Downton Abbey - Part 2

A year later, we are finally able to watch Part 2 of the "Downton Abbey" series on PBS. My family thought the first episode last night was better than last year's conclusion! Lots of World War I action and reaction. It's free online to watch (for a limited time).

Another Masterpiece

My husband and I have become hooked on Masterpiece Theater.  Would you believe that I saw “Captain Wentworth” last week?  Jane Austen fans will be drooling as he plays Hannay in “The 39 Steps.”  This spy-themed movie-ette is currently showing free for a limited time online, and you can watch instantly here.  Because it is only 1 hour and 23 minutes long, it’s a perfect evening break from your routine.  Some educational value concerning WWI, but much better than “Any Human Heart,” which was last month’s free installment.  This would be fine for all ages.  Of course, we also are eager to watch “Upstairs Downstairs,” which starts today.  I didn’t realize the Masterpiece schedule was changing so regularly, and I wanted to make sure my blog friends were also having the benefit of watching these free classics!  Plus there's a sweepstakes at PBS to win a trip to the UK, which I have entered again and again...

Studying WWII with movies

From our study of World War II, we have three movies to recommend:

"Saints and Soldiers" is PG-13 because it contains a fair amount of violence. Based upon the actual events of the Malmedy Massacre, five Allied soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines and are desperately trying to get intelligence information delivered. Beautiful cinematography--especially when you learn that this was an independent film (made with 1/140th of the budget of "Saving Private Ryan" by using World War II re-enactors who volunteered to be extras and equipment/props from private military collections). It's not always easy to tell who are the "saints" and who are the "soldiers." War is ugly in its realities, and there are "good guys" on both sides. Especially compelling is the character nicknamed "Deacon" for his Bible reading and hope of heaven. If the true measure of love is "to lay down one's life for one's friends," than this movie is very Christian in content and authentically catholic (with a little c). Filmed in 2004 and only 90 min. in length.

"In Love and War" (Hallmark version) is more of a love story with the War as a backdrop. My daughter loved it, while my son didn't even want to watch it to the end. Some romance, some comedy as an injured British soldier has trouble after his escape from a POW camp because of a foot injury. With the help of the local villagers, he hides from the Nazis, learns some Italian, and falls in love.

"The Miracle at Moreaux" The nuns running a French boarding school try to protect the children from the politics and racism of the War. Superb story line as the children must come to grips with their own stereotypes and bigotry when confronted with Jewish children under the threat of Nazi genocide. Additional benefit is the Christmas scene at the end. A nice story for families who want to get a glimpse of soldiers and Holocaust sufferers without PG-13 violence.

Truman is well done and well said

We watched this movie during election week--Powerful! I was surprised how many things haven't changed: like media bias, unrest in the Middle East, fragile European alliances, and making tough military decisions based on the best-guess of the facts at the moment.

Gary Sinise does a Harry Truman that's so believable you would think you were in Independence, Mo! This biographical movie of Harry Truman is true to history and based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning biography by David McCullough. My kids had read about his childhood beforehand. We also visited the Truman Library and saw his grand piano, his two "Truman Chryslers," and his love letters to Beth.

Truman was a WWI soldier, a failed business man, a latecomer to the Senate, and a compromise candidate for vice-president. Then he unexpectedly became president when Roosevelt died only 3 months into his fourth term. Three years later, Truman boasts a come-from-behind victory (see "Dewey Defeats Truman" newspaper headline) in the 1948 election which showed that his integrity and All-American values resonated with the average American voter. His presidency was actually full of historical significance: the Marshall Plan, the atomic bomb, beginning of the Cold War, NATO, Israel becoming a state, anti-Communism in our foreign policy, the United Nations charter, Civil Rights, and the Korean War. Great movie for a unit study within many subject areas!

Warmly,

Candise & Crew

The Young Riders

Another NetFlix recommendation...
My family cannot get enough of "The Young Riders" whose 67 episodes ran on TV during 1989-1992. The movie is an exciting series of western adventures based on the boys who actually worked for the Pony Express. Our family LOVES this historical connection because we live in St. Joseph, MO -- the location of the Pony Express National Museum http://www.ponyexpress.org/ and original Stables. My daughter even works there giving tours to school children.

The riders include the future "Buffalo Bill" Cody; James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok; Ike, an orphan who is a mute; Buck, a half-White/half-Kiowa scout; and the Kid, a quiet Southerner similar to "Billy the Kid." They also ride with Lou, a young woman who keeps secretly disguised as a boy.

Although highly fictionalized, there are many facts woven into the tales of this group of Express riders based at a waystation in Sweetwater, Kansas. The station is run by an ex-Texas Ranger and all-around eccentric named "Teaspoon" Hunter, and Emma, who is their cook, housekeeper, and mother hen and tries to keep them out of trouble.

Chariots of Fire

I finally saw Chariots of Fire for the first time since I was a kid (sometime around when it first came out in 1981 - I was 11 then!).

This highly-acclaimed and Academy Award winning film tells the story of athletes from Great Britain who ran in the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

Eric Liddell is a Scottish missionary who has a great talent for running and wants to give God glory in his competitions.

Harold Abrahams is a sophisticated and sometimes tempermental student at Cambridge with a drive to win.

The story is a great historical slice of life as well as a triumph of faith as Liddell refuses to go against his conscience by running an Olympic preliminary race on a Sunday - despite huge pressure from the Prince of Wales.

The musical undertones make the story particularly memorable.

The story is generally appropriate for all ages, but will probably be more appreciated by the 10 or 12 and up crowd.

Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)

Joyeux Noel is a foreign film (filmed in at least three languages - English, French and German) based on the true story of the Christmas Eve Truce of 1914. This is not a children's movie at all, but I thought I'd share it here as it has some incredibly beautiful scenes which could be shared with your family at Christmas.

World War I was a brutal war and the movie rightly gives some of this context which gives more meaning to the truce. We are introduced to a Scottish priest and two brothers who all serve on the front lines, to a French lieutenant who hasn't heard from his pregnant wife - behind enemy lines - for months, to a German officer and to a German soldier and his Danish wife (who are both opera singers) and other interesting, minor characters on each side who come together, partly through the gifts of song and of faith, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and celebrate and bury their dead together.

The film is beautifully made and very moving, but there are many elements that are inappropriate for children - particularly the violence of battle scenes, a brief bedroom scene and a rather disturbing interaction between an emotionally broken young man and his dead brother.


One of the most beautiful and understated scenes I've ever seen in a movie is contained in the opening scene. After a brief introduction giving a sense of the indoctrination of hatred stirred up in the days leading up to the war (particularly in the schools), we find the news of war traveling all the way to rural areas of Scotland. The scene moves to a Church where a priest is lighting candles and and a young man is working on painting a statue. His older brother storms in to ring the Church bells, ecstatic that "something's finally going to happen around here" because they're going to leave for war. The brothers leave and the wind from the door snuffs out the candles. We're left with only an expression on the priest's face that says everything. (To me, he seems to say: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.")


Lots of great material for discussion here (particularly for teens) including the political reality of the priest's military superior (presumably an Anglican bishop) who, quite naturally, tows the line of his superiors.


From what I've read about the real-life Christmas truce, the filmmakers went to great lengths to portray it accurately (if at times representatively) and I was impressed with how much acknowledgement this non-believing director (from what I've listened to of the commentary so far) is willing to give to the Faith in general and to the priest in particular, who clearly sees all of the men from both sides of the trenches as belonging to his flock.


Although this is a war movie with a great Christmas theme and certainly one with political elements, it points higher to practical and spiritual realities of hope, love, forgiveness and brotherhood.


So, I suggest that you watch this first and then decide what portions of it you might like to share with your children. By the way, when this movie first came out, it was given an "R" rating, but, after huge objections from major critics, was updated to a "PG-13" rating. I can see where it sort of straddles that line.

UPDATE: Silly me. I forgot that it also includes the Latin language (but I don't want to say more as I don't want to spoil some of the very beautiful parts before you see it).

You can view some music and clips online here.