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Gun and a Hotel Bible – The Word Speaks

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“Don’t most hotels have the courtesy to leave you in the drawer? Jesus Christ!”

Sometimes, I miss those all-night bull sessions I would have with roommates in college. We would delve into deep questions about God, morality, and the meaning of life. We would sometimes pick a perspective just for the sake of seeing where it would lead the discussion. Such is Gun and a Hotel Bible, directed by Alicia Joy Leblanc and Raja Gosnell. The film is based on a film festival play developed by the two actors in the film.

We first meet Pete (Bradley Gosnell) as he reflects on his relationship with his wife and the love they shared. But something has gone wrong. The rest of the play takes place in a seedy Chicago hotel room where he has gone to wait. He plans violence because of his wife’s affair. In the hotel room, he encounters Gid (Daniel Florin), the personification of the Gideon Bible. At first, their banter is banal. We discover that Gid loves baseball and is positively rapturous over learning that the Cubs won the World Series a few year ago. Gid is a bit behind on things because he’s been in this hotel room since 1953.

Pete is drawn to the Bible (and hence Gid), but doesn’t really want much to do with it. As Gid tries to interest him in diving in, we discover that Pete is pretty knowledgeable about the Bible, but he rejects its teaching. The ensuing conversation between Gid and Pete covers areas of the nature of scripture, its authority, interpretation, and the very existence of God.

I entered this experience with some trepidation. It would be very easy to see this as an opportunity for cheap grace in the form of a doubter giving in to the Word of God. I usually classify such views is Bibliolatry—making an idol out of the Bible. Making it seem that the Bible is the most important thing, not the messages within it. And to be sure, there were times in the film that I thought it might be going that way.

But in the end, what we have is two different perspectives on religion and faith that struggle to understand each other and to be understood by the other. While it often seems like the kind of theoretical discussions we would have late at night in college, in this setting it is of the utmost importance for Pete’s life. And in the end, there is no definitive answer to any of the questions.

I have to admit that Pete has by far the more interesting questions and opinions.  Gid struggles to hold his own. That may be because Gid (and thus scripture) seems to present answers that are a bit to osimple, or that can easily be set aside because of context or interpretation. If one fails to acknowledge the authority of scripture (and that term itself is open to a wide range of interpretations), why should one even listen to what Gid has to say? I would also say that Pete is far more interesting because he is the one who has to deal with his doubts—and maybe his faith. Gid is nothing but faith.

The discussion between Gid and Pete is not nearly involved as delving deep into the Bible or theology. But it does serve as a nice primer to give people a chance to think about some of these issues. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if the story serves as a Rorschach test that will affirm the importance of scripture for some, and the validity of skepticism and doubt for others.

Gun and a Hotel Bible is available digitally.

Photos courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media

Small Axe – West Indian Joys and Pain

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Some stories and the worlds they bring to us are too big for a single film. Sometimes that means trilogies or ongoing sequels without end (like Star Wars). But for Steve McQueen to bring us a vision of the world he grew up in, it required the Small Axe anthology. This is a series of five films, most of which are based in real stories, set in the West Indian community in London in the 60s through 80s. Each film is independent of the others. They each have their own tone. But they also have a common thread in that they reflect the life of strangers in a strange land trying to establish their lives and maintain their roots.

It’s a bit challenging to know how to treat such an anthology. Many of the individual films are being named by various critics in their yearend lists. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named the anthology as Best Picture. When you first see Small Axe on Prime video (where it is streaming), it looks like a series with one season of five episodes. In reality the anthology is individual films that all hold their own, but they manage through those stories to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Although the films don’t require watching in sequence, I’ll follow the order of the episodes as they are numbered on Prime.

Mangrove is the story of an important court case in England involving a group called the Mangrove Nine. Frank Crichlow and others were put on trial for riot and affray after a demonstration against police harassment of his restaurant, Mangrove. In their defense, they are able to show that there was racial bias in the police force and the entire legal system. It was the first time the courts took note of such bias. A key quote: “We must become the sheperds of our own destinies.”

Lovers Rock shows us a night at a music party. This is an evening filled with music, weed, hormones, and above all, vitality. This is not so much about plot as it is about being pulled in to the experience. There is a ten-minute (!) scene built around the song “Silly Games” that is astounding on many levels. It captures the love of life, the hopes and joys of that community.

A key quote: “You can’t wear church shoes to a blues dance.” (Well, it turns out you can.)

Red, White and Blue is the story of Leroy Logan who as a boy saw his father assaulted by police and as a young man joined the police force seeking to change it from within. It’s not really surprising that he not only runs into resistance to change, but is also the target of the systemic racism. A key quote: “You wanted us more British than the British.”

Alex Wheatle is based in the true story of the title character who becomes a very successful writer of YA books. He was abandoned by parents early on and grew up in children homes and the foster system. As a young man he begins to find his place in the world of music. But when he ends up in jail, his cell mate pushes him to find his roots and build his life from there. A key quote: “Boy, you have to find out who the f*** you is.” (That might well serve as the overall quote for the anthology.)

Education looks at the discrimination toward West Indian children in the school system. The schools very quickly moved children who had learning or behavioral problems to “special schools”. That doesn’t sound too bad, until we discover that the schools didn’t bother to help them learn or often even provide classroom supervision. A group begins to unite the parents to fight the system and save their children from a bleak future. McQueen himself was funneled off to a special school. A key quote: “There is nothing special about his school.”

The stories are filled with struggle and pain, but also with joy, community, family, and hope. There is a vibrancy to their celebrations, just as there is anguish in their struggles for justice and a chance to fulfill the dream that brought them to the UK. Throughout the series, there are various stories that come up from the West Indies or African culture that add even more texture to the stories that McQueen is setting before us.

The title for the anthology comes from a Wailers song. The chorus includes, “If you are the big tree/ we are the small axe/ sharpened to chop you down.” In every culture, be it the UK or the US or elsewhere, when the oppressed unite, they have the power to shape the future.

Photos courtesy of Amazon Prime Video

Everything is Spiritual: 1on1 with Pete Docter and Dana Murray (SOUL)

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When you write about the afterlife, you’re definitely wading into dangerous waters.

Produced by Dana Murray and directed by Pete Docter, Soul tells the story of Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle-school band teacher who yearns for something more. Passionate about jazz music, Gardner wants to be on stage yet he feels stuck. After his sudden death, Joe meets 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who has yet to begin her life on Earth and seems unable to find her ‘spark’. Together, the two fight to help Joe reclaim his live while also helping 22 to discover why life is worth living in the first place. 

Known for writing some of Pixar’s ‘headiest’ work (pun intended) such as Inside Out, Up and Monsters Inc., Pete Docter is certainly no stranger to the obscure. However, even for Docter, Soul’s interest in the afterlife provides one of the more complex conceptions ever dealt with by the company.

As they began to develop their visual representation of the Great Beyond, Docter understandably found the task to be an incredible challenge for himself and his team.

 “The afterlife was especially like danger, danger, danger,” he remembers. “There’s a lot of pitfalls and things that we could have stuck our foot in by accident… I think one of the first things we did was talk to a lot of different religious consultants like pastors, theologians, rabbis [and] shaman. We tried to understand from every angle how people across time have understood the soul. What does it look like? Are there any clues to us in terms of the design that we can use? We actually ended up staying away from the afterlife. There’s of course, the sort of cliché of going towards the bright light that we did.” 

“There was an early script where I actually wrote in the voice of God. I was thinking [that] if we’re talking about ‘Why am I here? Why am I not getting what I want?’, then it’s sort of a Job-like story. And I thought it’d be fun to have never referred to him or her. In fact, I thought it was horribly clever that every line would be spoken by someone else. So, it would be a woman, a kid, all ethnicities and races. But that was one of the first things to cut and probably good because the characters—like us—have to figure things out themselves, as opposed to be told.”

Of course, any conversation surrounding the afterlife leads to discussions about the nature of faith. Despite its exploration of the hereafter, Docter feels that Soul’s system of belief echoes more of the classic philosophers than it does theologians.

“I feel like obviously, beyond Christianity, I think a major goal of any faith is to try to bring sense for people in their lives,” contends Docter. “The idea of how do I know what I’m supposed to do. Am I making the right decisions? All those things are complicated and it’s super helpful to have help along the way. I actually feel like it’s maybe more of a philosophical film than a theological one. Essentialism, the idea that I was born to do this, [is] straight out of Aristotle or Plato. Then, we get to counter with the humor of 22 is for nihilism, the sort of ultimate meaninglessness of it all.

“I think where we come to in the end is existentialism, like a Soren Kierkegaard kind of thing of, ‘Hey, it’s not just meant to be localized over here and then the rest of my life happens.’ All of life is spiritual. Everything you do contributes to who you are as a person and so, the overall meaning of your life. I still struggle with that daily but I feel like having the chance to work on this film was a great reminder daily of how I can be bringing my full self into everything, being more present and… really trying to be. It’s tough because you have to balance that with [the fact that] the movie has to get done. I can’t stand here and talk about philosophy all day but it has made me more grateful and appreciative and desiring [to] practice that. Because… it’s not a personality attribute. It’s not something you’re given. You have to exercise every day, at least in my case.”

“I think, to me, faith and fate are really interconnected,” adds producer Dana Murray. “This year, especially, you just have to [realize that] I’m not in charge. I have to go and trust that my faith and fate that it’ll all work out. That’s threaded into the film, but also just timely of when it’s coming out, trusting in that.” 

One of the most unique aspects of the film is its presentment of Black culture. As the first depiction of an African-American lead character within Pixar’s canon, Joe Gardner was an exciting prospect for the company. Understanding that any portrayal of race deserved to be handled with the utmost care and sensitivity, Murray ensured that as many voices as possible were consulted so that Soul could visually provide the most authentic representation possible.

“We took it on as a huge responsibility to portray Joe and the rest of the cast [as] truthful and authentic,” she explains. “I think that 22 walking in Joe’s shoes is really special because we got to go into these Black spaces, like the barbershop and the tailor shop with Joe’s mom. I think that Joe is going through something that’s very universal and something that I think all of us, if we haven’t felt in our life, probably will at some point. I think he’s a character that so many people can connect to. Culturally, we wanted to make the black community proud. So, we brought on a lot of help. We had a ton of consultants and a culture trust and [then, there’s] our co-director and writer Kemp Power. All these voices were such a huge part in making these characters who they were. It was very important to us to portray them in a truthful way.”

“In fact, we, I think our initial concern was about religion,” Docter responds. “The longer term and the bigger concern became more about race and representing culture because there are a lot of pitfalls and things that we didn’t even know [that] we didn’t know. So, [there was] long learning there [for us[.”

Having said this, Docter recognizes that it was never the original intent for Soul to specifically depict Black culture in its story-telling. Even so, once that came into view, he also believes that it created incredible opportunities for learning that made the film’s development a richer experience for everyone involved.

“We didn’t set out to make the first African-American character,” Docter recalls. “It was really out of the decision that this guy who kind of reflects the artist’s journey should be a jazz musician and one of our consultants said, ‘Oh, jazz, you could more accurately call black improvisational music. It grew out of the African-American culture.‘ And we thought, it’s only right then to have our main character reflect that. As soon as we made that decision, I don’t think I knew how little I didn’t know. There was a lot that we needed help with. And [co-director] Kemp Powers, as Dana mentioned, was formative in bringing a lot of those details. But we also had extensive cultural consultants as well. People talking just about the black experience. People talking about music. We got to meet and work with Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, [who are] these living legends, which was just fascinating and mind blowing. It was a huge responsibility that we knew that we wanted to portray this life of this man as accurately as we could, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because the movie gets better when you talk about those things in an accurate, specific way. Strangely, I think it becomes more universal the more specific it is. So, we had a lot of the benefit of a lot of really great people that helped us. It was a great learning experience.” 

Speaking of 2020, because the film features characters in ‘holding patterns’ with their lives, there’s also an aspect of Soul that connects with the current pandemic. Although the film went into production years ago, Docter also feels like the story resonates in new ways in light of today’s circumstances.

“I think it sort of turned out that way,” reflects Docter. “We started at five years ago and the world was a different place, but a lot of the things that we were investigating, like basically why are we waking up in the morning? What are we doing with our time? Those, I think, are things that we’re maybe asking ourselves more now than we do in normal times. Maybe that’s not always good. I think there’s some value to asking those questions. That was our hope really from the get-go… It’s not like we ever hoped to answer the question of what is life all about. That’s ridiculous to think that you could but, at the very least, we hoped that we would incite some good conversations and make people say, ‘Okay, we got to go get some coffee and talk about this’. (Or, now sit on zoom, I guess, and talk about it.)”

In addition, another fascinating theme embedded within the film is it’s conversation surrounding what it means to know one’s calling. Unlike other Disney projects that encourage you to ‘follow your dreams’, Soul takes a more grounded approach to the idea. In fact, Docter’s script even suggests that over-emphasizing the importance of our ‘dreams’ may be limiting to our ‘spark’.

“That was one of the great joys that came with [it],” he beams. “I think there is, oftentimes, a narrative [of] ‘find what you love, do it, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ That’ll lead to happiness and fulfillment. Well, no, it doesn’t work like that. There are times of intense joy and fulfillment, but it’s not the answer to everything. So, it was really exciting as a storyteller because I think everybody believes so strongly in that narrative that, when we don’t give Joe the happiness and fulfillment that he was expecting, it’s kind of shocking to people. I don’t know that we really ever pulled this off but the hope was that the word ‘spark’ would be reversed in a way. At the beginning, Joe assumes, like hopefully the audience, that [his] spark is the thing you love and your passion, like music or a science, or whatever those specific things [are]. But, in the end, spark really means life. You know that your job is not to just do this one thing, but your job is to live in all the complexity and nuance that that entails. So, I hope that came across, but that was the intention.”

Since 1995’s release of Toy Story, Pixar has continuously offered though-provoking projects that excite the minds of people the world over. Asked what it is that he finds so stirring about these films, Docter highlights the unexpected impact that these stories have on the audience.

“I guess it’s just wanting to reflect reality or my experience of it,” Docter explains. “When I started in animation, it was all about the joy that I got out of it. Now, I realize that one of the great joys of it is the ability for Dana and I and the rest of our crew to connect with people we will never meet in parts of the world that we will never go. Through the work that we do, we have this amazing ability to connect people. I think animation has a wonderful ability (and I guess, filmmaking and storytelling in general) to allow the viewers to step into somebody else’s shoes and experience life from a perspective that they have not been in themselves. So, those are the most important things for me is just representing the world as it sort of seems to me and that I’m struggling with in hopes that you will see yourself in there as well.”

“Sometimes we don’t even know [the impact it will have],” echoes Murray. “I remember, after Inside Out, getting letters and stories from people like psychologists who are working with traumatized children. The only way these children could express themselves is by using the dolls or stuffies, like the characters of all the emotions. That was kind of like crazy to hear because you just you don’t know how these are going to impact people until afterwards. While you’re making them, you’re so focused and busy doing it that it’s not until later sometimes that you can take it in.” 

Despite the film’s difficult topics such as the afterlife, Murray explains that she has been thrilled with the types of questions that Soul inspires within her own young children.

“We both have kids. Mine are younger, Pete’s are kind of young adults now,” Murray points out. “So, my kids just saw the film and I think the conversations that I hope are happening are happening. I think the things that they really connect [with] are discovering this great before, because it’s really interesting. We all like to kind of think about where we came from and where we got our personalities. So, that’s been a huge topic. Then, also the things like their spark. They’re trying to figure out what are the things that I really love doing? What am I interested in? They’ve [also] really leaned into the music, which is really cool, [especially] the jazz music and the Trent and Atticus score. But they’re not asking about the midlife crisis. So, we’re definitely having the conversations that I hoped we would be having. I think kids are really smart and they ask big questions so there’s a lot in there for them.” 

“It’s something that we talked about. Dana and I worried about it but I think that, in a way, doing Inside Out was a kind of boot camp for this movie,” Docter continues. “That was pretty abstract. What we found was, if you make it visual, then everybody gets it. If it’s about words, you’re going to miss some people. But visually and through action, ‘this character wants this but this is in the way’. Now, I can understand everything. That’s takes a long time to do but we have an amazing group of very talented people who assisted us and actually just did all the work. They didn’t assist us or anything. They did the work.” 

With his ability to make even the murkiest of concepts accessible to children and adults, Docter argues that he never begins with any particular audience in mind when he starts to write.

“Kurt Vonnegut said, ‘Pick somebody and write for them.’ That’s not been my experience,” he states. “I guess, at the beginning, I was writing more just for myself. ‘Ooh, what’s fun? What do I want to play with?’ Then, along the way, Dana will say something about her kids [and I decide that] we need to write for her kids. So, it’s almost like building up layers as we go. I want something just selfishly that is going to excite me and connect with other folks that I talk with. But then I’m also knowledgeable that my kids and Dana’s kids and all these different people are going to see it. So, it’s not really a simple answer I guess, but it is almost like switching the channel a couple of times as we go, sometimes even daily, to make sure we’ve got something there for everybody.”

Soul is currently streaming on Disney+.

To hear our conversation with writer/director Pete Docter and producer Dana Murray, click here.

Shadow in the Cloud: In-Flight Entertainment

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It fairly safe to say that 2020 has been… memorable.

From the pandemic to marches for social justice, the year that was has provided enough drama to last a lifetime. As such, there’s no question that it deserved an appropriate cinematic send-off.  As the 1st film of 2021, it’s possible that Shadow in the Cloud may have managed to be that film.

But in this case, that’s not a bad thing.

Directed and co-written by Roseanne Liang, Shadow in the Cloud tells the story of Flight Officer Maude Garrett (Chloe Grace Moretz), a female pilot in WWII tasked with travelling with top-secret documents on a B-17 Flying Fortress. Though ordered to make the trip by a superior officer, Garrett’s presence is seen as unwelcome by the male crew and she is left to endure the flight in the lower bowels of the plane. Angered by their sexist behaviour but committed to her mission, Garrett accepts her position and takes her seat. However, when she notices a mythological evil on the outside of the plane, Garrett must attempt to convince her male counterparts of the ensuing danger before it’s too late.

A feminist echo of the classic Twilight Zone episode, ‘Nightmare at 20,000 ft’, Shadow in the Cloud is a wild mish-mash of styles that may be disjointed and over-the-top but still manages to entertain. Though the film starts out slowly, Liang’s story of a young military woman trying to protect her top-secret package is an absolute blast by the end, celebrating womanhood and feminine strength with enthusiasm. As Garrett, star Moretz has much of the film placed upon her shoulders yet offers the right amount of courage and power to bring the character to life.

So, why the comparison to 2020? There are actually a couple of reasons. 

To start, Shadow takes its conversations surrounding social justice seriously. While the film is far from subtle, the message of female empowerment and equality lands effectively as Garrett steps up against the men who seek to hold her down. Left in the bottom turret of the gunship, Garrett is positioned below the male officers both literally and figuratively. Struggling to survive in a world of (extremely) toxic masculinity, Garrett sits patiently the belly of the plane and waits for her agonizing experience to be over. However, as things begin to spin out of control, there’s a feminine fire in her eyes that’s unleashed as she fights her way through the aircraft’s quickly disappearing fuselage in order to keep her mysterious package safe. In this way, like 2020 itself, Shadow wears its heart for justice on its sleeve by highlighting the lack of respect that women experience in the midst of a male-dominated society. 

Further, just like the year that was, what starts out as relatively non-descript, quickly devolves into utter mayhem. Half monster madness, half 40s fighter film, Shadow is a wild ride that embraces its crazy circumstances with absolute glee. In the midst of its serious social commentary, this is a film that leans into the pulp and bizarre so much that you can’t help but enjoy yourself along the way. Echoing films like Tremors or Snakes on a Plane, Shadow often relishes its absurdity as much as it invites you to join them for the ride. In fact, the more the film leans into the insanity, the more entertaining it becomes. (For example, without giving away any spoilers, it could possibly be the first film that you’ll witness a person explodes into a plane…) After a year that featured alien videos, murder hornets (remember those?) and more, Shadow’s joyful penchant for creature carnage fits very nicely into 2020’s own utter lunacy.

Admittedly, if taken too seriously, Shadow in the Cloud has glaring flaws that could kill the viewer’s satisfaction of its exploits. However, the film embraces its reckless abandon with such enthusiasm that it’s hard not to strap in yourself and enjoy the flight. Fun and fervent, there’s little question that Shadow in the Cloud is far from a perfect film.

But it may just be the perfect film to close out 2020.

Shadow in the Cloud is available on VOD on January 1st, 2021.

Two Ways Home – Mending the Past

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“No matter how rocky and dry the soil, there’s a chance for life.”

Ron Vignone’s Two Ways Home has won a slew of awards at various festivals around the country. It is a story of broken people and broken relationships. It is also a story of healing and new life.

Kathy (Tanna Frederick, who also produced) has just been released from prison and treatment for a recently diagnosed bi-polar disorder. She returns to her home in rural Iowa, hoping to live with her grandfather Walter (Tom Bower) on his small pig farm. But Walter is in a convalescent home following a heart attack. After some time with her parents (who would like to have Walter declared incompetent to get power of attorney), Kathy begins to clean up Walter’s house so he can come home where she will take care of him.

Kathy’s tweener daughter Cori (Rylie Behr) is resentful of Kathy’s absence the last several years. As Kathy tries to mend that relationship she is encouraged by her ex, Junior (Joel West). Step by step Kathy begins to make progress.

But it turns out that Walter isn’t as whole as he seems. He can be a bit mercurial, blowing up at Kathy when he returns home for redoing his house and throwing out his flea-ridden favorite chair. We also learn that he suffers from untreated PTSD from when he was in the Army. He needs to heal both physically and emotionally.

The characters are treated with compassion and acceptance. We understand why those who know her want to keep her at arm’s length. She understands it too, but is out to prove herself trustworthy.

The film touches briefly on various issues, but then fails to really explore them, such as the difference between corporate farming (Kathy’s father) and the small farm represented by Walter, andthe desire to take control of an elderly parent’s life when they need help, but don’t want it. Even Walter’s PTSD is only an obstacle that comes up late in the film and is quickly set aside. There is even a brief touch of religion and prayer, but that, too, is quickly passed over.

The real focus of the film is restoration of relationships. We don’t see all healing in the broken relationships, but we do see it in some of them. (That allows us to extrapolate that others will heal as well.) The film also serves to make us aware of the ways mental issues like bi-polar disorder may be the cause of some of the rifts in people’s lives, and that with treatment, those damaged relationship may be mended.

Two Ways Home is available on VOD.