The Christians (1977)

 One of my recent interests has been church history. A long standing passion of mine is Christian theology, which is illuminated by church history. Documentarian Bamber Gascoigne produced this 13-part made-for-TV series on the history of Christians. Stylistically, it is marked by the era in which it is made (the 1970s), but the era also impacts the approach that Gascoigne takes in presenting the Christians. In recent decades we have seen the emergence of a rather vocal Christian right in the United States, a steep decline in the practice of Christianity in Europe, and the renewed popularity of atheism and interest in other world religions. This has led to Christianity being looked down upon by the popular culture (I just heard a man singing on the radio about how Christianity makes no sense to him, so he's picking hell - yes, it is ironic). When Gascoigne makes this 11 hour documentary, Christianity is still has a strong western presence and it is treated with respect.

The series begins in first century Jerusalem and follows the gradual geographic, cultural, political, and theological iterations over the next 20 centuries. Mr. Gascoigne narrates throughout and does a remarkable job presenting each major change in Christian culture by highlighting both the remnant architectural and artistic features from each era and the denominational representations from those changes (ie. the Amish are portrayed when speaking about Anabaptist history or Guatemalan Catholics are portrayed to show the colonial missions in Central and South America).

Because of its length, the series ensures that adequate depth is allocated since the breadth of the story is so great.

I highly rate this intricate telling of Christians' story. I would gladly watch the series several more times.

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Finding Farley (2009)

This is a National Film Board produced documentary about a family retracing famed novelist Farley Mowat's journey's through much of Canada. A couple and their toddler leave Canmore Alberta in a canoe and head east switching up their modes of transportation several times to end up at Farley Mowat's home in Nova Scotia. Along the way they visit several remote settings for Mowat's books.

Finding Farley is a lovely and intimate look at Canada.

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Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (2008)

The Necessities of Life is a gorgeous film, deeply rooted in goodness. It tells the story of Tivii, an Inuit man who is taken from his family on Baffin Island to have his tuberculosis treated in Quebec City. His language and absent knowledge of this new world isolate him from everyone else in the sanitarium, but the kindness and attention from a nurse give him hope.

The depiction of aboriginal people is not overly romanticized. Instead they are treated as humans with dignity and gifts. Also of note is how the Quebecois are depicted: not perfect, but not as native hating villains either. A wonderfully balanced film making the story that much more beautiful and telling of the human condition.

The protagonist is extraordinarily played by Natar Ungalaaq of Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner fame.

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Reel Injun (2009)

This survey of Native Americans as depicted on film and television is both enraging and inspiring which makes it a very useful documentary, Canadian made no less!

The film's opening line is delivered by the host who grew up on a northern Canadian reservation. He describes going to watch movies, usually westerns, in the church basement and cheering for the cowboys as they shot the indians not realizing that they themselves were indians.

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Frozen River (2008)

This indy film takes a look at poverty in the United States and the inevitable desperation that many people reach. Contributing factors of addiction, high costs and low wages, the high demand for unlawful work make the country a breeding place for crime and broken families.

When a white woman is abandoned by her husband, she resorts to trafficking people from Canada to the U.S. with a young local Mohawk woman.

The acting is quite good and the actions of the characters truly reflect what people would do in those circumstances, but it also depicts the depravity of our society.

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Australia (2008)

I highly anticipated this film from Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). He adds unrestrained style and flair to his films which is refreshing since so many films cater to as broad an audience as possible and become bland as a result.

The story centres on a woman who, after just arriving in Australia, becomes the manager of a cattle ranch in the outback. The ranch provides the only competition to a massive cattle producer during wartime. A relationship forms between the Mrs. and her drover. But the film doesn't end there. Luhrmann tackles several historical elements of his native land - the main one being the whites' relationship with aboriginies and those of mixed race. 

The film goes on for 2.5 hours and the climaxes don't necessarily increase. Many of the performances are superb and there is hardly a boring moment in the film. I found the computer generated cattle somewhat unbelievable, but it is hard to find good bovine actors. 

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The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Woo-hoo! The film is about as perfect as it could be and kudos to the producers of the film for not trying to make it more than it should be and less than its millions of fans have come to expect.

The Simpson family gets the spotlight when Homer personally destabilizes the environmental balance in a local lake. The dozens of characters in the TV series get lines in the film. Complete with government conspiracies, romance, action, wildlife, tender moments, and Maggie's first word, the film is a comedic ride through americana.

The film is a work of art.

Truth: The most complete commentary on American life has been the Simpson family.

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Apocalypto (2006)

How the world ends according to Mel Gibson. This film is a venture into pre-Columbian Mayan lands, something cinema has forgotten, until now.

Jaguars Paw is a hunter in a remote tribe. When his village is attacked and many of the people taken captive, it is revealed that some serious ills have afflicted the neighbouring lands: deforestation, mining, plagues, and slavery. Complete with human sacrifices and an extensive jungle chase, this film arouses both a primitive connection to the earth and a distaste for all things bloody.

The cinematography in this film is superb as are the costumes and sets; we really are transported to this era. What does lack a bit is more story. Jaguar's Paw seems to imitate Rambo First Blood in the last half of the film and aside from the journey to and from the sacrificial alters, there isn't a lot happening. The life and death intensity of the story doesn't really permit added story, but some added depth or revealed motives would have added a lot. Gibson does seem to try and simplify the story so we see it from one character's perspective and that is refreshing too.

Truth: Civilizations and empires end because of excess caused by greed.

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The Pledge (2001)

I'm quite impressed with Sean Penn's recent productions. They are quite poetic and try to expose souls rather than attempting to answer life's questions.

Jack Nicholson plays a retiring detective who finds himself promising a woman that he will search out the murderer of a young girl. The pledge he makes is against his own soul's salvation - so, a bit of pressure really. He moves into the area in Nevada and fishes, befriends a local woman and her daughter and continues his investigation. I won't give away the ending.

This project is quite star studded. Many of the actors are dressed up to look like the underbelly of American society - the people who are on the cover of "People Magazine" are playing people who would never make it to the cover of "People Magazine."

We are faced with an internal conflict that depicts how we deal with unreachable goals. The limits we face as mortals and are harnessed with by our co-workers, family, society also teach us that we are weak and can't really achieve all that we would like. These same limits can also strengthen our resolve. It's up to us to decide which goals we resolve to achieve or give up.

I was particularly touched at how this man who wants to do good ultimately loses his soul and had lost his soul through two broken marriages. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but where would we be without good intentions?

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Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

What makes Clint Eastwood such a fantastic filmmaker is that he is not presumptious, or if he is, he hides it very well. There are no bad guys, just people struggling with their lot.

In this film we have people in overwhelming circumstances. 'Chief' the indian (native american) soldier who is made a hero and paraded around the country while at the same time facing racial slurs reveals a complex character who wants to do good, but has the hardest time holding it together. He's also lost a bunch of friends while fighting on Iwo Jima. 'Doc' couldn't adequately serve the people in his unit. Gagnon just didn't measure up, but managed to become famous because of being in a photo with Chief and Doc (the others in the famous flag raising photo died in combat).

Of course the real sting of the film is that the photo is not really the real thing, yet it is the image that the government peddles in order to raise funds and win the war.

The quality of the film is unique as it doesn't really take you from one place to another. It is as though we sit in a bunker for a couple hours with some guys who are going through a lot. They don't recuperate, but we can share their burden for a little while. It brings the scale of the Pacific theatre of World War II down to the imperfect individual and his own private war.

Next: Letters from Iwo Jima.

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Grey Owl (1999)

I wasn't expecting much seeing Pierce Brosnan on the cover posing as a Native American. The redeeming factors were that it was a fairly recent movie and it was directed by Richard Attenborough (Gandhi, Shadowlands).

But I was pleasantly surprised. If you know the true story of Archie Grey Owl, you know that Brosnan is a good pick for the part and he plays it beautifully. His counterpart, a young Canadian actress, is exuberant too. They both bring a welcome gentleness to the screen as they tell the story.

The story however is very simple. The real subject is Grey Owl himself. Fortunately Grey Owl is a very interesting subject. I think for most Canadians my age, he became a footnote in social studies class, but for the rest of the world, he is regarded as one of the most famous Canadians. One review of the film comments that he isn't like the other historical revolutionaries of the screen like Braveheart or Spartacus. He's more like Attenborough's other historical subjects, quiet, introverted.

The scenery of course if very wild. For me the Canadian wilderness seem very plain, but after being in Guatemala for two years, it was a welcome site and quite beautiful to behold.

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The Emerald Forest (1985)

Though this film's plot borders on the ridiculous, it is still well worth watching for it's message. It is a little preachy though, so you'll have to set these to things aside in order to enjoy it.

An American family moves to Brazil near the mouth of the Amazon. The father is an engineer given the task of building a hydro-electric dam that will greatly affect the environment around it. Their six-year-old son is snatched from the forest by a tribe called "the Invisible People" while on a family picnic.

Ten years elapse and bring us to the two worlds: the father with his dam near completion while still seeking for his son and the son having matured into a young man among a tribe that has had no contact with westerners. The contrasts are stark and make the film.

The father and son are soon reunited as the son saves his father's life from some savage tribe bent on destruction. Life is idyllic among the Invisibles: hunting, sleeping in hammocks, lots of topless women, drugs, and swimming in the river. The son has to make a decision as to whether to return to civilization or stay with his native family where he is a man with a woman and is comfortable with the traditions he has learned.

The ridiculous in the film is the plot twists - completely unbelievable and about as cliché as you can get. But what makes it bearable is the setting and realistic innocence with which this outrageous story is told. Also disappointing is the use of a very weak pidgeon English/Portuguese for the untouched tribe (how on earth could the father have been able to speak the language of this tribe if it had never made contact with the white folks?).

Also disappointing is the claim that this is based on a true story. It isn't. The true story has almost nothing in common with the movie (no Americans, no savage tribe, no dramatic rescue or supernatural intervention at the end).

The message is clear: We are destroying the rainforest. The rainforest is beautiful. Let's stop destroying the rainforest. I can accept that.

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