I’m an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and for the past six years I’ve taught a course at Duke’s Institute for Learning in Retirement called “Spirituality and the Cinema.” As a result, Wayner graciously extended an invitation to be a “guest columnist” on his blog. For the purposes of my class, “spirituality” is very broadly defined. Therefore, as you look over this list, you may find some surprising selections.
Spirituality and the Cinema
The following are my top ten films in this category (for now) arranged in no particular order with the exception of the first.
1) The Mission - This is my favorite film in any category. It’s the story of Cain and Able. It’s a story of redemption. It’s a tale of non-violent resistance vs. violent “just war” resistance. It’s a story of raw power vs. sheer grace. And it’s the story of the moral bankruptcy of institutional religion. Combine that with a score that is so powerful it is almost like a character in the plot, outstanding acting by Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons and cinematography that won the Oscar in 1986, it is an amazing tale of religion at its very worst and very best.
2) The best Jesus movie of all time, Cool Hand Luke. I know, the main character’s name is Luke, not Jesus, but it is the same story. And you’ve got to love the “Virgin Mary” in this film as well as the “Immaculate Conception.” It features a terrific cast (George Kennedy won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) and arguably Paul Newman’s most memorable role (next to the Butch Cassidy). Granted, Jesus never looked Pontius Pilate in the eye and said, “What we have here is a failure to communicate,” but he could have!
3) Second best Jesus movie of all time, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, an outstanding film based on an even better novel by Ken Kessey. Again, I know about the name thing but, again, it’s the same story. Winner of five Oscars including: Best Actor and Actress, Director, Picture and Screenplay. Everything about this film is superlative, but Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are out of sight.
4) And speaking of great performances, from the moment Meryl Streep appears on screen, she delivers one of the greatest performances of all time in Sophie’s Choice (for which she won the Oscar). Sophie’s Choice is another great movie based on an even better novel by William Styron. Of course Sophie’s choice was not just a decision at Auschwitz between her two children, it’s also a choice between two lovers, a choice between wholeness and brokenness, life and death, finally whether Hitler’s unspeakable evil would ultimately prevail.
5) Certainly, this category would not be complete without including Richard Attenborough’s epic tale of India’s liberation, Gandhi. A phenomenal film in so many ways, not the least of which was Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of the world’s greatest non-violent resistor. By the end of the film, for me, Kingsley was Gandhi, which then led to the highly troubling question 18 years later, “How could Gandhi star in Sexy Beast?”
6) Closer to home, Crash was a film that I didn’t particularly like on first viewing. It seemed that its primary concern was race which was dealt with in a very superficial and stereotypical fashion. But I decided to give it a second chance and as I did my wife, Margot, observed, “This film is really all about what we believe keeps us safe.” And suddenly the whole film opened up. What keeps you safe, the film asks: husbands, locks, police, class, power, race, a magical, invisible cape? In our post-September 11th world, what keeps us safe? Or more to the point, is safety the most important thing in our lives as individuals or as a nation?
7) American Beauty raises similar questions. However rather than safety, here the quality that is elevated is beauty, and in a culture that idolizes youth and beauty the question is what is beauty? The film utilizes two devices to compel us to wrestle with this question. From the outset we are told how the movie will end. In addition, one of the central characters spends most of the film observing life through the lens of a video camera. Both devices force us to step back and examine life from distance and ask, what really is most beautiful in life? What is it that gives life, life? Interesting also is where God is glimpsed in this film and how God looks back. Extraordinary cast and remarkable performances down to the bit part played Allison Janney who is both haunting and riveting as the wife of the next door neighbor.
8) A River Runs Through It is a film of metaphors with fly fishing serving as a metaphor for faith (however you define it), and the river itself as a metaphor for God - powerful, dangerous, nurturing, sustaining, eternally flowing through the heart of life with all of its pain and sorrow, laughter and joy, hopes and despair, life and death. Another marvelous cast, but Brad Pitt is perfect as the younger brother whose character overflows with both life and death.
9) A smaller gem is the South African film, Tsotsi, an indy film that did not use established, professional actors, but employs a cast of less experienced, mostly young actors (the main character is 12) who are truly wonderful. Be prepared for subtitles as the dialogue is a mix of English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa. In six years of doing my class Tsotsi is the only film that literally left participant speechless during the break after our viewing. For fans of Slumdog Millionaire, Tsotsi deals with similar themes: slum life vs. upscale urbanization, crime and poverty, the violence that accompanies destitution - but as a film, it is even more powerful. There is a verse in the book of Isaiah where the prophet envisions God’s peaceable kingdom - it is a time where the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lead them. In many ways, Tsotsi is an extended riff on that theme. And a child shall lead them, indeed!
10) My final choice in this category is The Matrix, just the original, not the two pretentious, overblown disasters that followed. And, I know, its got Keanu Reeves, but it’s still a powerful story that lays a sci-fi grid on top of the mind-numbing, soul destroying aspects of everyday life that robs life of vitality and hope. Or, to put it another way, The Matrix is a sci-fi version of American Beauty. And the movie says, open your eyes, you don’t have to be complicit partners in your own spiritual genocide. Wake up, say, “No more,“ and then give Keanu some guns, a lot of them!
Honorable Mention - Oh, God, not because it is a particularly good movie, but you just have to love a film that portrays God as George Burns!
Finally, The Worst Jesus Movie of All Time
1) This guy really loves blood and violence.
2) He’s never carefully read the Passion stories in the New Testament.
3) Gibson seems to know very little about Jesus himself. He would do himself (and us!) a big favor if he spent a few hours watching Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest!
Ed Note: A HUGE THANKS to Mark for this terrific post. Next week: All-American Movies (where guess which film from this list tops that one?). I never thought of Cool Hand Luke in this category but, I get it!
