God's Not Dead

“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."

Chesterton is quite famous for having said that. Some may misinterpret this phrase as an excuse for lack of effort, but it is not what it says. I too took a while to understand it as well. And yet ever since I did, I have admired the wisdom of these words over and over.

Take the film I took my three teens to last night. A no-Oscar-pretentious Hollywood production, not by a stretch. Some of the acting wasn't even very good. Low budget. 

Wait! I never go to the movies! And, there was a blizzard last night! 

Well, yes, a blizzard. 

This was taken whilewe drove home at 20 MPH.

And no, I haven't seen a single Oscar-nominated film. No, wait, we did go see the Hobbit as a family. But I'm not sure it was nominated for an Oscar. 

Why? Because my idea of entertainment is not action films, and the rest of the films are either disgusting to see or trying to forcefully shove some weak ideal of save-the-earth or wrong-is-actually-right down my throat, both of which I don't welcome. Nothing wrong with great environmental projects--I am married to an ecologist, keep in mind--but from Hollywood what we get is "protecting the environment is the only moral absolute" and well, we know it isn't. Ultimately I don't trust the spiritual, interior life of Hollywood's producers or directors. 

There is an occasional great film--but I think the moral greatness of a film is almost always accidental, or even done despite of its producers like in the case of LesMis--they couldn't quite take away all of the great elements of the superb, very spiritual story of Victor Hugo's away from the production.

Back to last night's film. I heard about it and watched the trailer earlier in the day:


And I decided to go with the kids before it stopped showing in town. A film like that doesn't last, although it has had a surprisingly large viewership from what I read. I didn't expect a flawless production, but I expected, and enjoyed, a film that talks about what is real in life. Love. Faith. People's hearts seeing what they were blind to beforehand. Courage. 

I did get all that, and more. It wasn't sound Catholic theology but the theology wasn't off the charts either, nothing anti-Catholic. The protagonist, a college student who is singled out by an atheistic professor to prove the existence of God to the class, does a great job studying and preparing his three lectures about it he is allowed to give. Actually this young man is a Disney Channel actor and does a very good job in the film. 

Well, the trailer almost tells it all. There is appearance of a Duck Dynasty couple. I don't watch the TV show and I found them sincere and likable. There are issues of sin and love and loyalty or lack thereof, arrogance, greed, selfishness. There aren't any gratuitous graphic scenes of sex or violence. The photography and production levels are not amazing or breathtaking, but were fine, and told the story well. 

What I would have changed? Well when Lemaitre was referred to, I would have mentioned he wasn't simply a "theist" but a Catholic priest. I would have brought the sacraments into the story-line--especially Confession, and personally I would have preferred to skip the Christian rock concert in the finale. Adoration and Gregorian Chant would have been much better--but I had to love the members of that music group, which turns out to be a real Christian music group. They were all funny and sincere. And other minor things.

So back to Chesterton: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly." This story was worth doing, and they did a good thing with it. Not excellent or breathtaking, but they did it, and it was worth doing it. Go see it!

Fireproofing Your Marriage

The movie Fireproof is about saving a marriage which is at risk of burning to the ground. It's a modern tale with a Christian foundation, and we hosted a couple's night at our parish for its viewing. I liked the movie a lot -- especially its premise that no marriage is "fireproof." But that prayer, communication, and forgiveness go a long way toward protecting it. See a sample section of the Love Dare challenge, which is available in a book version and requires 40 days of commitment based upon the verses found in 1 Cor. 13. So Day 1 challenges you to relearn "Love is Patient," and Day 2 "Love is Kind," then "Love is Not Selfish," "Love is Not Easily Irritable," etc.  Further discussion topics for couples are found on study guides at the "Fireproof" website. I think this movie would be also be a good tool for teens to learn about the sacrament and success of marriage vows.  Made by the creators of "Facing the Giants" and rated PG.

The Star of Bethlehem -- Christmas movie

We watched "The Star of Bethlehem" documentary DVD, which we borrowed from our parish priest. It was produced by the same man who did "Passion of the Christ" and it was a very educational 65 minutes. My 11 yo said, "It was remarkable how he figured out all those things!" A non-astronomer lawyer proposes the events in the night sky over Bethlehem from 1-3 B.C. using Hubble telescope images and computer calculations to go back in time. It went extremely well with our Astronomy unit study in homeschool studies. My teens want it to show it at their youth group as an apologetics theme, too. I am not a scientist, but I was impressed by the logic of his presentation and his Biblical scholarship. More about it at http://www.bethlehemstar.net/. Mark your calendars to watch this during Advent!!

"In this House of Brede"

Here's a convent movie with a happy ending! "In this House of Brede" by Rumer Godden is a fictional tale of a late-in-life vocation that was shown on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. I thought it was sensitive in every way and compelling in its realistic portrayal of convent life. A worldly London business-woman hopes to "escape" by becoming a Benedictine nun. But she finds jealousy, past hurts, affection, and pride are part of everyone's life. She gently conforms to the rule first out of obedience, then out of genuine love. There are important lessons about friendships, because community life challenges them to love all sisters equally.

The scenery is beautiful, and the movie was filmed on location at genuine convents in London and Ireland (with some limitations of television technology in 1975). Film is good for all ages. I recommend the book, of course, because the movie doesn't exactly follow the book nor have its depth (for older students).

Henry Poole is Here

Three parents and nine teens from our Catholic homeschool group went to see "Henry Poole is Here." All of us really, really liked this movie. It is definitely hard to write about it without giving away the whole plot. It's also hard to find the right adjectives to describe it. Henry Poole knows he is going to die soon, and takes a sad/angry/depressed approach to meeting his death. He uses the Lord's name in vain twice, but he says it in the context of moaning in exasperation (and for deliverance). It was very appropriate to the script, no matter how offensive to my 40-something ears.

Henry's conscience is being pricked by the "religious" neighbors. Esperanza is a beautiful Catholic woman, who cares for his feelings and his eternal soul. She brings her priest over (George Lopez?!) and he says all the right things about the apparition on Henry's house. It is not an anti-Catholic movie at all! That's all the spoilers I will give away.

Prepare yourself for a slow-moving plot. Stretches of silence give you the depths of Henry's despair and his solitude actually brings him to reflect on his childhood and make sense of his life. The background music is very "techno" (Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, U2) - I don't know how to describe it. The music and the main character are very odd! I probably would not take my 10-year-olds because they might think it moves too slow. However, there is nothing to prevent that age group from going! I can heartily endorse this movie for showing the honest struggle of man's deepest questions about life and death. It is both funny (we laughed out loud) and sorrowful (we passed out tissues). Enjoy!

Review of The Nun's Story

I'm glad that I previewed the Audrey Hepburn movie "The Nun's Story" from 1958. Although unrated, it was classified as "PG" by our library. I would probably let my high school aged children view this one -- because there is no bad language and only mild violence. In the end, however, **spoiler ** = she leaves the convent! I would want to know this beforehand, and so would other Catholic mothers.

The movie is based on Kathryn C. Hulme's book about the experiences of her friend, who was a nurse and an ex-nun in Belgium. "Sister Luke" is portrayed quite respectfully during her novitiate and up to making her final vows with the Carmelites. For its day, this was probably an intimate view of the clergy and convent that many had never seen before. Sister Luke finds her faith tested and struggles with obedience in quite normal ways. She is very smart and full of good intentions. The elder nuns are very supportive and gently loving towards her. But working in the Congo hospital with Dr. Fortunati, she wrestles with her growing esteem for the good doctor. Their interactions are portrayed more like a secular flirtation/attraction, although the author claims this was a fictatious addition by the Hollywood writers. There are also personal conflicts for Sister Luke because of World War II and her Belgian patriotism. In the end, she chooses to leave the convent. Unfortunately, the movie does not address her difficulties after she is free of the convent. The Catholic Bishops web site is kind to this movie, but I doubt it serves much usefulness amongst those discerning a vocation.

Note: Audrey Hepburn actually met Marie-Louise Habets (the former nun) while preparing for the role, and Habets later helped nurse Hepburn back to health following her near-fatal horse-riding accident on the set of the 1960 film "The Unforgiven." Hepburn earned her third Academy Award nomination for "The Nun's Story."

Amazing Grace - The Trailer

Although, I have not seen this movie yet, it is on my To Watch List.


Just a word of caution, be careful if you go directly to the YouTube site to watch the video as the comments are not family friendly.