The Philosopher On Screen

Following on yesterday's post, it seems there is a movie about St Catherine of Alexandria due to be released next year.  It will star Peter O'Toole, one of Ireland's great actors who, despite his advanced age, is still in demand and delivering good performances.

 

This new movie is said to tell the story of St Catherine, but given that we know so little about her, apart from the legends, an accurate historical biopic would be difficult to construct, but then that leaves scope for creativity.

I have posted the official trailer below, see what you think. To be honest I'm not inspired, it seems rather amateurish.  I also detect that the filmmakers have decided that Catherine will be the centre of the revolution against Rome.  Hmmm?   

 

Crowe's Ark

 

Well, I didn't see this one coming.  Russell Crowe will be appearing on the big screen next year playing Noah, him of the Biblical ark fame.  It seems Hollywood is still interested in Biblical subjects, and looking at the cast list it's obvious they are certainly taking this one seriously: Russell, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connolly, Emma Watson.  It looks interesting and seems to present the Bible story in a realistic way.  It is due to be released in March. 

 

I notice the caption on the poster "The end of the world...is just the beginning". Is this movie another in the style of 2012 or the various zombie apocalypse offerings?  Culture, or popular culture at least, seems fascinated with apocalypse disasters, is this a sign that some have realised that our civilisation has reached an end point and they are trying to work out what will happen?  Now that the Millennium has passed, one wonders why such millenarianism should be part of the zeitgeist?

 

As a Christian, observing the nature of the changes taking place in western civilisation and culture I can see this civilisation cannot continue indefinitely, too many of its foundations: moral, cultural and spiritual have been hacked away by ideologues: our civilisation is no longer stable.  The redefinition of marriage and the family could probably be the last straw and may well be the ticking time bomb which in a generation or two brings down the edifice of western civilisation again.  I say "again" because it has happened before, and back then only the Catholic Church was left standing; she played an important part in the reconstruction of the west morally, culturally and spiritually. Perhaps this is what Blessed John Paul II saw when he initiated the New Evangelisation and spoke of a new springtime for the Gospel: is this what the Holy Spirit is preparing the Church for?  Or, perhaps the end is near after all.  

 

If it is, well then: "Maranatha: Come Lord Jesus".  In the meantime, here is the trailer.  I think I will go to see this, if we're still around....

 

Creeping Vengeance

Last night I watched James Watkins’s The Woman in Black with a friend.  It was our second viewing of the movie as we both saw it first in the cinema: it has just been released on DVD.   That first viewing was an ordeal because, hats off to Watkins and his team, it is a scary movie, and it certainly holds the tension and scares with the second viewing. 

If you do not know the movie: it is an adaptation of Susan Hill’s Gothic novel about a vengeful ghost haunting a community.  It is also a successful stage play in the West End and apparently an evening out at that play is not good for the nerves – the stage directors have managed to keep the tension.  The movie stars Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, who is quite good, and our own Ciaran Hinds who is excellent.  Jane Goldman, wife of Jonathan Ross adapted the screenplay from the novel and she did a marvellous job.

If you like scary movies then get this one and watch it in the dark!  If you find saying the Rosary hard, you’ll overcome any difficulties by the time the night is out.  What is really good about this movie is that it works – it does not fall flat at the end as many horror movies do.  It is also a traditional Gothic horror, it’s not a slasher movie, a genre which has come to dominate since the 1960s or so: it’s a good old ghost story.  And it lingers long after you have turned off the DVD player.   That is the sign of a good ghost story.

Why am I writing about a ghostly movie?  Well, the theme is interesting – it is all about vengeance.  Now it is not The Grudge, a Japanese flick that left me cold when I saw it, although The Woman in Black does have that oriental ghost story feel to it.  I’ll try not to spoil it for you, but I need to tell you something about the plot in order to reflect on the lesson the movie teaches.  If you want to see the movie without any idea of the plot then stop reading, come back later when you’ve watched it.

The story concerns a young solicitor, Arthur Kipps, widowed and raising a four year old son.  He cannot get over the death of his wife and his work is being affected.  He is on his last chance and so is sent to an eerie coastal village to sort out the will and papers of a recently deceased client.  Arriving in the village he is shunned.  When he arrives at the deceased woman's house, Eel Marsh House, he finds a creepy pile with lots of dark corridors and spectral secrets – you know the score.  While there he sees a woman dressed in black and she starts appearing in the shadows scaring the living daylights out of you!  Soon children in the village start dying in dreadful circumstances.  Her story is simple: her son has died tragically and she took her own life, now she is wrecking vengeance on all and sundry by luring their children to their deaths.

Now it’s not exactly Alice in Wonderland, although to be honest there some dark characters in that story too, but it is an interesting reflection on vengeance.  Here we have a woman who is so possessed by a vengeful spirit she haunts her home and local village, she cannot rest but must bring destruction and misfortune on others.  At the end of the movie you realise that the one who suffers the most and has been completely destroyed by this vengeance is the woman in black herself.

In our Gospel today we had Our Lord’s teaching on prayer, and he gives us the Our Father.  In that prayer we pray “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.  Forgiveness is a vital part of Christianity – the first word from the Cross was Jesus’ forgiving those who were responsible for his death (i.e. all of us!).  It can be difficult to forgive, but we must do everything we can to do so because if we don’t we will end up seeking vengeance and that will destroy us. 

I remember listening to a woman whose child was killed by another. She refused to forgive and so twenty years later she was still in the first flush of grief and bitter, very bitter.  Her whole life had stopped, she could move on nor look to those around her: her anger had become hatred and though the killers were doing life, it was not enough for her: she demanded a greater retribution.  She had no peace and she thought that in “making them pay” she would find it.  But she wouldn’t.  That peace could only be found in forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not deny justice, it enhances it.  Forgiveness proceeds from mercy, mercy we all need, and only mercy can bring peace to our souls when we have been offended. To be able to let go (which does not deny what happened, nor let people off the hook) is a must if we want to be healed of the wounds others have inflicted on us.  In letting go, in forgiving, we give ourselves a chance of life, of being set free of a chain which could drag us down into the depths of despair.  Forgiveness also paves the way for reconciliation and while that might be difficult, perhaps unheard of to a soul that has been hurt, it is the path Our Lord asks us to walk with him.  The example of Assunta Goretti, the mother of St Maria Goretti, is one we should reflect on. 

The woman in black was a ghost, but she need not have been: her spectral wandering and desire for vengeance can happen to any one of us if we refuse to forgive from our heart.  We will need God’s grace to do, but it is there for the asking.

And in case any of you are wondering: do ghosts exist?  Does Fr John believe in ghosts?  Yes, I do: as a priest I have seen and heard of too many things not to.  As to what they are, I’m not sure.  The demonic presences and figures are easily explained, and they can afflict people and places.  As to the non-demonic – well they could be souls doing their purgatory here on earth, or the souls of the damned or, perhaps in some way, souls of the deceased who have resisted God’s call to leave this life and are hanging on – perhaps God permits it for a reason.  I don’t know.  But what I do know is that we pray for such souls.

So next time you see a ghost pray for them, have Mass offered for them – they could have appeared to you so you would remember them in prayer.  In the meantime, don’t be fixated it can become unhealthy.  Enjoy the movie, and then turn it off and say a Rosary – you might need it……

The Rite: A View

Well, last night myself and Caroline of the St Genesius Blog donned the glam gear and headed out on the town to the European Premiere of the The Rite in the Savoy.  Thanks to Warner Brothers for the invitations.  It had been a long day - the Divine Mercy Conference kept Frat volunteers busy - thanks to all of them, and welcome to the many new members who joined the ranks of our family of prayer over the weekend.  After a hard day's work we looked forward to the film.   There was a good crowd, though the auditorium was not full, afterwards there was a party at Whelan's - Colin O'Donoghue's band provided the music - good group.

So what did we think of the movie?  Well I do not want to spoil it, so I will not give the plot away.  Performances - very good.  By far the best was Anthony Hopkins - and he is being praised for his role by critics.  He plays the part of a crusty old priest very well, balanced between unorthodoxy of approach, humanity, faith, struggle and fatherly tenderness: there is also a tough side to him.  Unfortunately while Hopkins is a great actor, you  cannot escape his most famous role - Hannibal Lector, and I'm afraid there are lots of Hannibal moments.  While the image of Hannibal Lector in a stole may be a bit extreme, it's not too far off the mark either.  But his performance is great - and he gets all the great lines - and he has some brilliant lines.

Colin's performance was excellent.  You probably expect me to wax lyrical about him, but I think I can be objective as well.  Colin plays the serious young man role very well, and the part of seminarian Michael Kovak is made for him.  I know a number of online reviews are not positive, but I would have to argue with them.  No, he is not bubbling over, hamming it up, or doing the extreme hero, he is playing the quiet and conflicted seminarian who finds himself confronting a reality which he refuses to acknowlege even exists, and he does it very well.   Interestingly he provides a good contrast to Hopkins who is hamming it up and making a meal of his role.  Having seen Colin in a number of roles in various productions, this is his best and that is a good thing given it is his big screen movie debut.   In fact le he manages to quieten down the movie: perhaps this is what the American critics didn't like, but to be honest, the director needed a character to bring depth to the film, to quieten it down given the subject matter that is very necessary - it is very easy to turn exorcism into Vaudeville - in this movie you are dealing with serious subject matter.  I think Colin manages to do that and provide a contrast which keeps the movie rooted (in the first part anyway - more on that later). 

Ciaran Hinds is the other actor I was very impressed with.  Hinds is one of the finest Irish actors working at the moment.  He plays a Dominican priest who is teaching the Exorcism course and puts the seminarian in touch with the crusty old exorcist.  Hinds, or Fr Xavier, is the confident even arrogant academic who sknows his stuff, who knows he's right most of the time and a thorn in the side of the doubting seminarian.  I have one complaint about Hind's role - it is not developed enough.  I think there was so much potential in the role and Hinds has the ability to bring it much further, but the writers seemed content to leave him as he was and to allow him drop out altogether as the movie moves towards its climax - that is a pity.  I would have loved to have seen the relationship between Hinds and Hopkins - there would have been endless possibilities there - including some comic ones, which would have been good. 

What about the movie itself?  It is really a film in two parts.  The first is good.  The researchers did their work and seemed content to present the reality of exorcism in the Church today rather than the Hollywood conception.  Overall the movie's presentation of the Church and exorcism is positive and it is great to see movies like this being made.  Mingled with Kovak's personal history, there is an interesting story there and it will keep you engaged, although his personal story comes as no surprise - stock material for conflicted young man.  But it works.

However, for me, the second part does not live up to the first - I think the movie turns "Hollywood" at that stage.  While there are a few factual errors in the first part (seminarian giving the Last Rites?) you can ignore them and get on with it.  In the second part there are a number of errors, and one particularly glaring one which really cannot be ignored.  If the writers had done any research they would have known this error was a no-no.  This error, however, forms the basis of the storyline in the second part, so to be true to reality the writers would have had to take the movie in a different direction.  But I think that was the moment the writers/director etc felt they had to work to a climax and had to shift gear to please an audience.  I was disappointed with that.  However, the performances were still excellent and, if you can suspend your critical faculties, the second part was entertaining and we enjoyed it.  The last scene was very good - the outcome of the seminarian's faith crisis: full marks to writers and director for that one.

So - verdict? Very good.  Second best exorcism movie I have seen so far - Emily Rose is still the best.  I would advise you to go and see The Rite, critique my critique if you wish (don't forget the competition).  You will enjoy it.   It presents a positive view of the Church, takes a chance on trying to understand it from within, and for that the movie deserves our praise and support. 

On Its Way



The new movie, The Rite, starring our own Colin O'Donoghue, is on its way.  It opens tomorrow in the US and in Ireland and the UK on the 25th February.

The movie is getting good press in the Catholic media, though many are exercising caution - Hollywood tends to do things in a way which can distract from the reality, but as one commentator said, it is still drawing people's attention to the fact that the devil exists and he is working among us - we need to be reminded of that.

Reviews: CNA, NCR, Headline Bistro, Get The Big Picture review, ciNews (we get a mention, though the membership figure is incorrect: now we are almost 1,000 members in 14 countries).

Does It All End Here?

I don't really like to open up a can of worms, or disturb the hornet's nest, but given that the movie event of the year is about to happen, may I ask, in tradition of the evangelicals, "What think ye of Harry Potter?"  God help us, I can hear the groans already!   Well, the end is nigh as next week the first of the last two movies comes to our cinemas, part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.   As millions of young people have followed the books and movies with heightened interest, almost as many Christians have been arguing over the role magic plays in the stories.

Now I can see both sides of the argument, and both camps have valid points to make.  But I must put my cards on the table: I have read the series and I have watched the movies.  I have enjoyed them, and, yes I see that there is magic and aspects which are not ideal, but then I also see that the author has gone to great lengths in her books to make her readers understand that life and goodness are not about magic or power - it is about love.  Simplistic message?  Some may say so.  Secularised?  Possibly.  True?  Yes, it is.  Overall the message is positive towards Christianity.  And the story is the ancient one of good versus evil in which the main character discovers that he must choose good and even be prepared to sacrifice himself for good.  It is like may of the fairy tales we all grew up with where the hero or heroine did use magic to defeat the baddie. But yes, some may not see that and think magic is cool and next thing they're hopping off the walls with a ouija board spinning in the air.  But then again, we have had Christians who have misread the Bible and caused just as much chaos. 

A topical book, then, to bring to your attention.  Baptizing Harry Potter: A Christian Reading of J. K. Rowling by Fr Luke Bell, a Benedictine Monk of Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight, is an interesting addition to the mountains of commentary and criticism which has built up over the last ten years.  I have been reading it, and would be interested to hear what others think about it.  Fr Bell looks at the series in depth and sees many Christian parallels and he reflects on them in the light of many of the criticisms which have been made.    The book is a good read, and while I think some of his points are laboured and may not really stand up, many are valid and worth thinking about.  I think this is a book everyone engaged in the Harry Potter debate should read.

Trailer:

The Rite

Hollywood's new exorcist movie, The Rite, is due to be released on January 28th next in the US - not sure when it will hit Irish cinemas.  I will be interested to see it for a few reasons - firstly because of my interest in the area and my realisation that we need more priests dedicated to the ministry of exorcist given the rise in the occult in these times.  Secondly, I have read the book on which the movie is based.  It is a brilliant read and it does away with many of the myths surrounding the ministry.  I also like the personal dimension as the priest in the question, Fr Gary Thomas, shares his life experience and his vocation story with us.  I see, though, the producers have wandered somewhat from the book, so I hope the movie is not sensationalist.  We will have to see.  The opening lines in the trailer do cause me to worry......

The other reason I have an interest in the movie is because a friend of our Fraternity, Colin O'Donohue, is playing the young priest.  Colin is a wonderful young actor, and we are all delighted that his career is going so well.  Colin travelled to Rome with us on our first Fraternity pilgrimage in 2008.  I hope this movie is the beginning of bigger things for him.   I must say, looking at the trailer, our Colin looks good in a collar, so he does!

Trailer: