Category: Film Reviews

“The Hundred-Foot Journey”: Food for the Soul

Film Review The Hundred Foot Journey

by Kathy Winings

kathy-winings-2An old adage used to be that there were two constants in life: death and taxes. For the 21st century, it seems that we have two new constants: cultural conflict and food. The news is replete with stories of the latest cultural clash, whether it is Palestinian/Israeli, Black/White, Muslim/Christian, Ukraine/Russia, and on and on. There seems to be no end to the cultural conflicts.

Then there is food. Food plays an important role in our lives. The popularity of top shelf cooking shows attests to this point. Food sustains our life, it comforts us during stressful or difficult times and it brings people together. It certainly isn’t by accident that food has played an important role in Christian ministry and spiritual life. Whether it is the feeding of the 5,000, the Last Supper with the disciples, or Holy Communion, food has been intimately connected with worship and liturgy. This is also true for other faith communities. Food’s ability to reconcile humanity — whether to God or with each other — and to heal our emotional and spiritual wounds is well understood.

This is what makes The Hundred-Foot Journey, based on a popular novel by Richard C. Morais, such a powerful and inspiring movie. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, and directed by Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules; Chocolat), The Hundred-Foot Journey presents the challenges of getting along in our multicultural world and how food can be the vehicle for reconciliation and forgiveness during times of conflict as it focuses on the dynamic of a family from India and a French restaurateur.

The Kadam family business is food. The second son, Hassan, brilliantly played by Manish Dayal, is singularly blessed with a gift for cooking, a gift he inherited from his mother. Hassan is just beginning his training as a chef when his mother is tragically killed during a riot that also destroys the family’s restaurant. Having nothing left, the Kadam family leaves India and resettles initially in Great Britain before finally settling down in a small village in the south of France.

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Let’s Hear It for the Dysfunctional Family

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A review essay of the 2013 films “American Hustle,” “August: Osage County” and “Blue Jasmine.”

By Kathy Winings

kathy-winings-2If it were not for animated films, I’m not sure our children would see anything in today’s popular media that would recommend the beauty and value of marriage and family. Too many films that received Oscar nods this year portrayed marriage and family as either a lost cause or totally dysfunctional. I’m referring to three where either the film or its lead actors were nominated for the 2014 Academy Awards: “American Hustle,” “August: Osage County” and “Blue Jasmine.”

The acting in each was Oscar-worthy. However, anyone watching those films would come to the conclusion that the American family is lost forever and there is little hope of anyone reclaiming the ideal God envisioned for marriage and family.

Set in the 1970s, “American Hustle” portrays a con artist, Irving (Christian Bale), and his girlfriend, Sydney (Amy Adams), who spend their days setting up Ponzi and get-rich-quick schemes. Unfortunately, they get caught in a sting operation led by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper). To avoid charges, Irving suggests he can help the FBI set up a major undercover operation that will expose a mafia boss and local politician. An elaborate operation is set up to catch the newly-elected mayor of Camden and a major mafia boss in the act of defrauding the citizens of New Jersey. There are plots and sub-plots with so many twists that the viewer isn’t quite sure until the very end who is crooked, who isn’t, who will end up in prison, and who will walk away.

But the sub-theme running throughout the film is the relationship between Irving, Sydney and his wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) and young son. Irving views himself as a good husband and father, despite that he’s a con artist and has a mistress.

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Lineage and God(zilla): 60 Years of a Film Icon

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By Andrew Stewart

(Note: This film review contains spoilers)

AndrewStewartThe newest Godzilla reboot starts with a nuclear bomb, a ridge of spines in the azure waters of the Bikini Atoll, and a clever retelling of some of the most painful parts of human history. Expectations are set high at the start of the movie with bits of nuclear testing footage interspersed with “secret documents” that turn into credits. An organization named Monarch, that was part of the movie’s viral marketing campaign, is revealed in snippets and glimpses. “Godzilla” gets the plot underway with a panoramic shot of a beautiful unnamed Pacific island, and an introduction to the bones of a giant prehistoric being.

It should be easy to figure out where the plot goes in “Godzilla;” it takes a backseat to the action and is rather simple with a heavy focus on wide shots of monsters, destroyed military bases, and burning cities. Humans unwittingly cause their own problems in the film by waking up monsters that should have been left alone. The militaries are very ineffective when dealing with the beasts and of course the brunt of the battle lies in Godzilla’s hands. It’s a common trope in Godzilla films that the monsters themselves represent nuclear power, but they are portrayed more as a force of nature rather than malicious beings, and there is an eco-friendly message that the monsters are merely seeking to restore balance. Perhaps the best feature of the giant monsters is that they absorb radiation, thus, a relic of the old Cold War fear of nuclear winters and radiation poisoning is dispelled by the very beings that come to destroy humanity.

Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (played by Ken Watanabe) basically reveals the message of the movie, that Godzilla himself is a balancing force, and humanity’s fate lies in his hands: An angry reptilian guardian angel who does not mind wrecking cars and knocking down buildings like bowling pins.

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“Heaven Is for Real”: Profound Truths Are Not Complicated

Greg Kinnear

by Kathy Winings

kathy-winings-2Hollywood these days is rolling out religiously-themed movies for the big screen with marquee name actors. So far we have seen Son of God, God’s Not Dead and Noah.  Exodus: Gods and Kings, starring Christian Bale, will be released in December. Heaven Is for Real is the latest in this line-up of the faith-based genre.

Based on the bestseller of the same title written by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, the film focuses on the experiences of Burpo, a Wesleyan pastor in a small Nebraska town and his four-year-old son Colton, who has a near-death experience while he is undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.

Colton’s experience is unusual in that he does not die during surgery, which is the case with most near-death experiences. On the operating table, Colton sees himself being operated on and is then escorted to heaven by angels where he ultimately meets Jesus. Jesus then proceeds to take him on a quick tour, introducing him to some of Colton’s relatives including his great-grandfather and older sister who died in the womb. As Colton describes it, heaven is more beautiful than anything he has seen before. The remaining focus of the film shifts to his father’s struggle to make sense both personally and theologically of his son’s experience. This in turn has a serious impact on Todd’s congregation.

The movie paints a picture of a typical Midwestern farming community in which everyone, the Burpos included, is struggling to make ends meet. Todd pastors a small Wesleyan Church, but like so many contemporary churches, he must maintain a full-time outside job in order to take care of his family.

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“Noah”: Reinterpreting Essential Truths in a Modern Context

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By Andrew Lausberg

AL headshot 8_edited-1Since its release, the film “Noah” has generated a wide variety of responses. Reviews range from declarations of triumph to the dismissal of abject failure. This is not so unusual, but it does bring into focus the contrast between perspectives that prevail over religious topics in the world today.

As Unificationists, we have a strong desire to see enlightenment in the world. We know there is a much deeper level to God’s message to the world as it has been presented in history over millennia. We also know God is alive, that God can speak, and that the spirit world is constantly active in its interactions with humanity.

What can we learn from the film “Noah”? The recent film review by Andrew Wilson points directly to some potential learnings, in his reflection on the limitations of patriarchal religion and how the film highlights these. From a slightly different perspective, “Noah” also points the way to how Unificationists might present the value of the Principle in ways the current generation can accept and benefit from.

As a film, “Noah” is powerfully appealing in presentation. The special effects are top-notch, the location work and settings are spectacular, and the acting capable. There are many elements that reflect unique, cutting-edge forms of creativity, which in and of themselves are highly attractive to today’s generation (Gen Y and Gen X).

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“Noah”: The Limits of Patriarchal Religion

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By Andrew Wilson

WilsonThe new film “Noah,” starring Russell Crowe, has received mixed reviews. It partakes of the dark dystopian and apocalyptic spirit of so many contemporary Hollywood movies that is a turn-off to people seeking more wholesome and family-oriented fare. But if you sit through it, you will at least be rewarded with an encounter with some serious theology.

This is no simple-minded Bible movie. Director Darren Aronofsky said it is “the least biblical movie ever made.” He takes considerable liberties, including not giving Noah’s three sons each a wife to accompany them in the ark and portraying the Nephilim (Gen. 6:4) as Transformer-like rock monsters that defend Noah and help him build the ark. He makes the villain, Tubal-Cain, a stowaway in the ark and gives him some fine lines where he declares his resentment against God for abandoning humanity to destruction. Many Christian fundamentalists will take offense.

But adherents of the Divine Principle can find much to cheer about.

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