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February 01, 2005
More movies..
At NRO, Jonah G. on Groundhog Day, everyone's favorite subtlely spiritual movie
And why not? Bill Murray's sister is a sister...
(And yes, that's really Bill Murray's sister.)
Also at NRO,(the Corner) a discussion:
DIVINELY INSPIRED MOVIES [John Derbyshire]
All right, all right, we've got a thread going here: Movies To Which There Is Much, Much, More Than Meets The Eye, Though You Never Thought So Till Someone Pointed It Out To You.
So far we have three:
---Cool Hand Luke
---The Big Lebowski
---Groundhog Day
Any other candidates?
I'm sure we can improve on that list....
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
Tombstone
(That's the one with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer, not the one dimensional one with Kevin Costner.)
The tie in with the Book of the Apocalypse (6:8), the allusion to the Faustian bargain, and the portrayal of Doc Holliday by Kilmer (tragically flawed, doomed to die, yet loyal in a way seldom seen "greater love no man hath..") give a very masculine spirituality that stirs something in the heart.
Posted by: Anthony Roberts at Feb 2, 2005 12:22:36 AM
Pulp Fiction, although it's kind of obvious in that one. A lot of people get too distracted by the subject matter to notice a nice triple allegory of redemption.
Posted by: eadfrith at Feb 2, 2005 1:08:21 AM
"Fargo," a pitch-black comedy about the banality of goodness. I can't think of another movie as serious as this one, in which the glamour of evil is so pitilessly mocked, and the modest nobility of everyday goodness is so explored and honored. You leave that movie thinking that the reason the world stays on the rails is because of dull, dutiful, thoroughly decent people like Sheriff Marge.
Posted by: Rod Dreher at Feb 2, 2005 4:26:40 AM
Quiz Show.
Posted by: Liam at Feb 2, 2005 5:57:14 AM
Many John Wayne movies qualify.
My favorite is "Cowboys." It is Wayne at his best in a fatherhood, Christ-like sacrifice role.
Posted by: Mo at Feb 2, 2005 6:36:54 AM
The Agony and the Ecstacy. It is a rare movie indeed that has profound observations on Art, the Church and History. Heston was good, but Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II was incredible.
Posted by: Donald R. McClarey at Feb 2, 2005 6:48:36 AM
Gattica, especially the parts they took out of the screen version.
Donny Darko
Posted by: al at Feb 2, 2005 7:30:34 AM
I can't believe nobody else has mentioned this yet: "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
"Moulin Rouge" has some strong religious allusions — notice the names of the main characters: Christian and Satine.
"O Brother Where Art Thou" is totally about redemption.
Also — I'm a big fan of movies that explore what one might call the "burden of destiny" — which, no matter the intent, always seem to evoke the Gospel account of the Passion.
So:
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
(although the TV series did a better job of representing the burden)
"Terminator" and "Terminator 2"
"The Matrix"
"Spiderman" and "Spiderman 2"
By the way — isn't it interesting that many of the films mentioned deal with time travel in some way? "Groundhog Day," the "Terminator" movies, and "Donnie Darko" all touch on it. And even "The Matrix" plays with its characters' sense of time.
Weird, huh?
Shaun Gallagher
shaun.pressbin.com
Posted by: Shaun Gallagher at Feb 2, 2005 8:04:38 AM
I know it has been discussed around these parts before:
The Sixth Sense
Posted by: S.F. at Feb 2, 2005 8:10:00 AM
I second "Fargo"
"I guess that was Mrs.(?) on the floor and your partner in the woodchipper."--Marge
Posted by: carolyn at Feb 2, 2005 8:32:02 AM
Local Hero.
Posted by: Cheryl at Feb 2, 2005 8:40:36 AM
The Four Feathers, most certainly. Another redemption movie, it's about a man who literally gives up everything he has to restore himself.
Bicentennial Man - what is the measure of a man? What defines humanity?
Posted by: Visaggio at Feb 2, 2005 9:01:01 AM
Eugh, some of these picks strike me more as rationalizations of "spirituality", because-I-like-the-movie, than genuine sightings. I'm not much for movies these days, but I'll throw one on the pile: "The Year of Living Dangerously", which beautifully documents the difficulties -- the torments, the capacity for self-delusion, and the many opportunities for failure -- involved in living a saintly life.
Posted by: mark at Feb 2, 2005 9:04:46 AM
Amelie.
Posted by: Ellyn at Feb 2, 2005 9:06:44 AM
Yeah, I think the point of the list was movies that are not at first, or perhaps even second glance expressive of a spiritual worldview...
Posted by: amy at Feb 2, 2005 9:08:40 AM
I've always thought the King Arthur movie "First Knight" is strongly pro-life (and an underrated film).
In the climax the evil Malagant promises freedom from "Arthur's tyrranical God" and His tyrranical laws, the freedom to "live my life!" while the noble Arthur insists that true moral laws are binding on everyone. They could be arguing over abortion.
The screenwriter, William Nicholson, did in fact write the screenplay on abortion ("A Private Affair") as well as the script for Shadowlands (and Gladiator, fwiw).
Posted by: Rick at Feb 2, 2005 9:22:50 AM
High Plains Drifter
Not at first, but if you look closely enough you see a "sacrifice / resurrection" then a sin, penance and (for some) redemption cycle. A mini judgment day for the town of Lago.
Posted by: c matt at Feb 2, 2005 9:30:27 AM
Elaborating on my pick (Local Hero) a bit, at first glance it appears the movie is a quirky Scottish comedy (which it is). Quick plot summary: young mergers and acquisitions guy (Peter Reigert) for a large Houston oil company is sent to a tiny Scottish fishing village to negotiate a deal to buy the whole town and turn it into a refinery. But as the movie unfolds there are many hidden gems about the meaning of life and what’s truly valuable and what isn’t. The company’s owner (Burt Lancaster) is more interested in astronomy than business. The simple townsfolk want to take the money and run. Reigert’s character arrives in Scotland wanting to close the deal quickly and return to his Porsche and pricey possessions, but as events conspire to keep him there, the place and people get under his skin. It’s all a lot more subtle than I’m sketching out here, but there are many positive messages about the meaning and value of work, God-given natural resources, committed married love and much more. Plus it’s hilarious. Well-worth renting.
Posted by: Cheryl at Feb 2, 2005 9:32:59 AM
Groundhog Day was funny, but most of the plot involves the hero's effort to get this girl in bed, no? Each time he relives the day he picks up a new tip and finally gets her in the sack.
Well, I guess to modern society that *is* Christ-like.
Posted by: WRY at Feb 2, 2005 9:43:04 AM
"Mean Streets"--An early movie ('73?) by Scorsese. It portrays a man trying to do good even while being morally compromised by his lowlife status i.e. mafia membership.
Posted by: carolyn at Feb 2, 2005 9:43:25 AM
But the religious theme is explicit, so on 2nd thought it may not count.
Posted by: carolyn at Feb 2, 2005 9:45:16 AM
Ellyn, I may be an unsophisticated viewer, but Amelie? How so? I guess I found her attraction and subsequent bedding of a man who found employment in a porn shop off-putting so as to be unable to label the movie "divinely inspired", but that's just me.
Posted by: Michelle K. at Feb 2, 2005 9:47:45 AM
Bladerunner --- mortality, humaness, self-sacrifice.
Though this may also be disqualifed on account of obviousness.
Posted by: sj at Feb 2, 2005 9:51:02 AM
"Falling Down"--mainly because of Det. Prendergast, the Robert Duvall character. What is remarkable is how he holds it together compared with Michael Douglas' Foster/"D-Fens."
Both of them are on the same path, but Prendergast holds to his duties and responsibilities to his fellow man (even deferring a long-awaited retirement), whereas Foster gives in to what amounts to an extremely violent, self-pitying tantrum, which leads to his destruction.
A *sort* of Judas/Peter parallel, if you think about it. Yes, I'm reading too much into it.
Posted by: Dale Price at Feb 2, 2005 9:53:46 AM
Shawshank Redemption
Posted by: Bob at Feb 2, 2005 9:56:28 AM
