movies – orthopraxy.com

August Rush

August Rush is a film about the connection that love creates between human beings. Orson Scott Card’s science fiction describes this as “philotic” strands that join anyone in the universe that is involved in someone else’s life. His primary character Ender, in that now classic series, says (to paraphrase) “I think once you know someone, know what they want and need, even an enemy, it is impossible not to love him.” August Rush is art about strands as frail as hope. It’s about want and need, and the quest for meaning in individual lives. All men seek meaning, and it is always there for us, if we take it. The film is a kind of Pilgrims Progress, as well, that reminds us we might spend years walking down a path of forgetfulness, not even thinking of the path less taken.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=1TNkg_bZb2A]

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Another unparalleled film that is bursting with Christian content is Zeffirelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Perhaps no other film gives so much insight into simplicity and ascetic virtues. The soundtrack is Donovan. This excerpt is representative:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=B43AIvPiNaQ]

One might argue that Jesus of Nazareth is even better, especially this scene from the Sermon on the Mount:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=fmWTxY7ssLE]

The Mission

The Mission just remains one of those all time great films teeming with Christian content. If you haven’t seen it, you’re truly missing out.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=PvWaD-NErlY]

The excommunication scene in Becket, too, is an amazing piece of cinema. [This is a clip] of a different scene.