www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Any good movies lately?

So I have Netflix (love it).

Anyone know of any good movies? More specifically, any good religious movies? Any movies that deal with Byz Cath's? That might be a stretch eh?

Actually I have two movies that look good in the mail right now.

Paradise Now - About two Palestinian Brothers recruited to be suicide bombers.

Everything is Illuminated - About a Jewish guy who goes to Ukraine to find the lady who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust.

What movies would you recommend? Seen any good ones lately?

A few of the good movies with religious themes my family has watched in the last year or so:

I Confess - an Alfred Hitchcock film about a priest who hears a murderer's confession, but cannot reveal this when the investigation centres in on him as the prime suspect. Brilliant.

The Cardinal - 1960s, pretty darn good!

The Scarlet and the Black - WW2, the Vatican and the Nazis, and Gregory Peck as an Irish Monsignor hiding allied soldiers on the run.

The Song of Bernadette - St Bernadette and the Lourdes apparitions. 'nuff said.

Going My Way - Bing Crosby as a musical young curate who brings happiness and cheer wherever he goes.

Good morning, Nathan.

I enjoy having NetFlix also... have the movie "Everything Is Illuminated" in my queue also. The selection of movies is much more extensive than that offered by the local video store.

I highly recommend the 2000 movie "Chocolat"... kind of an interesting twist on the Pharisee holier-than-thou attitude. I had no interest in seeing the movie until a priest mentioned it as part of his homily.

Also, I ran across two recent films of interest. The first is a science fiction movie titled "The Island." This movie presents some interesting, and believable, repercussions stemming from DNA research and manipulation.

The second is a very disturbing and very violent movie about arms dealing titled "Lord of War." Now granted I would say that none of the folks on this forum are arms dealers, but the movie speaks also to the fact that actions have consequences... regardless of how much we and/or governments (even our own) detatch ourselves from the end results.

A blessed Great Fast

I'm going to see "V for Vendetta" this evening with a colleague of mine. Hardly good spiritual fare for Lent, but it has gotten great reviews. (I tend to like that apocalyptic type of genre anyway.)

I heard that Hotel Rwanda was good, but very sad. I have not seen it yet.

"Deer Hunter" has an Orthodox Ceremony of Crowning in it! :-) I'd only recommend watching that part of it, though....

I'm going to watch the movie "Shackleton" with Kenneth Branagh this weekend. It is quite the story - the whole expedition to Antarctica on the vessel, Endurance. Shackleton is a real study in manly character and leadership as well. I'll let you know how it is...

Gordo

"The Color of Paradise", an Iranian film that is my favorite. Very spiritual film, and a good antidote to Islamophobia.
"Millions", about two English brothers who "miraculously" come into a lot of money. The younger has visions of saints and wants to give it to the poor; his worldly brother has other ideas...
"Babe" and "Babe, Pig in the City"; especially if you have kids. The latter is actually about holiness...
-Daniel

Francis Ford Coppola usually does a great job juxtaposing good and evil in his films. I have in mind The Godfather series, eg, the scenes of the baptism of the infant Michael Ricci with Michael Corleone as godfather are mixed with scenes of Michael's power grap through assasination of the other dons by his underlings.

Bram Stoker's Dracula also a film by Coppola depicts a Byzantine bishop in the opening scenes. There is also a scene of Jonathan Harker and Mina's Crowing at a convent in Romania(?), after Jonathan escapes Dracula's castle.

Try to get "Shoes of the Fisherman."

The new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is really enjoyable, and since dark chocolate is milk free, this is the perfect Lenten movie.

It does portray many of the major sins, such as envy, gluttony, etc., and the consequences associated with each. Two fingers up Old Believer style for this one.

Michael

I have added some of your suggestions to my Netlix queue. If I didn't add your suggestion, I've probably seen it before.

Those that made the cut:

The Song of Bernadette
The Cardinal
I Confess
Chocolat
The Deer Hunter
Millions
The Shoes of the Fisherman

If I do not enjoy one of these movies I will come back to this thread and post my dismay.

If any of you are interested in being my "Netflix Friend" Please circle yes or no.

Just kidding. If you want to be my netflix friend so we can suggest good movies to each other my email is sweetmusicj@netscape.net.

Nathan,

Although some would call it a "chick flick," the movie "Tea with Mussolini" is excellent.

One reviewer wrote: "... Watching the actions of the characters in this movie is a worthy reminder of how decent people can become so involved in their own lives and interests that they allow horrendous things to happen around them. Fortunately, for the idealistic viewer, all of the main characters "come to their senses" and are redeemed by the end of the film. It is not particularly realistic, but it makes for a wonderful "feel good" movie. ..."

Set in Italy in the 1930s, the movie stars Judi Dench and Maggi Smith... with great performances by Cher and Lily Tomlin.

Here a few films that I have seen recently that I feel comfortable in recommending.

Therese
It's a good biography of St. Therese of Lisieux. It got me to read Saint Therese's "Last Conversations" and "Story of a Soul" -- which are powerful works and which I understood better after watching the movie.

Central Station
It's a Brazilian movie with English subtitles. Basically, a senior citizen (a retired school teacher) has become a hard-hearted, cynical person. She makes extra money as a letter writer (she writes letters for illiterate people) in a central train station. The mother of a boy gets run over, and she is the only one who is willing to look after the mother's son. Eventually, she has to help the boy make a cross-country trek to find his father. It ends up becoming a realistic tale of redemption. Very good.

Lord of War
It's a chilling film about the international arms trade. It's also a moral tale of corruption and consequences. Nicholas Cage does a brilliant job starring. Some of the scenes (such as the field of tanks) were filmed with "merchandise" of real arms dealers. There are a couple of scenes that need fast forwarding for graphic violence. Otherwise, this is well worth watching.

Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith
On the surface level, this is a Star Wars story. On a deeper level, this is a horrifying look at how a man condemns his own soul by being enslaved to his passions and his fears.

Kingdom of Heaven
Some Christians didn't like this movie because it accurately portrayed the fact that some Christians in the Middle Ages were corrupt or otherwise un-Christian. Personally, I think it was an excellent tale of redemption --with some really cool action scenes-- set in the reality of the crusades.

-- John

'Quo Vadis' & 'The Robe' are excellent old movies and give us a glimpse into the lives of early Christians and the persecutions.
'Quo Vadis' tells the story of how Nero burned Rome because he was tired of looking at the slums and blamed the Christians - which started a persecution. 'The Robe' traces the conversion of a Roman soldier who witnessed the crucifixion of Christ.
-Wolfgang

A movie that preceded "The Robe" and "Demetrius & the Gladiators", but which is worth finding on VHS (not yet on DVD) is "Androcles & the Lion", from a play by George Bernard Shaw, starring Alan Young, Victor Mature, Jean Simmons, Maurice Evans, and others. A satire on ancient Rome.

Yes ! They were such good movies !

Dogma is pure blasphemy, but hilarious. Come on, a movie starring Chris Rock, Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Jay and Silent Bob, among others.

Life of Bryan by Monty Python. What more can you say than Monty Python has done a parody of the Life of Jesus. Very, very funny - especially the last scene when Eric Idle leads a song and dance routine on the cross singing "Always look on the bright side of life."

We are not talking about Ben-Hur, Jesus of Nazareth, the Robe, Demetrius, etc., but Dogma and Life of Bryan are must sees for anyone with a sense of humor.

JP