wouldn't be keen to support something that was so opposed to my faith. Maybe I'd have liked the speaker to take a similar line, though he certainly didn't go anywhere near recommending the film.
Also on Monday we had a visitor from the Dublin Diocesan advisors who came to present certificates of achievements to the TY students - some of the work involved working on the religion and the arts theme and the students displayed their wares. I'd certainly recommend taking up this offer of certs from the Diocese. It's nice to be encouraged in the work.