WARNING: This review reveals plot points perhaps best experienced in person. For those who have not yet seen The Son (Le Fils) from the Brothers Dardaine, it can be found on Netflix’s Watch Instantly. As Lent draws to a close, I always find myself searching for a film to assist me in my preparations for Holy Week. This annual task has let to such gems as Ostrov, The Passion of Joan of Arc, and The Ninth Day, providing me with ample food for thought and soul during... Read more
“They said that I should lose my ideals and begin to believe in the methods of practical politicians. Now, I have not lost my ideals in the least; my faith in fundamentals is exactly what it always was. What I have lost is my old childlike faith in practical politics.” G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy It is no doubt a reflection of my current condition—”Life Amidst a Roiling Sea of Small and Boisterous Children”—that when a friend recommended 1971’s They Might Be Giants, my... Read more
Well, here we go again. After a year of relative safety, we have arrived once more at Valentine’s Day, that most awkward of holidays, straddling the line twixt Twitterpation and Crass Consumerism. The day crabby old-timers love to hate; the day unromantic types hate because they are expected to love it so much; and the one shining day to which true romantics look forward for most of the other 364. A quick look at multiplexes ’round the country reveals an obvious candidate... Read more
“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear,no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him.” Is 64:4 For years, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has been hailed as one of the most influential Revisionist Westerns of all time. From William Goldman’s Oscar-winning script to Redford’s quiet smolder; from Newman’s shocking good looks to its brilliant cinematography and unforgettable “Raindrops” sequence, George Roy Hill’s homage to some of the West’s most over-mythologized bad men shaped... Read more
Above all,” the self-help gurus say, “you must be comfortable in your own skin.” We all know what the confident folk look like; they’re the ones that draw your attention the moment they walk into a room; the self-assured, dynamic ones—the people that make me just a teensy, weensy bit envious; they have achieved a balance between their “inner” and “outer” selves that I have long desired, but which has eluded me all my life. After a decade of marriage... Read more
Sorry that you feel that way The only thing there is to say Every silver lining’s got a Touch of grey. There are few things in life that bring home the value of a good cliché as quickly as becoming a new parent. A few short months as a father were all it took for me to find a personal favorite: “Pick your battles.” Convincing my sons to look both ways before wandering across the street? I’ll go to the mat for... Read more
Hayao Miyazaki is a rare and indispensible artist. In a creative industry that flits happily between the brutal demythification and saccharine sentimentalization of childhood, his ability to capture the innocence, exuberance, and boundless imagination of youth is unusual. Watching My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa, or Ponyo with an audience of youngsters is a marvelous experience; their rapt expressions and delighted laughter prove how thoroughly the legendary Japanese animator “gets” children. Yet it would be a shame to dismiss his gentler work as nothing but childish amusement.... Read more
“I have passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.” We Americans are obsessed with celebrity. We expend vast amounts of time, energy and money in the obsessive study of our heroes; we live vicariously through the paparazzi-plagued existences of those more “fortunate” than ourselves. So it comes as no surprise that the Catholic Church in America has given rise to its own peculiar brand of media star: the Celebrity Priest. Sadly, our knowledge... Read more
What would you do if you knew with absolute certainty that the completion of a particular task would bring about the fulfillment of your greatest wish? Would you be willing to commit disagreeable (even immoral) acts to achieve your dreams? How far would you go to get what you want? That is the question posed by “The Booth at the End,” the latest morality play/web series from Hulu, the same folks who brought us “The Confession” earlier this year. The series’ premise is startlingly simple:... Read more
I hate to see this evening sun go down. Lord, I hate to see this evening sun go down. ’cause it makes me think I’m on my last go ’round. Few things are more enjoyable than watching a legendary actor, nearing the end of a long and illustrious career, who finds the passion and the courage to deliver an absolutely spell-binding performance—one that history may well remember as his finest. Eighty-six-year-old Hal Holbrook, who has appeared in over forty feature... Read more
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