Barsotti, Catherine M. and Robert K. Johnston. Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 2004. 320 p., $ 14.99 (USD). ISBN 0-8010-6481-3.
[1] This is a handbook for anyone interested in starting a
reflection group on film and faith, and can be used to prepare church
activities and private meetings. The introduction explains the relationship
between film and faith, using some of the insights of co-author
Johnston’s Reel Spirituality (Baker, 2000), and attempts
to convince even the most skeptical Christian about the use of movies
as a means for debating faith-related issues today. After the introduction,
ten pages propose some criteria to better read and use the book.
Even if this work seems mainly (and successfully) addressed to American
Protestants and Evangelicals, its particular perspective and practicality
make it useful for other English-speaking faith communities.
[2] The thirty-three movies examined are grouped in thirteen
chapters, each focusing on issues such as “affirming our humanity,” “embracing
our vocation,” “forgiveness,” and “renewing
the church.” Each film is presented in five steps: “Synopsis
and Theological Reflection” (usually also providing the context
in which the authors experienced the movie); “Dialogue Texts” (four
or five scriptural quotations that may highlight a debate between
the movie and the bible); “Discussion Questions” (helping
to start the discussion among the viewers); “Clip Conversation” (suggested
film clips); and “Bonus Material” (extra information
about the movie). Each film comment also suggests faith-related
issues in the film other than the chapter’s theme. In “Bonus
Material,” there is also a report on how the movie has been
received by both film festivals and at the box office, thus reminding
us that other people watched it before and that cinema is a productive
industry as well as an art.
[3] The diversity of the thirty-three films is particularly
noticeable: they vary not only in genre—there are even two
animated features, Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001) and The
Iron Giant (Bird, 1999)—but also in context, since a good
number of them cannot be considered typical “Hollywood” movies.
The suggestion of watching films such as Life Is Beautiful(Benigni,
1997), No Man’s Land (Tanovic, 2001), Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Lee, 2000) and Italian for Beginners (Scherfig,
2001) is an appropriate way to show one of the traits that cinema
shares with the church: its universality (catholicity). Another
reason to praise this choice is that the American reader (to whom
the book is mainly addressed) is not usually accustomed with non-English
speaking movies (in this respect, it is interesting that the publisher’s
handout accompanying the review edition erroneously states that
among the movies examined in this volume are Planet of the Apes and The
Truman Show). Nevertheless, there is some imprecision regarding
non-English words, e.g., in the discussion of Italian for Beginners,
the name of the character Mortensen and of the Swedish actress Lena
Olin are respectively anglicised as Mortenson (214) and Lina (298); “foreign” letters
receive the same treatment (Hallström becomes Hallstrom, 298-306).
[4] Among the movies covered two were directed by Peter Weir—The
Year of Living Dangerously (1982) and Fearless (1993)—the
main director presented in Johnston’s Reel Spirituality. Thus
it is most appropriate that, in the present book, co-author Barsotti
comments on Weir’s films.
[5] Even if the authors state that watching a movie is a viewer-oriented
experience, they stress the fact that “we must have eyes to
see,” thus linking the narrative of a movie to the narrative
of Jesus. The “Faith and Doubt” chapter, by commenting
on Signs (Shyamalan, 2002) and K-Pax (Softley, 2001),
addresses with great delicacy the subject of fear and faith, especially
linked to 9/11, introducing thus the great potential of redemption
and healing to be found in cinema and the arts in general.
[6] Another notable chapter is “Embracing Our Vocation,” which
analyzes The Rookie (Hancock, 2002), about a man who strives
to fulfill his childhood dream, Billy Elliott (Daldry, 2002),
about a young boy who wishes to become a ballet dancer, and The
Apostle (Duvall, 1997), where a Pentecostal minister works hard
for the glory of God before the police arrest him for a crime he
had previously committed. The combination of these three films on
the theme of vocation is appropriate, since all of these characters
struggle both with their communities and their inner doubts and
weaknesses. Moreover, by encountering a concept of vocation that
is not strictly religious, “lay” readers will feel more
involved in the discussion of the theme.
[7] On four occasions, the authors suggest how to juxtapose
two specific movies, but readers may go further and do the same
with other films, considering them together according to the suggested
faith related issues. Moreover, in most comments the book suggests
other movies to watch, thus guiding the reader or the film-and-faith-group
in a journey through recent cinema.
Peter Ciaccio
Sarum College
Salisbury, UK
pciaccio@sarum.ac.uk
