Movies, Mom & Me

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  We acquired this movie just before last Easter when I was on a mission to obtain every jesus/bible related that we didn't already own. I didn't know whether she'd ever seen this movie, but she was up for it when I mentioned it to her and was immediately enraptured in it's sprawl. She's also, of course, a big fan of over-the-top drama of the period in which this was made. So am I, depending, and this movie didn't disappoint me, but, I have to say, The Ten Commandments is still my preferred movie spectacle film.

Labels: action, adventure, bible movies, drama, jesus-dvds, period, spectacle, violence

# posted by gail @ 10:22    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  Yes, this is yet another jesus dvd that is a Jesus movie. We rented it first. For some unknown reason, I had the idea that maybe we had enough Jesus movies for Mom and she'd consider this one overkill, but I was wrong, which is why I purchased it for her. We've watched it several times.
     I appreciate it for the explanation it contains of certain cultural customs to which members of "The Holy Family" would have been obligated, but, more than this, some of the oblique symbology of the birth of Jesus is explained, such as the signficance of the gifts received from "the wise men". There is strong enough emphasis on the importance of the visiting of the shepherds that I finally understood this aspect of the Jesus Nativity Story. And, the parallel story of Elizabeth and Zechariah is well woven into the presentation.
     My mother, of course, is enthralled with the movie. The more apparently realistic Bible movies are, the more she likes them. This one rang a bell for her. She even enjoyed the offhand comic relief of the three wise men.
     I may have mentioned this before: I'm not Christian, never have been, actually, even though I was raised in what would be considered a typical Christian household of the 50's and 60's, which is to say, only mildly religious but with a strong emphasis on morality and ethics, not necessarily connected to but often echoing Christianity in particular. Because my mother is deeply spiritual, though, and uses Christianity as her spiritual touchstone (and, for a few other reasons, as well), I spent a fair amount of time (still do, in fact) investigating and thinking about Christianity. I've been at the point, for some years, where I firmly doubt the existence of the historical Jesus as presented in Christianity (even the Christian gospels hint that the Jesus they present never existed) but, because much of the symbology and beliefs are ubiquitous in many theistic and nontheistic religious doctrines and practice, the entire area of spirituality bounded by religion fascinates me and Christianity, being the first religion to which I was introduced, thus the one with which I am most familiar, is a good jumping off point for me. This movie, in particular, is a succinct reminder of the power of the Jesus story, Jesus mythology and Christian dedication. As well, while I was absorbing Elizabeth's story alongside Mary's, I was suddenly struck by the importance of the mothers of gods, in stories such as these, always being in some way barren, or, in the case of the births of great leaders of a theistic religion, the birth itself or the baby being threatened, thus the birth of the god or the leader is usually (except, for instance, in the case of Abram/Abraham), somehow miraculous. I don't know why I never before paid attention to this.
     Soon after we watched this movie a few times and had some stimulating conversations about Christianity in particular and spirituality in general, I decided to rent The God Who Wasn't There so Mom could get a better idea of why Christianity interests me but doesn't cause me to "fall on [my] knees". No, this isn't a movie we'll be purchasing. I was familiar with most of the stuff in it when I originally saw it and don't need it as a resource. But, Mom found this movie interesting and worthy of discussion, although it didn't sway her belief in her religion. I didn't expect this. Even those of us who aren't swayed by beliefs in gods and the ritual detail of god centered religions often have belief systems that make no rational sense but hold sway over us, anyway. At any rate, something I realized when we discussed spirituality and religion from the point of view of The God Who Wasn't There is that Mom is firmly centered in life-here-and-now rather than death-in-the-sweet-by-and-by. This, I think, is the important difference between her spirituality and that of many people who consider and call themselves Christians.
      The Nativity Story is not nearly as spiritually powerful for me as, say, The Little Buddha, for instance, but it's provocative, nonetheless, and I can count on it to trigger interesting discussions about religion and spirituality between my mother and me.

Labels: bible movies, Christmas, drama, jesus-dvds, mom-favorite, period, spiritual

# posted by gail @ 12:28    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  This is the story of the biblical Esther with additional drama and eye candy. Although some of it is authentic, much was added in order to attract an audience. I don't think it got very good reviews, but I've noticed, as well, that Costco has increased its stock of this movie in order to accommodate the high demand for it on DVD. I understand that demand. It is thoroughly involving and enjoyable to watch. John Rhys-Davies is commanding, as always, the portrayal of Esther is enjoyably whimsical, the King of Persia, which not particularly well acted, is played by a man who has a sufficiently exotic charisma, even the part of Haggai is noteworthy. It's fun, as well, to watch the cameos of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif. It is full of eye candy, a rival to The Ten Commandments, at least in this respect, and the dramatic emphasis is satisfying. Although it is probably the least accurate of the movie bible portrayals that we own, I would have to say that it's one of my mother's favorites. At this writing we've probably viewed it four times, three at my mother's request, and we've had it only two weeks. Much to my ambivalent chagrin and delight, it's a winner in our household.

Labels: bible movies, mom-favorite, royals, spectacle

# posted by gail @ 12:54    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  This set of Old Testament Stories, covering Abraham, David, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Samson and Delilah, is the collection that most captures my interest. Mom considers it a continuation of The Bible Series. My favorites are the stories of Joseph, Abraham and Moses, as it is a delight for me to watch Ben Kingsley and Richard Harris in anything. One of the aspects of both this and The Bible Series that I appreciate is the obvious attempts to authentically capture the time periods. I notice, especially, the tight use of space and the fact that they are somewhat less full of eye candy as, say, the productions of The Ten Commandments and One Night with the King.

Labels: bible movies, collection

# posted by gail @ 12:37    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  This set contains the stories of three Old Testament characters and a review of the first book of the Old Testament: Esther, Jeremiah, Solomon and a review of Genesis. Mom is, of course, transfixed by all the movies. My personal favorite is the story of Solomon, although I appreciate the production of Esther's story, especially after having seen One Night with the King. It is this series and The Bible Collection that prompted me to institute a new label, "bible movies", as these don't quite fit in the category of "jesus dvds".

Labels: bible movies, collection

# posted by gail @ 12:16    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  This one is a bit of a surprise. We discovered it one evening while searching through the channels looking for movies. Mom's eyes latched onto the title and we clicked into it, then caught a later run to catch what we'd missed. It's a made-for-TV movie that is more about Mary's imagined influence in Jesus' life than it is about Jesus. It was made by the Kennedy family, to what purpose I'm not sure, but it's intriguing, especially the parts that suggest that the parables of Jesus were actually stories Mary told Jesus, when he was a child, in order to illustrate ethical and moral values. I found the first viewing intriguing but quickly realized it wouldn't be one that I'd watch repeatedly. Mom, though, was quite taken with it and requested that we add it to our collection, so that's what I did. It's been watched once again since it arrived, and, again, Mom said, "I think we should get a copy of that movie." I reminded her that we did, and she just watched it. Interestingly, it reminded me of Anne Rice's book, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. I wonder if either influenced the other.
     It reminded me that the theaters are currently featuring a new movie about Mary's story, so to speak, The Nativity Story. I imagine, when that's in DVD once we've rented it, Mom will want that one added to our collection, as well.

Labels: bible movies, jesus-dvds, period

# posted by gail @ 12:48    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1* *2* *3*
3. Commentary:  I noticed, in the mentions, one of them states that Mom always thinks she wants to see this movie, then she gets bored with it. This is no longer true. It is now one that she asked after the last time we did a "jesus movie" festival, so, this year, I purchased it.
     For me, as well, the more I watch the movie, the more I like it. I tend, now, to ignore the discontinuities, like yet another Nordic Jesus, Harvey Keitel as a red-headed Judas and Barbara Hershey's bee-stung lips. Especially since I've read the book, I tend to appreciate the story more for what it symbolizes rather than what it portrays.
     I think what Mom likes about it is the gritty realism and the startling detail, like how the crosses are made. We watched this movie again, recently, right after I ordered it and just after a couple of other Jesus movies. It seems that each movie has its own version of how crucifixion crosses are constructed, which mom noticed this time around, which led to yet another Jesus movie festival.
     The only disappointing aspect of this movie was that it promised subtitles and they may exist but they aren't listed in any of the menus so I'm not sure if listing this as a feature was an error or if there is an Easter Egg technique to cuing them. I need to check this out. It does not feature Closed Captioning. I was afraid this would be a problem for Mom but the first time we watched it after receiving it, Mom had no problem with it. This is, at any rate, primarily a visual feast for her, so I guess that's why it doesn't matter. As well, the dialogue is not mumbled or distorted by other sound tracks.

Labels: bible movies, drama, fantasy, haunting, jesus-dvds, period, shared-favorite, spiritual

# posted by gail @ 12:24    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1*
3. Commentary:  Yet another one of Mom's "jesus-dvds" (I use this term tongue-in-cheek, as I also consider The Ten Commandments a "jesus-dvd"). I didn't think we'd ever own it because, the last time we watched it on TV I noticed there was no closed captioning. I found a cheap copy of it at the grocery store today, though, with closed captioning (although no English subtitles, which is unfortunate since closed captioning is sometimes kind of iffy on our set) so decided I'd get it for Mom. I think this is one of her favorites of this genre; not because it features yet another Nordic Jesus, but because of the scope and grand presentation. And, it's length. Weighty movies work better for her when they go to extreme lengths. This is not my favorite, but I am attracted to it's spectacle.
     Now all we need to do is procure a copy of The Last Temptation of Christ [we finally did procure a copy of this movie] and Mom will figure we're set.

Labels: bible movies, drama, jesus-dvds, mom-favorite, period, spectacle

# posted by gail @ 13:47    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1* *2* *3* *4* *5*
3. Commentary:  Although I can't remember my journal comments, I'm sure, if you're even a semi-regular reader of my journal(s) about my mother, you know that this is one of my mother's all time favorites, and I've come to enjoy it, as well. I love the opulence the story, the acting and the sets. I am proud to say that I can quote dialog from this movie. I never get tired of my mother wanting to see this movie. Each time she decides to watch this movie, the chances always become excellent that I will drop what I'm doing and join her.

Labels: bible movies, drama, period, shared-favorite, spectacle

# posted by gail @ 12:58    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1* *2* *3*
3. Commentary:  For both my mother and me, the controversy over this movie was beside the point. My mother is an aficionado of both Jesus and religious movies, so, of course, she had to see this one. If I hadn't been living with my mother when it came out, I probably would not have seen it, but not in some sort of intellectual or spiritual protest. I wouldn't have bothered because I know the story so well and know what I believe about the issues it raises.
       The rough and violent nature of the movie bothered neither of us. We discussed, briefly, whether Jesus was singled out for unusual torture, as, basically, his crucifixion was all in a day's work, and he wasn't the only person crucified on the day he died, nor was he the only person ever convicted of exactly the type of political treason that sent him to Golgotha.
       Other than that, my mother's favorite "character" in the movie is the oblique, white head of who she assumes to be "satan", or, more appropriately, as she expressed it, the spirit of evil and selfishness luring Jesus to turn his back on his mission. The head reminds me a bit of the spirit masks floating about in Spirited Away.
       The movie is definitely a winner from the "Bible Movie" perspective, for my mother.

Labels: bible movies, drama, jesus-dvds, mom-favorite, period, spectacle, violence

# posted by gail @ 12:53    0 comments    email......this post