Movies to Stir the Soul

 

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever.

—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971

At the time The Outrun film was released I wrote about my anticipation for seeing it. I'd read the auto-biographical book by Amy Liptrot, a profound reflection on her descent into addiction and finding her way back to sobriety and health by returning to her origins on the Orkney Islands. We eventually saw this movie adaptation on a big screen that could do justice to the wildness of the Orkneys, and Saoirse Ronan was wonderful in the lead role. When we noticed recently that it was available on Hoopla,  the library streaming service, we watched it again.

It got me thinking once more about film as an art form that can be deeply spiritual. The Outrun is not an overtly religious film yet it addresses matters of the soul. As Rona/Amy comes to grips with her addiction she goes into rehab where they repeat the Serenity Prayer. There are different versions of this prayer that are not so "He/His". When she returns to her home she dodges the evangelical earnestness of her mother and her friends, yet in the end her mother has found her own serenity in a higher power, although in a different way. 

There is also a strong sense of the healing found in the natural world, or what Christians describe as Creation. We have experienced the intensity of the sea many times over the decades and the paradox that a force so extreme can also be the source of exhilaration and even comfort. This time around I was more aware of the yearning for ecstatic experience that can be both destructive and life-giving. 

In recent months there have been a couple of religious films extolled by conservative Christians that have been box office or streaming successes in a certain demographic yet panned by critics. At Christmas there was the eye-rolling Mary (mother of Jesus) biopic and then Reagan, essentially a hagiography of the late American president. They received 28% and 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, demonstrating that film as propaganda is a mistake. 

Decades ago my travel agent mother, a Protestant, became good friends with a dynamo Roman Catholic nun named Sister Marian. She taught popular courses on film and faith at the University of Toronto, drawing on films such Bunuel's Nazarin from the 1950s as well as more contemporary pictures. She understood the connection between film as art and spirituality and was courageous in her choices.  

During the pandemic I watched the film Mass online, sponsored by a RC theological college in Toronto. It's about four parents meeting for the first time after the son of one couple was murdered by the son of the other, who also died. It was stunning, and while there were religious overtones it was so authentic and honest. 

I should note that I enjoy comedies and we have fun watching animated films with our grandkids. Movies can be entertaining!

I know that some of you love films as entertainment and exploration of the human condition. I'm grateful that movies worth watching continue to emerge from the dreck!