Summer Viewing

I'm not big on animated films. There seem to be too many wise-cracking critters and formulaic plot lines. Ratatouille, which we saw a few nights ago, was a delightful exception. It is the story of a rat named Remy who wends his way to Paris, the City of Lights, to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef. As bizarre as it may sound, it is an excellent story with clever animation. And any movie that can make rats into sympathetic characters must be good. This film-maker, Brad Bird, also did The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, both pictures which went beyond the usual expectations of animated features.

Ratatouille gently asks us to consider what it means to embrace creativity rather than settling for the mundane and encourages us to live beyond stereotypes. Not a bad message for the church. We can aspire to be gourmet restaurants for a Soul Feast rather than spiritual fast-food joints.

Last night we went to see Sicko, Michael Moore's latest rant. He tends to paint an idealistic picture of health care in countries such as Canada, and we know better. But he effectively points out that the United States is the only country in the Western world without socialized health care. And he asks why Americans don't expect adequate medical care for everyone when there is public education, postal service, and general protection by firefighters and police.

While Sicko is more of a polemic than a documentary, I came away grateful to be living in Canada.