As a New York priest (Ethan Hawke) begins to gather his thoughts in a diary, he’s trying to help a man who’s deeply worried about climate change… Paul Schrader’s most lauded movie in years shares many similarities with Winter Light (1963), but fans of the director will recognize his themes and style. The pastor has … Continue reading First Reformed
WHAT A FATHER KEEPS HIDDEN IS REVEALED IN THE SON. After graduating from college, Sinan Karasu (Dogu Demirkol) returns to the village where he grew up only to realize that nothing has changed when it comes to his father (Murat Cemcir) and his gambling debts. More than three hours is a lot of time to … Continue reading The Wild Pear Tree
As every fan of Ingmar Bergman knows, the filmmaker had a complicated relationship with his father. But when he decided to write a screenplay about a priest and his spiritual doubts, Bergman asked his father to read it. Erik Bergman, a retired chaplain to the Swedish royal court, read it three times, according to his … Continue reading Winter Light: Doubting Tomas
PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS. In 1952, a nun hangs herself in a Romanian monastery; the Vatican sends their best investigator (Demián Bichir) together with a young novitiate (Taissa Farmiga) to look into what’s going on there. A spin-off to The Conjuring 2 (2016) where a horrifying ghostly supporting character gets her own story. Much like Annabelle … Continue reading The Nun
BERGMAN AT HIS MOST POWERFUL! SHOCKING! BOLD! Two sisters (Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom) and a 10-year-old boy are traveling together and end up in a small town in a Central European country on the brink of war. The last film in Ingmar Bergman’s trilogy on faith was censored in several countries due to its sexual … Continue reading The Silence
Ingmar Bergman was dead set on shooting this film on the Orkney Islands. He knew what he wanted; the dramatic, stony look of that place. The studio were not equally thrilled and wanted him to shoot somewhere closer to Stockholm. Reluctantly, Bergman agreed to take the boat out to Gotland to visit its northern part, … Continue reading Through a Glass Darkly: Behind the Wallpaper
THE MESSENGER HAS ARRIVED. In the early 2000s, the AIDS epidemic had not been portrayed on TV and in movies in a fully satisfying way. There were respectable attempts, such as Philadelphia (1993) and the TV movie And the Band Played On (1993), but they also faced criticism for various reasons. It seemed as if … Continue reading Angels in America: Love and Suffering
WITNESS THE MANHUNT THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HUMAN HISTORY. Shortly after the crucifixion of a Jewish preacher, Roman prefect Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) orders a tribune (Joseph Fiennes) to find his missing body. Dramas of this kind usually focus on a chosen biblical story, but this movie prefers to create a portrait of a … Continue reading Risen
A man and his son (Totò, Ninetto Davoli) are wandering the outskirts of Rome when they are joined by a talking crow who begins to tell them a tale. Pier Paolo Pasolini followed up his success with The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) by creating a playful, neorealist fantasy whose structure is very loose. … Continue reading The Hawks and the Sparrows
A MOTION PICTURE DESTINED TO OFFEND NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD. AND SEVERELY ANNOY THE OTHER THIRD. Modern audiences are not likely to find Monty Python’s most controversial film terribly daring or blasphemous. But back in 1979 it was a big deal. Several British town councils banned it, and so did a few … Continue reading Life of Brian: In Christ’s Shadow
The follow-up to the 2013 miniseries The Bible is an improvement, a TV series with a much more focused concept – portraying the confusing period right after the crucifixion of Christ when the apostles, led by Peter, fought for their lives organizing the fledgling cult. The series also followed the intrigues between the Romans (led … Continue reading A.D. The Bible Continues
National Geographic’s third TV movie to be based on Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard’s lightweight historical books takes on Christ with unimpressive results. The story of the carpenter’s life and death has been chronicled so many times that this adaptation, which is sorely lacking in ambition, is imminently forgettable. The focus lies on the Jewish … Continue reading Killing Jesus
THE CRUEL HAND OF INTOLERANCE. The premiere of D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation in 1915 must have been a hurtful experience for the director. The film’s portrayal of African Americans resulted in charges of racism and incited riots in several cities. The director felt that he was being treated unfairly, and one can’t emphasize … Continue reading Intolerance: D.W. Griffith’s Epic Revenge
