This movie was incredibly void of a consistent storyline or character building other than through the urgent communications generated by the destructive forces of such things as meteor strikes and space debris smashing into aircraft. George Clooney admits he wants to remain at a space station that will keep him isolated and alone and where he continued slowly dying with a terminal kidney disease. Meeting suddenly, without warning, Clooney stumbles upon a seven or eight-year-old girl who either will not talk or cannot talk named Iris. I suppose that is the one relationship capable of building in a fatherly fashion. Trying to figure out the goals of this scattered mass of floating humanz across space is not easy. Has Earth Decayed to the point where they had to leave it to find better accommodations on another planet? That seems to be the case with one spaceship that took off to a moon orbiting Jupiter thought to contain a similar atmosphere and environment that presumed to allow humans to live on,but apparently that was not the case once they arrived, and so they fled to find contact eith a more supportive planetary home. Overall, I admit to having to very patiently wait out the end of the film as there was so little to maintain my attention. How would I rate this movie? Perhaps 3 out of 10 Stars for it is disappointing at too many levels.
Reviews
31 Reviews
The Green Years
(1946)
Faith and Love: Life's Sustaining Qualities
22 February 2020
I just watched this fine movie for my first time in 2020, seventy-four years after its production. How is it that it has escaped my notice for these many decades?
Without a doubt, every actor was perfectly selected to play their parts and speak their lines, all of which filled the screen an honest purity of heart. It swept away my heart by its feeling of goodness despite the unveiling of tragic sorrows.
Tom Drake's portrayal of Robert Shannon taught me how very possible it is to maintain civility and charm even while assaults against one's dreams keep attacking at every angle. First off, he kept his faith, even after great tribulation.
My eyes teared throughout most of the movie because of the honesty, decency and kindness that accompanied the words spoken by Robert and others who surrounded his life. The hardest of life's questions and difficulties were no match for his faith in God, and his love for Alison Keith (Beverly Tyler) was never diminished, even for a second, throughout those hard times.
Why this movie did not receive an Oscar is beyond me. It deserves every bit to be esteemed as highly as possible.
Without a doubt, every actor was perfectly selected to play their parts and speak their lines, all of which filled the screen an honest purity of heart. It swept away my heart by its feeling of goodness despite the unveiling of tragic sorrows.
Tom Drake's portrayal of Robert Shannon taught me how very possible it is to maintain civility and charm even while assaults against one's dreams keep attacking at every angle. First off, he kept his faith, even after great tribulation.
My eyes teared throughout most of the movie because of the honesty, decency and kindness that accompanied the words spoken by Robert and others who surrounded his life. The hardest of life's questions and difficulties were no match for his faith in God, and his love for Alison Keith (Beverly Tyler) was never diminished, even for a second, throughout those hard times.
Why this movie did not receive an Oscar is beyond me. It deserves every bit to be esteemed as highly as possible.
BUtterfield 8
(1960)
Lack of soundness
18 November 2019
If ever there was a movie that needed a Christian voice to aid in freeing individuals from their turmoil, to give each player meaningful direction and stability, this one is it.
So often, people think money can solve anything, it can buy anything, acquire anything, build contentment. But in this movie it is merely the coating to a tragic end. A fur coat, made from 30 dead minks, worth $7,000, taken in spite, because of a lifelong worldview that could not change, becomes the catalyst to tragedy.
Once one has dug themselves into an obsession for affirmation, it appears to be impossible to rise above that depth. For her, it began at thirteen and refused to stop. Sadly, there were no voices speaking life and formidable love. Only a few positive thoughts were spoken, which always dissipated in a minute.
One lesson to learn is that there is a difference between love and lust. The latter grips onto someone because that person looks good and is the desire of the city's male population. That road leads always to a dead end, for lust does not last. It is a feeling that will fade as the years pass on.
Elizabeth Taylor is strikingly seductive and sexier in this movie than in any film I can recall. Her appeal owns every scene. Above all that, however, is her acting, which very deservedly led to an Academy Award.
So often, people think money can solve anything, it can buy anything, acquire anything, build contentment. But in this movie it is merely the coating to a tragic end. A fur coat, made from 30 dead minks, worth $7,000, taken in spite, because of a lifelong worldview that could not change, becomes the catalyst to tragedy.
Once one has dug themselves into an obsession for affirmation, it appears to be impossible to rise above that depth. For her, it began at thirteen and refused to stop. Sadly, there were no voices speaking life and formidable love. Only a few positive thoughts were spoken, which always dissipated in a minute.
One lesson to learn is that there is a difference between love and lust. The latter grips onto someone because that person looks good and is the desire of the city's male population. That road leads always to a dead end, for lust does not last. It is a feeling that will fade as the years pass on.
Elizabeth Taylor is strikingly seductive and sexier in this movie than in any film I can recall. Her appeal owns every scene. Above all that, however, is her acting, which very deservedly led to an Academy Award.
An American Rhapsody
(2001)
Love can thrive anywhere
13 August 2019
Because I did not experience the very real, very profound love and affection as a child that Suzanne received from both sets of parents, I was especially moved by this film. The devotion shown, even in the midst of the psychological turmoil within the heart of Suzanne, carried through every scene, whether violence was displayed or not.
As a young girl restricted to an immensely caring family life, how would Suzanne have taken in all that Hungary represented In her youth? It was, in truth, a complete mystery to her due the lack of firsthand experience. All she knew was love, unbalanced by the territorial facts.
Fortunately, Hungary is no longer like it was in the 50s. Instead, it is one of the most economically strong and vibrant countries in Europe where marriages abound, as does the birth of children. Why? Perhaps because they have chosen to keep out whatever interference might come along by way of migrants, and have built a 150 mile wall to monitor the flow of potentially violent refugees.
I applaud all who helped make this revealing film, which, as I view it, is especially applicable for today's youthful and inexperienced American socialists. A far too impressionable bunch they are, with fantastic, naïve and unrealistic visions, for nothing good was shown to come out of a society not open to the true yearnings of the souls of men and women.
As a young girl restricted to an immensely caring family life, how would Suzanne have taken in all that Hungary represented In her youth? It was, in truth, a complete mystery to her due the lack of firsthand experience. All she knew was love, unbalanced by the territorial facts.
Fortunately, Hungary is no longer like it was in the 50s. Instead, it is one of the most economically strong and vibrant countries in Europe where marriages abound, as does the birth of children. Why? Perhaps because they have chosen to keep out whatever interference might come along by way of migrants, and have built a 150 mile wall to monitor the flow of potentially violent refugees.
I applaud all who helped make this revealing film, which, as I view it, is especially applicable for today's youthful and inexperienced American socialists. A far too impressionable bunch they are, with fantastic, naïve and unrealistic visions, for nothing good was shown to come out of a society not open to the true yearnings of the souls of men and women.
Summer School
(1987)
An all-time favorite of mine
3 August 2019
I haven't watched this movie in years and today stumbled onto it on Starz. I could not stop laughing. This comedy is truly uplifting, so full of gags, funny lines, oddball characters with varying likes and hobbies, and not a single wrong casting choice in the bunch. Certainly, the Chainsaw theme, when used, added to the fun and aggravation of the principle's aide, even while it showed a distinct creative ability. Without a doubt, the writers put together a masterpiece of comedy when they wrote Summer School. It will remain one of the best satirical hits ever written, acted, produced and directed.
The Gay Sisters
(1942)
A threefold dilemma
25 July 2019
Like so many movies that were produced in the B&W era, much of this one is filled with melodramatic scenes and lines written to carry along the diverging feelings of a family of three sisters whose lives intermingle merely because they are related, not necessarily because they agree. In fact, it is often difficult to see where the three blend as a family, except that they are guided by the commands of a big sister.
Barbara Stanwyck is that big sister who rules the roost, though not in a way that is intentionally abusive. She thinks she knows what must be done to keep things in line with the purpose she was given as a little girl. It is what her father would have wanted, a devotion to something above even God. He leaves to fight in Europe during WWI where he is killed, which places the house in the care of Barbara Stanwyck.
Do the sisters love one another? Yes, in an argumentative sort of way, as each one's desires cross the others'. Big sister wants no man in her life, doesn't trust them, considers them merely a means to an end. Middle sister is playing romantic games with her little sister's love, Gig Young, which causes the youngest to attempt a drastic solution.
In addition to a housekeeper, the three sisters share their home with a little boy who knows nothing of the secret that's been hidden for a number of years and whose future is a matter for the courts. The little fellow is one of the most polite boys I have seen on screen in a long while -- a refreshing breath when compared to today's norm.
I recommend this film despite the melodramatics. The lines are well written and well spoken. Don't be run away by the negative reviews. This one is worth the time whether you like the ending or not.
Barbara Stanwyck is that big sister who rules the roost, though not in a way that is intentionally abusive. She thinks she knows what must be done to keep things in line with the purpose she was given as a little girl. It is what her father would have wanted, a devotion to something above even God. He leaves to fight in Europe during WWI where he is killed, which places the house in the care of Barbara Stanwyck.
Do the sisters love one another? Yes, in an argumentative sort of way, as each one's desires cross the others'. Big sister wants no man in her life, doesn't trust them, considers them merely a means to an end. Middle sister is playing romantic games with her little sister's love, Gig Young, which causes the youngest to attempt a drastic solution.
In addition to a housekeeper, the three sisters share their home with a little boy who knows nothing of the secret that's been hidden for a number of years and whose future is a matter for the courts. The little fellow is one of the most polite boys I have seen on screen in a long while -- a refreshing breath when compared to today's norm.
I recommend this film despite the melodramatics. The lines are well written and well spoken. Don't be run away by the negative reviews. This one is worth the time whether you like the ending or not.
World Changing Truths For Mankind (with spoilers)
3 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I just completed watching the movie "An American Experience: Rachel Carson," a biography of the renowned naturalist writer of numerous books whose "Silent Spring" became a true world changer.
I recommend viewing this documentary which contains not only details of Carson's personal struggles, but the trials of this nation as it slowly awakened to the threat of a handful of looming and very hidden enemies of the natural world.
At the turn of the 20th Century, DDT was invented, then put on the shelf when it was thought to be of little value. A scientist in 1938 accidentally stumbled upon its effectiveness for the killing of insects, and so, for decades, especially during and after the global wars, DDT became the favorite answer for anything from lice to crop pests.
Gradually, national awareness progressed to the forefront of moral sense when chronic health issues in birds emerged. Pesticide manufacturers denied such accusations and wrote articles against the obvious while numbers of advocates for change increased. .
I spent 35 years working with pesticides, beginning as an extremely naïve professional applicator and ending, many years later, strongly supportive of the adoption of more common sense Integrated Pest Management responses to infestations everywhere.
Rachel Carson's initial works advanced our love for nature from books like "The Sea Around Us" and "Under the Sea Wind". When the pesticide industry refused to admit to the truth, however, this demanded a written rebuttal from her which Carson typed and edited even while in agonizing pain.
Carson was an avid reader and writer, and initially majored in English at Chatham University. It was there where she got her first taste of biology which she hurriedly adopted in place of the humanities.
Gradually dying of cancer that spread from her breasts to her hips, back and brain, Rachel Carson died on April 4, 1964, at age 54. She never married and spent many summers in Maine where she lived in a house she had built mid-state along the rocky shoreline.
I recommend viewing this documentary which contains not only details of Carson's personal struggles, but the trials of this nation as it slowly awakened to the threat of a handful of looming and very hidden enemies of the natural world.
At the turn of the 20th Century, DDT was invented, then put on the shelf when it was thought to be of little value. A scientist in 1938 accidentally stumbled upon its effectiveness for the killing of insects, and so, for decades, especially during and after the global wars, DDT became the favorite answer for anything from lice to crop pests.
Gradually, national awareness progressed to the forefront of moral sense when chronic health issues in birds emerged. Pesticide manufacturers denied such accusations and wrote articles against the obvious while numbers of advocates for change increased. .
I spent 35 years working with pesticides, beginning as an extremely naïve professional applicator and ending, many years later, strongly supportive of the adoption of more common sense Integrated Pest Management responses to infestations everywhere.
Rachel Carson's initial works advanced our love for nature from books like "The Sea Around Us" and "Under the Sea Wind". When the pesticide industry refused to admit to the truth, however, this demanded a written rebuttal from her which Carson typed and edited even while in agonizing pain.
Carson was an avid reader and writer, and initially majored in English at Chatham University. It was there where she got her first taste of biology which she hurriedly adopted in place of the humanities.
Gradually dying of cancer that spread from her breasts to her hips, back and brain, Rachel Carson died on April 4, 1964, at age 54. She never married and spent many summers in Maine where she lived in a house she had built mid-state along the rocky shoreline.
The Drowning
(2016)
Lack of Judgement
11 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I would have hoped the therapy would have gone more like Robin Williams and Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting," especially the more realistic directness Williams displayed, even to the point of saying, "If you disrespect (me) ever again, I will end you."
Instead we get a wishy-washy, I-don't-know-how-to-judge this situation liberal who knows not how to judge good from evil and twists their definitions in his mind endlessly. Of course, this leads to the very predictable character flaws and vices at work, away from work, and at home.
They never connected, the patient and therapist, yet the viewer is led to think it might take place. With the complete absence of obedience in the patient, why should everything be judged by the patient's non-stop family dysfunction. Either a person really wants help or he doesn't.
It's empty therapy. The "help" is ever learning, yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Instead we get a wishy-washy, I-don't-know-how-to-judge this situation liberal who knows not how to judge good from evil and twists their definitions in his mind endlessly. Of course, this leads to the very predictable character flaws and vices at work, away from work, and at home.
They never connected, the patient and therapist, yet the viewer is led to think it might take place. With the complete absence of obedience in the patient, why should everything be judged by the patient's non-stop family dysfunction. Either a person really wants help or he doesn't.
It's empty therapy. The "help" is ever learning, yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Marianne
(I) (1929)
Little Patience For It
30 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Here is Marion Davies in her first starring role in a sound picture.
For her first silent film, the 1917 "Runaway Romany", Davies wrote the screenplay, which was directed by her brother-in-law, prominent Broadway producer George W. Lederer. Thirty-four films later, "Marianne" (1929) was born. Talkies were in their infancy, only two years old.
Set during WWI, Davies plays a motel owner who falls in love with an American GI while her French fiancé, Pvt. Stagg (Lawrence Gray), is off to war. As a romantic musical drama, Davies sings and dances, with and without accompaniment. Gray sings as well.
Actually, the tunes inserted aren't enough to create a pleasurable viewing. I strained to stay with it. In addition, the story line is nothing new, with no twists or surprises, except, perhaps for the French soldier's misfortune and the choice Marianne makes in the end. The pushy GI is way too cornball for me as well.
Realizing sound productions were only two years old, this film should be viewed as an experiment. It leaves lots of areas for improvement, especially those trite and bland lines that substitute for a convincing mating plea.
For her first silent film, the 1917 "Runaway Romany", Davies wrote the screenplay, which was directed by her brother-in-law, prominent Broadway producer George W. Lederer. Thirty-four films later, "Marianne" (1929) was born. Talkies were in their infancy, only two years old.
Set during WWI, Davies plays a motel owner who falls in love with an American GI while her French fiancé, Pvt. Stagg (Lawrence Gray), is off to war. As a romantic musical drama, Davies sings and dances, with and without accompaniment. Gray sings as well.
Actually, the tunes inserted aren't enough to create a pleasurable viewing. I strained to stay with it. In addition, the story line is nothing new, with no twists or surprises, except, perhaps for the French soldier's misfortune and the choice Marianne makes in the end. The pushy GI is way too cornball for me as well.
Realizing sound productions were only two years old, this film should be viewed as an experiment. It leaves lots of areas for improvement, especially those trite and bland lines that substitute for a convincing mating plea.
Peace and love, a Christian's review
21 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Although I was alive during the hippie invasion, at that time, I was in survival mode due to various events. Therefore, the flower child culture did not penetrate my thinking. Only as much as the Vietnam Era was brought to me via the media was I conscious of that lifestyle.
In '69, I dropped out of school, enlisted in the military, and ended up in the Middle East. It was there that I got a sampling of a weed induced head, but mixed with the tunes I most loved, within traditional country music and jazz, the psychedelic lifestyle still didn't emerge.
In '72, I experienced an amazing conversion to Christianity through which I learned to love the absolute truths found in Scripture. That love challenged me to be obedient to a godly moral code. Despite how nice something may feel, it still can be immoral behavior.
Grace's pot smoking, I have no trouble with as I am a proponent of its use, especially for health reasons, Also after having performed for decades as a bass player/singer in countless country bars, I view alcohol as being more potentially life threatening.
Within this film exists a kind of coming-of-age theme, as well as one that insists that peace and love are the products of sex, the latter being the message that is, to me, off putting. Another theme, one that best resonates with me, is the release of burden, a birth of freedom through a refusal to hold onto hurts. It is about our responsibility to forgive those who trespass against us.
However, freedom must have mixed with it, in order to be genuine, godly virtue, not some whimsical identification with nature that is self-defining, as Grace's unspecified spiritual connection to whomever or whatever. To love oneself, one must know how to die to oneself, to set aside every weight that is so easily besetting and to build into one's life a truly stabilizing foundation based on righteous principles.
In this film, the laying aside of a former bad relationship to replace it with "free love" is a call to disenchantment and disillusionment. Okay, so Grace seems free, but she endorses sex whenever, with whomever, and encourages it without hesitation.
There is nothing mentioned about what God says regarding fornication, or how our lives ought to be centered around a love for Jesus that helps us to strive against unrighteousness. Instead, we are called to let go of all restraint. A bad mistake.
In '69, I dropped out of school, enlisted in the military, and ended up in the Middle East. It was there that I got a sampling of a weed induced head, but mixed with the tunes I most loved, within traditional country music and jazz, the psychedelic lifestyle still didn't emerge.
In '72, I experienced an amazing conversion to Christianity through which I learned to love the absolute truths found in Scripture. That love challenged me to be obedient to a godly moral code. Despite how nice something may feel, it still can be immoral behavior.
Grace's pot smoking, I have no trouble with as I am a proponent of its use, especially for health reasons, Also after having performed for decades as a bass player/singer in countless country bars, I view alcohol as being more potentially life threatening.
Within this film exists a kind of coming-of-age theme, as well as one that insists that peace and love are the products of sex, the latter being the message that is, to me, off putting. Another theme, one that best resonates with me, is the release of burden, a birth of freedom through a refusal to hold onto hurts. It is about our responsibility to forgive those who trespass against us.
However, freedom must have mixed with it, in order to be genuine, godly virtue, not some whimsical identification with nature that is self-defining, as Grace's unspecified spiritual connection to whomever or whatever. To love oneself, one must know how to die to oneself, to set aside every weight that is so easily besetting and to build into one's life a truly stabilizing foundation based on righteous principles.
In this film, the laying aside of a former bad relationship to replace it with "free love" is a call to disenchantment and disillusionment. Okay, so Grace seems free, but she endorses sex whenever, with whomever, and encourages it without hesitation.
There is nothing mentioned about what God says regarding fornication, or how our lives ought to be centered around a love for Jesus that helps us to strive against unrighteousness. Instead, we are called to let go of all restraint. A bad mistake.
Genius of the Modern World
(2016)
Just Who Was Marx?
16 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I just completed viewing the first biography of Karl Marx from this triple-bio documentary and was overwhelmed by its ability to cause me to pause for its entire length to take in the information it provides, especially to one like me, an absolute novice regarding Marx's life.
That he was a determined man who had insight enough to found the view that capitalist society is based on the exploitation of the proletariat (workers) and industrial profit, holds very true, even today, as I see it.
Being the sufferer of a terrible disease that caused him painful boils all over his body, yet still maintaining his all-consuming purpose makes him, to me, a man born with a most absorbing vision.
Getting his first airing of his assault against capitalism, with the aid of Fredrick Engels, his close friend, through a self published street paper was, at first thought, a bright idea. Sadly, censorship, being alive and well at that time within the hardline bourgeoisie, kept his publication to one issue. But that was not enough to stop him.
As a Christian, I find Marx's notion that religion, especially Christianity, has anything at all to do in keeping people attached to, or essentially prisoners of, the capitalist machine appears to be true, but it needs some balance.
Yes, Jesus did mention the poor, stating that "you will always have them with you," but He encouraged those with more to give to those with less; in other words, if you give to them, you give to Me. In fact, the First Church existed "with all things in common", which was a kind of God-centered communism. What one had, he would share with another, and what the other had, he would give to a neighbor. This sharing is based on altruism, not exploitation, which was the central core of Christian society then.
But Marx saw it differently. Religion, for him, was "the opium of the people". It kept them tied to the ways of whatever government was in power. No religion is truth, he thought, nor can religion help man -- only imprison him in ignorance.
Inequality, in any fashion, may seem unjust. But, as I see it, with TV and movie generated standards in appearance, finance, recognition and expectation thrown at us on a daily basis, the general population is steadily evolving into the vision of advertisers who reach to satisfy youthful tastes, not government demand.
Marx was a great thinker of his time, although not one who could envision the coming of great businesses and corporations that are today the owners of the political capitalist system. What would he have done today to provoke change? Insist on a second Russian revolution in all countries, even if it took only seventy years to collapse on its own? I know I will research Marx's papers after watching this biography, especially his first writings on his view of capitalism, then, perhaps, onto his Communist Manifesto, which, as I was told, necessitates very dedicated reading and inspection.
Had Marx realized, through the consequence of his adultery that produced an illegitimate son who later died, along with three of his other children who too perished, that it was a father's God-given duty to provide for the needs of his family, they would have lived. Instead, he could only envision his own massive readership, even if it meant living in filth and squalor.
Later in life, after his wife received inheritance money, and Engels too acquired an inheritance, the Marx family lived nice, middle class lives.
I highly recommend this segment of this three part documentary series. It is excellently written, produced and is enormously teachable.
That he was a determined man who had insight enough to found the view that capitalist society is based on the exploitation of the proletariat (workers) and industrial profit, holds very true, even today, as I see it.
Being the sufferer of a terrible disease that caused him painful boils all over his body, yet still maintaining his all-consuming purpose makes him, to me, a man born with a most absorbing vision.
Getting his first airing of his assault against capitalism, with the aid of Fredrick Engels, his close friend, through a self published street paper was, at first thought, a bright idea. Sadly, censorship, being alive and well at that time within the hardline bourgeoisie, kept his publication to one issue. But that was not enough to stop him.
As a Christian, I find Marx's notion that religion, especially Christianity, has anything at all to do in keeping people attached to, or essentially prisoners of, the capitalist machine appears to be true, but it needs some balance.
Yes, Jesus did mention the poor, stating that "you will always have them with you," but He encouraged those with more to give to those with less; in other words, if you give to them, you give to Me. In fact, the First Church existed "with all things in common", which was a kind of God-centered communism. What one had, he would share with another, and what the other had, he would give to a neighbor. This sharing is based on altruism, not exploitation, which was the central core of Christian society then.
But Marx saw it differently. Religion, for him, was "the opium of the people". It kept them tied to the ways of whatever government was in power. No religion is truth, he thought, nor can religion help man -- only imprison him in ignorance.
Inequality, in any fashion, may seem unjust. But, as I see it, with TV and movie generated standards in appearance, finance, recognition and expectation thrown at us on a daily basis, the general population is steadily evolving into the vision of advertisers who reach to satisfy youthful tastes, not government demand.
Marx was a great thinker of his time, although not one who could envision the coming of great businesses and corporations that are today the owners of the political capitalist system. What would he have done today to provoke change? Insist on a second Russian revolution in all countries, even if it took only seventy years to collapse on its own? I know I will research Marx's papers after watching this biography, especially his first writings on his view of capitalism, then, perhaps, onto his Communist Manifesto, which, as I was told, necessitates very dedicated reading and inspection.
Had Marx realized, through the consequence of his adultery that produced an illegitimate son who later died, along with three of his other children who too perished, that it was a father's God-given duty to provide for the needs of his family, they would have lived. Instead, he could only envision his own massive readership, even if it meant living in filth and squalor.
Later in life, after his wife received inheritance money, and Engels too acquired an inheritance, the Marx family lived nice, middle class lives.
I highly recommend this segment of this three part documentary series. It is excellently written, produced and is enormously teachable.
Scaramouche
(1952)
Surprising entertainment
7 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Here it is, sixty-five years after the filming of Scaramouche and I have just completed my first viewing of this gem. It was born the year of my birth.
I had no clue, convincing swordfighing could last as long as seven minutes in any film. Having never met a fencer, I grew to consider the sport lacking in swordsmen. After all, this is 2017, not 1952. The genre of swashbuckling, obviously, was more in step with former viewers. At least, that's what I thought.
After some reading, my view has changed.
I discovered, to my surprise, the sport has returned to the U.S. and is being labeled an exercise to relieve stress, tone up the body and mind, and to give a great workout.
This motion picture is certainly the one to watch if one needs that extra push to learn fencing. I enjoyed the fighting scenes immensely, especially the offense and defense that moved André Moreau (Stewart Granger)and Marquis De Maynes (Mel Ferrer) from every inch of the theater balcony, down the stairs, into the fully seated auditorium, to the rear props storage rooms, then onto the stage, to finish with a surprising end.
I also discovered Jean Heremans, a European fencing champion, was hired by MGM in 1948 to supervise the swordfighting on The Three Musketeers. I feel all the swordplay sequences in Scaramouche were superbly staged by Heremans.
Not knowing anything about pre-French revolution attire, I found the costumes, although elaborate and layered, well able to accentuate the best of one's body. The young women certainly liked to show off their thin waists and cleavage, although I wonder just what was under those dresses to cause their waists to be as thinly attractive and convincing.
How most of the cast managed not to sweat profusely amazes me.
Both actresses, Aline (Janet Leigh) and Lenore (Elaine Parker) were dressed to stand out in every scene.
The storyline is realistic enough and believable to a point. Escapes seemed contrived, a bit deus ex machina, especially the trapdoor scene. Still, I felt satisfied at close of the film.
It was two hours well spent.
I had no clue, convincing swordfighing could last as long as seven minutes in any film. Having never met a fencer, I grew to consider the sport lacking in swordsmen. After all, this is 2017, not 1952. The genre of swashbuckling, obviously, was more in step with former viewers. At least, that's what I thought.
After some reading, my view has changed.
I discovered, to my surprise, the sport has returned to the U.S. and is being labeled an exercise to relieve stress, tone up the body and mind, and to give a great workout.
This motion picture is certainly the one to watch if one needs that extra push to learn fencing. I enjoyed the fighting scenes immensely, especially the offense and defense that moved André Moreau (Stewart Granger)and Marquis De Maynes (Mel Ferrer) from every inch of the theater balcony, down the stairs, into the fully seated auditorium, to the rear props storage rooms, then onto the stage, to finish with a surprising end.
I also discovered Jean Heremans, a European fencing champion, was hired by MGM in 1948 to supervise the swordfighting on The Three Musketeers. I feel all the swordplay sequences in Scaramouche were superbly staged by Heremans.
Not knowing anything about pre-French revolution attire, I found the costumes, although elaborate and layered, well able to accentuate the best of one's body. The young women certainly liked to show off their thin waists and cleavage, although I wonder just what was under those dresses to cause their waists to be as thinly attractive and convincing.
How most of the cast managed not to sweat profusely amazes me.
Both actresses, Aline (Janet Leigh) and Lenore (Elaine Parker) were dressed to stand out in every scene.
The storyline is realistic enough and believable to a point. Escapes seemed contrived, a bit deus ex machina, especially the trapdoor scene. Still, I felt satisfied at close of the film.
It was two hours well spent.
War Machine
(2017)
Beyond Repair
3 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Gen. Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt) is a lifer who is sent to Afghanistan to fix the problem. Those who put him in that position want him to do nothing more than to get American soldiers out of that brutal environment, to save lives, and get them home.
But because Glen is an extremely gung-ho conservative patriot who still believes American intervention is able to provide for these Afghani poor
-- foreigners who really don't want any part of US intervention, barbarity, interference and imperialism, nor the promise of household conveniences -- he insists the country can be fixed, and that he's the man to do it.
How? By insisting a coalition of govts. send an additional 40,000 soldiers to help him gain control of the least populated area of that nation, a location void of substance and consequence. Prior generals sent there to bring peace failed, to Glen's mind, and he knows exactly where to start to rid the country of insurgents.
At first it doesn't look like the General will be getting his increased number of troops, but when it comes to light by an interview the General gives to an American TV magazine, that he has had only one short conversation with the President after four years, President Obama concedes, allowing more American soldiers entry into Afghanistan.
He's also promised a face-to-face conversation with the President, but instead is made to pose for pictures to make it appear he's had talks with him. It's all a farce.
None of this would have taken place in the first place if the entire political system was not fraught with the most intense incompetence. The President is good at only one thing: putting patches on problems at any cost, without regard for any true vision or purpose. It's all about maintaining power and money to him.
There is nothing supportive about any cogs in this broken network of pretentious, flawed and profoundly unqualified managers. They will turn on one another in a blink and don't care who is thrown under the bus just as long as they stay in power.
But because Glen is an extremely gung-ho conservative patriot who still believes American intervention is able to provide for these Afghani poor
-- foreigners who really don't want any part of US intervention, barbarity, interference and imperialism, nor the promise of household conveniences -- he insists the country can be fixed, and that he's the man to do it.
How? By insisting a coalition of govts. send an additional 40,000 soldiers to help him gain control of the least populated area of that nation, a location void of substance and consequence. Prior generals sent there to bring peace failed, to Glen's mind, and he knows exactly where to start to rid the country of insurgents.
At first it doesn't look like the General will be getting his increased number of troops, but when it comes to light by an interview the General gives to an American TV magazine, that he has had only one short conversation with the President after four years, President Obama concedes, allowing more American soldiers entry into Afghanistan.
He's also promised a face-to-face conversation with the President, but instead is made to pose for pictures to make it appear he's had talks with him. It's all a farce.
None of this would have taken place in the first place if the entire political system was not fraught with the most intense incompetence. The President is good at only one thing: putting patches on problems at any cost, without regard for any true vision or purpose. It's all about maintaining power and money to him.
There is nothing supportive about any cogs in this broken network of pretentious, flawed and profoundly unqualified managers. They will turn on one another in a blink and don't care who is thrown under the bus just as long as they stay in power.
Wild Oats
(2016)
Comedy vs. Believability
31 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This crazy storyline barely works for a couple of former top rated celebrities. The chances of such a large windfall to be sent to a somewhat bereaved wife are slim, but it's worth imagining just what two well-beyond-middle-age women would do with it.
Where would they head? After a certain age, most grown ups who know anything about skin cancer, would flee the tropics. It makes no sense to spend one's day fully clothed under a sun shade sipping drinks. Ever live in Central Florida near the ocean in the summer? To top it off, both women are on the prowl for lovers. At what ages? Once landed, we're led to believe they actually were enormously satisfied after a romp in the hay, as if the act is a kind of panacea.
How about the casino winnings? The quarter million dollar wine? Are these even remotely believable? Maybe I'm not ready for comedies, so I'll stick with documentaries, crime, and war.
Where would they head? After a certain age, most grown ups who know anything about skin cancer, would flee the tropics. It makes no sense to spend one's day fully clothed under a sun shade sipping drinks. Ever live in Central Florida near the ocean in the summer? To top it off, both women are on the prowl for lovers. At what ages? Once landed, we're led to believe they actually were enormously satisfied after a romp in the hay, as if the act is a kind of panacea.
How about the casino winnings? The quarter million dollar wine? Are these even remotely believable? Maybe I'm not ready for comedies, so I'll stick with documentaries, crime, and war.
A Woman, a Part
(2016)
Why act?
22 July 2017
There was so little in this movie that I could relate to. Sure, I've had several friendships with a few not-easy-to-get-around complications, but it seems the entire world of acting is filled with loads of people wandering confused, ravenously curious as to who they really are, what it is that best defines them, and what place or situation actually fulfills them.
They play at roles, they play at friendships, they play at responsibilities, they play at sex, and, in the end, they play at everything. There are no absolutes or boundaries.
From one who stands completely outside that arena, I feel somewhat awakened to why so many in acting are thoroughly liberal. They give voice to any role, justify it, and in so doing, toss any stabilizing standards aside.
I'm reminded of Pernell Roberts, or Adam Cartwright on the TV show Bonanza, who detested having to go to work playing the part of one of four brothers, none of whom were married, and each well over the age of marriage, yet still under their father's roof. He wanted released from contract, as I see it, and finally got his wish. What was on his mind day and night as he longed for an escape? Was it equally as complicated?
I must have missed where AIDS was presented by a scene in the movie. I didn't see it, although I did notice that bisexuality appeared to be on everyone's mind.
I'm so glad I never chose acting.
They play at roles, they play at friendships, they play at responsibilities, they play at sex, and, in the end, they play at everything. There are no absolutes or boundaries.
From one who stands completely outside that arena, I feel somewhat awakened to why so many in acting are thoroughly liberal. They give voice to any role, justify it, and in so doing, toss any stabilizing standards aside.
I'm reminded of Pernell Roberts, or Adam Cartwright on the TV show Bonanza, who detested having to go to work playing the part of one of four brothers, none of whom were married, and each well over the age of marriage, yet still under their father's roof. He wanted released from contract, as I see it, and finally got his wish. What was on his mind day and night as he longed for an escape? Was it equally as complicated?
I must have missed where AIDS was presented by a scene in the movie. I didn't see it, although I did notice that bisexuality appeared to be on everyone's mind.
I'm so glad I never chose acting.
Chronic
(2015)
Ending of a Life
18 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
What I write could be viewed as a spoiler, so be warned.
Yes, this movie has very little action; in fact, it moves at a snail's pace. And yet, the story is a profoundly moving account of the work nurses do for the terminally ill.
David is a male nurse who feels deeply for those who struggle with end-of-life issues. Out of his own sense of love, he does what he does, not some deep seated confusion. It is how he has learned to deal with last stage perplexities.
How many of us would even venture into that world, for even a week, much less an entire career? Cleaning patients, dealing with their daily needs, and servicing them in whatever capacity they desire is comparable to the Make A Wish foundation.
As more and more baby boomers advance in age, these realities will gain greater exposure and discussion regarding what options a terminally ill sufferer has will widen. This is the point of Tim Roth's marvelous portrayal, that, in the end, compassion must reach beyond the norm, to assist in an effort to end suffering.
This compares greatly to Mother Teresa's focus on the needs of the dying. Her way, which may be a more godly way, is to be a servant and friend to those at death's door, remain with them until the last breath. Maybe sentiment will one day reach farther watching them slowly die.
Yes, this movie has very little action; in fact, it moves at a snail's pace. And yet, the story is a profoundly moving account of the work nurses do for the terminally ill.
David is a male nurse who feels deeply for those who struggle with end-of-life issues. Out of his own sense of love, he does what he does, not some deep seated confusion. It is how he has learned to deal with last stage perplexities.
How many of us would even venture into that world, for even a week, much less an entire career? Cleaning patients, dealing with their daily needs, and servicing them in whatever capacity they desire is comparable to the Make A Wish foundation.
As more and more baby boomers advance in age, these realities will gain greater exposure and discussion regarding what options a terminally ill sufferer has will widen. This is the point of Tim Roth's marvelous portrayal, that, in the end, compassion must reach beyond the norm, to assist in an effort to end suffering.
This compares greatly to Mother Teresa's focus on the needs of the dying. Her way, which may be a more godly way, is to be a servant and friend to those at death's door, remain with them until the last breath. Maybe sentiment will one day reach farther watching them slowly die.
You've Got Mail
(1998)
Missing Meg
19 December 2014
I miss the old Meg Ryan. In this movie, she was everything I always hope to see any time she has a role in a film. Clean language and insights, innocence, deliberate goodness, and gentleness. She's immediately likable.
Films should be written around such character traits; but, now, as I see in photos, her appearance has changed. I hope what's inside hasn't.
I know, what touches me is sixteen years old. Nothing stays the same. The only thing consistent in life, I once heard, is change. I don't want movies to lose Meg's qualities.
Tom Hanks, too, plays an excellent role. Overall, it's an unmistakable ten.
Films should be written around such character traits; but, now, as I see in photos, her appearance has changed. I hope what's inside hasn't.
I know, what touches me is sixteen years old. Nothing stays the same. The only thing consistent in life, I once heard, is change. I don't want movies to lose Meg's qualities.
Tom Hanks, too, plays an excellent role. Overall, it's an unmistakable ten.
Detachment
(2011)
Education without virtue
25 November 2014
What struck me as very odd, as not in keeping with the inner madness and dysfunction of the characters, was that the school was clean, the lockers shined and the hallways clear of graffiti. One would expect an unkempt facility would be another sign of the inward struggles going on in everyone's life. That is usually the outcome of schools in failure. is it not?
The House of Usher was the exact metaphor for that school, the outward sign of inward decay. But what would have been able to fix it? A handful of teachers? In my opinion, the absence of God throughout the characters' lines, and the lack of respect for Him, which is the present preoccupation and intent of today's administrations, led this particular school to decline.
Education and knowledge will never be enough when it is not mixed with virtue, and what this movie shows is the price of such an environment, which, I think, speaks for most of American educational institutions. There are no absolutes being taught. Everything is up for grabs.
Kids are being told to decide life as they see it. Anything you want to believe is okay. But, if we don't teach our kids to accept the most stable spiritual foundation, the Judeo-Christian belief system, we'll continue to get what is represented in this film, a mass of people wondering just what is worth believing, what stabilizes. It's not merely about education, but an education glued to virtue.
The House of Usher was the exact metaphor for that school, the outward sign of inward decay. But what would have been able to fix it? A handful of teachers? In my opinion, the absence of God throughout the characters' lines, and the lack of respect for Him, which is the present preoccupation and intent of today's administrations, led this particular school to decline.
Education and knowledge will never be enough when it is not mixed with virtue, and what this movie shows is the price of such an environment, which, I think, speaks for most of American educational institutions. There are no absolutes being taught. Everything is up for grabs.
Kids are being told to decide life as they see it. Anything you want to believe is okay. But, if we don't teach our kids to accept the most stable spiritual foundation, the Judeo-Christian belief system, we'll continue to get what is represented in this film, a mass of people wondering just what is worth believing, what stabilizes. It's not merely about education, but an education glued to virtue.
Ragamuffin
(2014)
Engaging and revealing
11 October 2014
In the 70s, I experienced a similar intensity as what is expressed in this film. Being saved in 1972 was not a panacea for me, although the initial awakening or quickening of my spirit, was indeed celebratory.
I knew I'd tapped into something special. At the same time, I had come from a broken home, a truly dysfunctional horror story, that left me in pieces. My endless patterns of faithfulness, like Bible reading and prayer, weren't a quick fix. Feelings and never-ending reminders of events held tightly to my thoughts and dreams. Well past my first year, then second, and even the tenth year of my "new" life, I continued to hurt, and all the promises in the Bible, no matter how often I spoke them, simply didn't make it go away.
Was there depression? Certainly there was, but it was more than that, because, even after I was saved, there remained a kind of toxicity inside and around me. I didn't feel like I belonged. The cliques in the church, I never fit into because I was a struggling, penniless college student who seldom had a dime in his pocket. I couldn't tithe; and so, the handshake that givers got when they walked in the door wasn't waiting for me.
Nevertheless, I gave what I knew, my ability to play an upright bass to help lead worship, and yet, no elder took me in, chose to mentor me, or understood my need. The prevailing doctrines told me that it was all about one's quantity of faith, and apparently, I had none. Among all those who believed that error, I continued in a kind of existential disconnect.
Like Rich, I found some help where God chose to lead me, to what is known by psychologists today as "inner child work". Through videos and books by John Bradshaw, I discovered the word "dysfunction" and its meaning, as well as the dynamics of the family. It was through that reading and listening that I began, slowly, to get in touch with that little hurting boy inside me. I learned to talk to him, to tell him things were going to be okay, that life was worth living.
So, pretty much, my story is what you'll see taking place in this film. I'm sure, even though the film is consistently gloomy, there will be those who relate to it. Some will sit hoping for an answer to their continuing scars.
Do as Rich did: start that conversation with the little kid inside. Tell him/her what should have been said long ago. Build yourself up by showing love to yourself.
I knew I'd tapped into something special. At the same time, I had come from a broken home, a truly dysfunctional horror story, that left me in pieces. My endless patterns of faithfulness, like Bible reading and prayer, weren't a quick fix. Feelings and never-ending reminders of events held tightly to my thoughts and dreams. Well past my first year, then second, and even the tenth year of my "new" life, I continued to hurt, and all the promises in the Bible, no matter how often I spoke them, simply didn't make it go away.
Was there depression? Certainly there was, but it was more than that, because, even after I was saved, there remained a kind of toxicity inside and around me. I didn't feel like I belonged. The cliques in the church, I never fit into because I was a struggling, penniless college student who seldom had a dime in his pocket. I couldn't tithe; and so, the handshake that givers got when they walked in the door wasn't waiting for me.
Nevertheless, I gave what I knew, my ability to play an upright bass to help lead worship, and yet, no elder took me in, chose to mentor me, or understood my need. The prevailing doctrines told me that it was all about one's quantity of faith, and apparently, I had none. Among all those who believed that error, I continued in a kind of existential disconnect.
Like Rich, I found some help where God chose to lead me, to what is known by psychologists today as "inner child work". Through videos and books by John Bradshaw, I discovered the word "dysfunction" and its meaning, as well as the dynamics of the family. It was through that reading and listening that I began, slowly, to get in touch with that little hurting boy inside me. I learned to talk to him, to tell him things were going to be okay, that life was worth living.
So, pretty much, my story is what you'll see taking place in this film. I'm sure, even though the film is consistently gloomy, there will be those who relate to it. Some will sit hoping for an answer to their continuing scars.
Do as Rich did: start that conversation with the little kid inside. Tell him/her what should have been said long ago. Build yourself up by showing love to yourself.
High, Wild and Free
(1968)
Filmed in British Columbia, 1968
20 September 2014
My first thought as I watched this self made documentary of British Columbian mountain country in 1968 is that there's no way that location is as abundantly filled with wildlife today -- caribou, antelope, mountain goats (not goats, but antelope), bear, rams, beaver, and fish - - the pike were huge, easily 20 lbs. and four feet long -- as it was in this film. I'm curious to know.
Thoughts regarding the difference between hunting merely for trophies and hunting to eat were made, which I thought appropriate, as to my thinking, nearly fifty years ago, the topic might not have been on the minds of most hunters. Gordon Eastman, the producer/director, took along his two sons, wife and daughter to spend the summer camping alongside a large lake where there was plenty of easily caught pike that I heard were used mainly to feed the two pack dogs, Blackie and Brownie, both part wolf. I thought pike was good eating.
Eastman met up with flight guides and an Indian couple who made for him a canoe from stretched beaver pelts and wood, but it held up, for the the most part, until Eastman and his companion tipped over in a bit of rapids, even while those two dogs were on the boat. The water was freezing, so they walked the boat to the shore, discovered the dogs were safe, then took off their clothes to dry them over an open flame.
I was surprised, as I have seen in other films devoted to the outback plenty of mosquitoes bothering them. Maybe it was the elevation, at this location, 200 miles north of a large city, that kept them away. Eating beaver, Eastman said, was like the taste of beef, which is one animal I never ate before, and I've eaten my fair share of what would be thought of as inedible animals. It's how their cooked/spiced that gives the taste, I've learned.
Overall, I felt the lure of the mountains, but at my age, 62, I think I would end up being the last to arrive, or climb to the top, like that one limp ram they spotted. A few of the people who were a part of this film may have, by now, passed away. If any of the children are still with us, I'd say you were given a real adventure by your Dad. Remember to thank him.
The one aspect that I think could have made the film better was the lack of anything more than narration and a sound track. Hearing the voices of those involved would have added a lot, but that might have cost more money, time and equipment.
Thoughts regarding the difference between hunting merely for trophies and hunting to eat were made, which I thought appropriate, as to my thinking, nearly fifty years ago, the topic might not have been on the minds of most hunters. Gordon Eastman, the producer/director, took along his two sons, wife and daughter to spend the summer camping alongside a large lake where there was plenty of easily caught pike that I heard were used mainly to feed the two pack dogs, Blackie and Brownie, both part wolf. I thought pike was good eating.
Eastman met up with flight guides and an Indian couple who made for him a canoe from stretched beaver pelts and wood, but it held up, for the the most part, until Eastman and his companion tipped over in a bit of rapids, even while those two dogs were on the boat. The water was freezing, so they walked the boat to the shore, discovered the dogs were safe, then took off their clothes to dry them over an open flame.
I was surprised, as I have seen in other films devoted to the outback plenty of mosquitoes bothering them. Maybe it was the elevation, at this location, 200 miles north of a large city, that kept them away. Eating beaver, Eastman said, was like the taste of beef, which is one animal I never ate before, and I've eaten my fair share of what would be thought of as inedible animals. It's how their cooked/spiced that gives the taste, I've learned.
Overall, I felt the lure of the mountains, but at my age, 62, I think I would end up being the last to arrive, or climb to the top, like that one limp ram they spotted. A few of the people who were a part of this film may have, by now, passed away. If any of the children are still with us, I'd say you were given a real adventure by your Dad. Remember to thank him.
The one aspect that I think could have made the film better was the lack of anything more than narration and a sound track. Hearing the voices of those involved would have added a lot, but that might have cost more money, time and equipment.
Blood Brother
(2013)
Heartwarming, spiritual, compassionate
17 August 2014
This real story had me in tears throughout most of it. There could not be a deeper love displayed on any documentary than what one will witness from this one.
Rocky's heart is centered on a most intense, proactive love no matter whether he is playing with his "family," the children with HIV, mending a wound or caring for a child who suffers with the side effects of AIDS development, or when he is among the neighboring people. Love pours from him. I believe he must know the Lord in the way Paul wrote, "in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death."
If you know not love, then watch this film. It will change your perspective on what it means to love in word and deed, nonstop, without reservation, and with no regrets.
This film should be required viewing by all people of the world.
Rocky's heart is centered on a most intense, proactive love no matter whether he is playing with his "family," the children with HIV, mending a wound or caring for a child who suffers with the side effects of AIDS development, or when he is among the neighboring people. Love pours from him. I believe he must know the Lord in the way Paul wrote, "in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death."
If you know not love, then watch this film. It will change your perspective on what it means to love in word and deed, nonstop, without reservation, and with no regrets.
This film should be required viewing by all people of the world.
Commune
(2005)
Without Boundaries
7 July 2014
I just watched this documentary and found it to be against what I consider to be right living. Basically, all the people were/are lost. They really hadn't found a thing except the great need for boundaries within all areas of life.
Real freedom MUST be coupled with virtue and it is not virtuous to have intercourse with whomever or to allow one's child to go and do as he/she pleases, even to leave the family for far off lands with strangers.
These people found no absolute truths. They live(d) without accountability to God, refuse(d) His ways --if they knew them at all, were without a moral standard, knew nothing of real love which includes a desire to depart from sin, and entirely void of the concept of eternity.
There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death. Pleasure that is the broadest doorway into a separation from God.
Real freedom MUST be coupled with virtue and it is not virtuous to have intercourse with whomever or to allow one's child to go and do as he/she pleases, even to leave the family for far off lands with strangers.
These people found no absolute truths. They live(d) without accountability to God, refuse(d) His ways --if they knew them at all, were without a moral standard, knew nothing of real love which includes a desire to depart from sin, and entirely void of the concept of eternity.
There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death. Pleasure that is the broadest doorway into a separation from God.
Nicky's Family
(2011)
Love and action conquers hatred
22 June 2014
I didn't know what to expect from this movie. After viewing so many Holocaust related films over the years, the themes seem to melt into one another. In my searches, I've learned about the name and location of the camps, the names of the most terrible people, and the sociology of a nation that surprisingly contracted, almost overnight, a deep mental illness that it did not wish to free itself from. That illness was hate.
This movie, however, after the first half of it, kept me in tears. I am a man who finds it extremely difficult to cry, except on occasions when I watch a touching movie or read a heartfelt book. Without those avenues, I am unable to shed a tear. But this film was so completely able to bring out of me tears by witnessing the impact the good deeds of one man can cause through a kind of domino effect.
Nicholas Winton, still alive today at 105, is a man worthy of all the honors bestowed on him. He is a hero of the highest caliber due to his unflinching commitment to save the lives of 700 Czech children during the advance of the Third Reich into Czechoslovakia in 1938.
What he did was provide for these children English families to adopt them. Tirelessly he worked to sometimes forge papers in order to save children he barely knew, all out of an altruistic character not often seen in stock brokers, which he was prior to making a visit with a friend to inspect for himself what Hitler was causing within Czechoslovakia. That visit changed his life forever, for the good of hundreds of Czech children.
Nicky wrote hundreds of letters seeking aid from all countries, and fashioned pictorial listings of all the kids for selection by their future parents, but only one country was willing to open their hearts to these desperate children, England.
Because of his work, Nicky now has a "family" of some 5800 offspring from the grown children he arranged to secure passage to a new life in England. The kindness of the English people shown to these children makes me extremely proud of British countrymen and women. It was stated on the film, that the poorest of English people were the most compassionate and loving.
Watch the documentary, but be sure to have Kleenex sitting by you as you will, without a doubt, be very moved.
This movie, however, after the first half of it, kept me in tears. I am a man who finds it extremely difficult to cry, except on occasions when I watch a touching movie or read a heartfelt book. Without those avenues, I am unable to shed a tear. But this film was so completely able to bring out of me tears by witnessing the impact the good deeds of one man can cause through a kind of domino effect.
Nicholas Winton, still alive today at 105, is a man worthy of all the honors bestowed on him. He is a hero of the highest caliber due to his unflinching commitment to save the lives of 700 Czech children during the advance of the Third Reich into Czechoslovakia in 1938.
What he did was provide for these children English families to adopt them. Tirelessly he worked to sometimes forge papers in order to save children he barely knew, all out of an altruistic character not often seen in stock brokers, which he was prior to making a visit with a friend to inspect for himself what Hitler was causing within Czechoslovakia. That visit changed his life forever, for the good of hundreds of Czech children.
Nicky wrote hundreds of letters seeking aid from all countries, and fashioned pictorial listings of all the kids for selection by their future parents, but only one country was willing to open their hearts to these desperate children, England.
Because of his work, Nicky now has a "family" of some 5800 offspring from the grown children he arranged to secure passage to a new life in England. The kindness of the English people shown to these children makes me extremely proud of British countrymen and women. It was stated on the film, that the poorest of English people were the most compassionate and loving.
Watch the documentary, but be sure to have Kleenex sitting by you as you will, without a doubt, be very moved.
The Jewish Cardinal
(2013 TV Movie)
A Completed Jew
21 June 2014
This movie carries with it a large amount of animosity between Jews and Catholics, especially in regard to who owned the rights to display Auschwitz as a central part of their history of suffering.
But, to me, it expresses a great need to announce to the world the completeness by those Jews who have grown to accept Jesus as their long awaited Messiah.
What some have come to call themselves today -- those who are both Christian and Jewish at birth -- is a "completed Jew." There are today many Messianic Christian fellowships, one of which is called Jews for Jesus.
Obviously, during the time this film was made, there weren't that many completed Jews making public statements, so that is why it was so newsworthy in the mid 80s.
Today, this fact should be old news.
But, to me, it expresses a great need to announce to the world the completeness by those Jews who have grown to accept Jesus as their long awaited Messiah.
What some have come to call themselves today -- those who are both Christian and Jewish at birth -- is a "completed Jew." There are today many Messianic Christian fellowships, one of which is called Jews for Jesus.
Obviously, during the time this film was made, there weren't that many completed Jews making public statements, so that is why it was so newsworthy in the mid 80s.
Today, this fact should be old news.
Tell Your Friends