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where faith and film are intertwined

comedy

The Magnificent Meyersons – Wandering Wisdom

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“Sometimes, I wish God would just reach down and give the world a big old shake, you know?”

One day. One family. And it all gets shaken up a bit. Evan Oppenheimer’s The Magnificent Meyersons is a peripatetic search for understanding what it means to live in a world that may or may not have a god, in which right and wrong may or may not be relative, in which the future and the past may or may not hold the answers. And it’s a comedy (sort of).

We wander through the streets of New York along with four upper middle class adult siblings: Daphne (Jackie Burns), the older daughter, who is struggling with not being quite fulfilled as a mother, wife, or at work; Roland (Ian Kahn), the older son, who is a confident businessman, but perhaps a bit overprotective of his daughter; Daniel (Daniel Eric Gold), the younger son, a rabbinical student who may or may not have faith; and Susie (Shoshannah Stern), the younger daughter, who is deaf and seeking to make her way as a realtor. There are also interludes involving their mother (Kate Mulgrew) and memories of their absent father (Richard Kind).

Note that the term “peripatetic” means to walk around, to wander. As the day progresses, each of the siblings sit or stroll through the city talking to friends or family about any variety of things. The subjects are just as wandering as the people in the film: the existence of God, what makes man [sic] unique among the animals, what it means to be successful, what makes us happy, and if the past can be forgiven.

There is a philosophical bent to this film similar to what is found in the biblical book Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes, the author (often referred to as Qoheleth) ponders the meaning of life and what makes life worth living. Qoheleth is also a bit peripatetic. He wanders through various approaches in search of the answers to his questions. The four siblings, along with the parents to a lesser extent, all have different understandings of life. The film and all the talking are not so much about finding the answers as it is about all the questions. That too is a bit like Ecclesiastes.

Because the discussions are so diverse, there are many interesting things said along the way. There is an ontological proof of God set side by side with an ontological disproof. At another point, Roland says, “You know what makes man unique? He’s the only animal who can’t take care of himself.” When Daphne admits to being “selfish, vain, and lazy”, her husband concurs, and adds, “like everybody else”. Perhaps the deepest wisdom expressed is “Everything matters”.

The theme line of Ecclesiastes is “Vanity of vanities! All is Vanity.” That refers to the ephemeral nature of life. That concept is also central to the musings of the characters in The Magnificent Meyersons. As they all try in their own way to deal with the life, there is an understanding that things are constantly changing. But how we deal with all those changes can open new ways for us to live in vain lives.

The Magnificent Meyerson is playing in limited theatrical release and on virtual cinema.

Photos courtesy of Argot Pictures.

The Paper Tigers – Kung Foolery

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“When a man’s virtue exceeds his talent, he becomes the superior man.”

Perhaps you think kung fu movies are all about the graceful movements. You may expect great flying leaps and masterful kicks and punches. The Paper Tigers, from director Tran Quoc Bao, goes in a different direction. This comedic approach to the discipline is more about renewing lost friendships and remembering long lost lessons about loyalty and honor.

As teens in the 90s, Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan), and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) bonded as friends as they trained under Sifu Cheung, a kung fu master who seemed to be happier cooking in a Chinese restaurant. But now they have grown apart—and into middle aged men.

When their Sifu dies, Hing reconnects with Danny so they can go to the funeral. But Danny is estranged from Jim. At the funeral, as Sifu Cheung’s disciples, they are expected to lead the service and take possession of his ashes. But they have not been involved with him for many years. When there is a question about what really happened to the Sifu, they are expected to seek the truth and vengeance.

They are no longer the fighters they were back in the day. Danny, the senior disciple, now sells insurance and is an absentee father to his son. Hing was injured at work and has a very bad leg. Jim has become an MMA coach. As they seek to set things right after Sifu Cheung’s death, they must first deal with the issues that have separated them over the years. They also must rediscover the gifts their Sifu taught them to defeat younger fighters. It could be that the greatest lessons were not how to fight, but how to live. The importance of honor, discipleship, and loyalty are essential to the three finding the bond they had lost through the years.

The film plays with the kung fu trope, in part by being set in suburban America. Also through bending the racial stereotypes. The most “Chinese” character is Carter. When they were kids, Danny would embarrassingly defeat Carter repeatedly. Now Carter wants to be called Sifu Carter as he trains young fighters. He is most likely to repeat a Chinese proverb. Although there is continued animosity, Carter in many ways gives the trio important lessons along the way.

A side plot involves Danny and his son. Danny is pretty much a failure as a dad. He teaches his son to avoid violence. But Danny also discovers that there may be times that violence is the righteous response. How he passes that on to his son is a lesson in itself.

A key concept is that of discipleship. Disciples do not just soak up the things their teacher gives them. A true disciple becomes an extension of the teacher. That is something the three protagonists had lost track of. And in losing that they had lost a bit of themselves. So it is for any who call themselves a disciple.

The Paper Tigers opens May 7 in theaters and on demand.

Photos courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.

My Wonderful Wanda – Win-Wins?

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“This is a family matter.”

Bettina Oberli’s My Wonderful Wanda is about family—and about the ways families become intertwined without planning to. It also serves as a bit of social commentary of the relationship of the haves and have nots of society.

Wanda (Agnieszka Grochowska) is a Polish caregiver who has come to a lakeside Swiss home to care for Josef Wegmeister-Gloor as he recovers from a stroke. Wanda comes for three month stents while leaving her children at home with her parents. This is perceived (at least by the Wegmeister-Gloors) as a win-win. They get inexpensive care for their husband and father; Wanda makes more money than she could at home. But it is also a strain on Wanda’s family in Poland.

The Swiss family has two adult children with their own foibles. Gregi has been groomed (against his will) to take over the family business, but prefers birds (mostly stuffed). He’s also a bit in love with Wanda. Sophie is married to a lawyer, but is unsatisfied with her life. Elsa, the family matriarch, is controlling, but often in ways that seem very kind. Wanda is skilled at negotiating the various personalities and is especially good at making Josef happy.

When Wanda becomes pregnant, it raises a number of issues in both families. How does this affect inheritance? Is Wanda just trying to extort money from the family? What truths have been hidden through the years that must now be addressed?

The film is a bit uneven in its movement back and forth between comedy and drama, but it does create an interesting look at what makes up family. Even though the Polish and Swiss families are very different in outlook, Wanda has managed to bring them together, even if in an adversarial way. Each family is concerned with its own well being, but also with how Wanda’s child will be incorporated in each.

The rub comes when the child comes to be seen as a commodity. There are solutions to the problem that are proposed that seem like everyone benefits, but as with the idea that the use of cheap Polish labor is “win-win”, it fails to take in the personal cost that these solutions create.

In the end, it is Wanda who must struggle against all the attitudes of both families to decide what will become of her child. And in that decision it may be that many other issues will find new solutions as well.

My Wonderful Wanda is in theaters and available via virtual cinema.

Photos courtesy of Zodiac Pictures

Beate – Socio-Economic Farce

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Never mind politics, economics is where you may find really strange bedfellows. In the Italian film Beate (which translates to “Blessed”), from Samad Zarmandili, two very different groups of women join forces to try to stave off the greed around them.

The first group of women are the workers at the Veronica lingerie factory. When the owner abruptly closes the factory, planning to open a new one in Serbia with cheaper labor, the women, led by their forewoman Armida at first picket, but then sneak out the equipment and fabric to make their own line.

The other group is the nuns of the “Convent of the Holy Mantle”. The nuns are renown for their embroidery skills that were developed by their founder the Blessed Armida (yes, the Armida in our story was named after her) 700 years ago. City inspectors come and announce that the building must be repaired. The Bishop will not promise funds. He and the mayor (who also owns the factory) plan a new resort in the place of the convent. When the women of the factory propose a joint venture using the nuns’ embroidery to enhance the lingerie, the young, inexperienced, temporary mother superior sees it as the only way to save the convent.

This is a film with a fairly simplistic view of social economics. Both groups of women are seen as dispensable. For those who are running the town, it is all about profits. Whether workers or nuns are displaced is of no importance. Such is unbridled capitalism. It would have made the film more satisfying if the final solution to the issues had been based in the value of the people, rather than finding a new way of making money—especially since in this case it is exploitive of religion.

Comedy is something that often doesn’t travel well. I think that is often true with Italian comedy, which tends towards farce. In this film, the characterization of the nuns seems especially stereotyped. The main contact we have with them is Armida’s aunt, who is something of a fanatic about adoration of the mummified body of the order’s founder. Most of the nuns are just background to what is going on. The interactions between the two groups of women was a possibility for some important themes, but wasn’t developed.

Beate is available on virtual cinema.

Photos courtesy of Corinth Films.

Running Naked – Days of Vain Life

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“Benjamin Taylor is leaving living today.”

Sometimes it takes the specter of death to bring light into life. Running Naked, from director Victor Buhler, is a feel-good dramedy that helps us see the beauty in life, even if we know that life is finite. Perhaps that finitude helps us see the meaning of it all.

As teenagers, Mark and Ben (Samuel Bottomley and James Senneck) were roommates in a cancer ward as they underwent treatment. The two would push against the confines of their situation. They plotted an escape from the hospital, only to discover there was nothing to do after they succeeded. Their highlight was a one lap race around the hospital floor au naturel.

Sixteen years later, Mark (Mathew McNulty) is an oncologist trying to bring hope and happiness to the teenage patients who are going through their own treatments. Ben (Andrew Gower) has become a reclusive, nervous nerd. Ben is plagued by OCD and a phobia of hospitals. He has a job in a basement that most people in the company don’t even know is there. Yet, through the years Ben and Mark have gotten together every Wednesday night.

When tests show a return of the cancer for one of them, Mark sets out to give Ben the life he has been missing all these years. With only a bit of time, the two reinvent their lives to discover the richness of life all around them, and finding joy and love that give meaning to days whether short or long. It also tests their friendship when they have to come to terms with changes in perspectives.

While not a outwardly religious story, there are places along the journey that allow us to reflect briefly on spiritual issues. For example, when the two men go to a dog track (where they won £50 as kids), Ben, at the last minute, chooses to put their money on a long shot, Hope Eternal. Later, we see the two, both as teens and as adults, sitting in the hospital chapel contemplating the words on the wall, “I will never forget you. I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16)

Although the Book of Ecclesiastes is never mentioned or quoted, the film is firmly rooted in the wisdom found there. The book’s key theme, stated in Ecc. 1:2, is “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” It moves from a view of the world that is meaningless and repetitious (as Ben has been living) but through a search for wisdom, the writer discovered that the meaning of life is to “Enjoy life . . . all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, for that is your portion in life.” (9:9)

The film serves as a reminder that we too often get bogged down in the vanities of life when we are meant to be seeking the beauty and joy that surrounds us—even in seemingly dark times.

Running Naked is available on VOD.

Photos courtesy of Trinity Creative Partnership.

WandaVision Episode 7: “Would You Rather Be Feared or Loved?”

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I’ll keep this short and sweet. 

I haven’t had a show that has kept me in a perpetual state of “what the heck is going on and what the heck will happen” since season 5 of Bones the way WandaVision has. (To be fair, that’s actually the last season I watched – another story for another day.) Most of my conversations over the weekend involved episode 7: “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” and, if they didn’t, I was googling #allthethings.

Friday’s format was my favorite yet. The show’s use of The Office and Parks and Rec interview style and direct character-to-audience engagement was hilarious. Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis gets funnier by the minute, and I squealed at those scenes with Monica. Of course, the ending blew me away (I’m still humming the tune), and be sure to stay tuned during those credits as the powers that be finally pulled a classic MCU move with a bonus scene. There was just so much to watch.

And so I ask one question: if you aren’t tuning in to WandaVision, just what are you doing?

While it’s no secret that this is leading up to the next phase of movies, there is still so much to enjoy on its own merit. Elizabeth Olsen’s acting is phenomenal, especially when Wanda’s control is slipping and sliding. Her comedic delivery in this most recent episode is just one more example of Olsen’s ownership of this character and personifying the depth of complication and humanity that is within Wanda’s psyche. So often we talk about what she is doing to others and her motivations, but these past two weeks especially have shown us the toll it’s having on her.

Now we know that she isn’t the only player involved, but it’s her relatability that makes her such a powerful character for me. We’ve talked a lot about her losses and grief and just how powerful she is, but something I don’t think we talk about is how normal Wanda can be. No matter how or why she is in Westview, at her core she just wants a happy life. She loves Vision. She loves her boys. She’s stressed and tired from being on her guard 24/7. Super human or not, she just wants peace. 

As we fly forward into the final two episodes that are sure to be even more riveting than the ones we’ve seen so far, I’m hopeful we remember this side of Wanda. I don’t think she wants to be feared. I think she just wants to be loved.

WandaVision is now streaming on Disney+

Days of the Bagnold Summer – Nothing Important, Just Life

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For most of us life isn’t like the movies. We seem to go day by day without a great deal of drama. And yet those days that seem so ordinary are what life is made of. Days of the Bagnold Summer, directed by Simon Bird, is that kind of movie. The drama and the comedy are just the kinds of things that may not seem like much at the time, but they are bricks of life.

Sue Bagnold (Monica Dolan) is a single mom raising her 15 year old son Daniel (Earl Cave) in the English suburbs. Daniel is your typical metalhead wannabe. He dreams of being in a band, but he’d have to be the front man since he doesn’t play an instrument. He’s scheduled to visit his father and his pregnant young wife in Florida that summer, but when his dad decides it’s not a good time, Daniel is left with an open summer. Daniel, the personification of ennui, is set to sleep the summer away, but Sue isn’t having it. She sends Daniel out to apply for jobs (which he does in a manner that is doomed to failure). And she tries to do things with him to rekindle the fun they had together when he was younger. Daniel just wants to listen to Metallica.

Sullen teenagers just don’t want to have fun, though do they? Daniel is at an age where he hasn’t really discovered who he is or even who he wants to be. That metalhead persona is really just a form of holding pattern. And so the summer goes, through “early days”, “salad days” and “dod days”. Along the way Sue gets asked out on a date by Daniel’s former teacher, which only complicates things for both of them. But basically, the two struggle to find a way to coexist in the new world teen nihilism.

It’s interesting the way Bird has found to show the distance between the two visually, like the clothesline with black on one side and pink on the other, or Daniel in the foreground eating and Sue in the background a room away eating separately). But as the summer moves forward, they come together more often, even though each is also finding a new understanding of themselves in the process.

There is not big event or blowup that summarizes the summer. And yet, we seem to understand that this summer is in its own way an important time in their lives. As such, this is a movie that captures the kind of lives most of us live. Little by little all these days add up into a life.

Days of Bagnold Summer is available on virtual cinema through local theaters and on digital platforms.

Photos courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

On the Rock – Finding Trust

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“Don’t give your heart to any boy. You’re mine—until you get married. Then you’re still mine.”

Sofia Coppola’s comedy On the Rocks is in some ways a father/daughter road movie in New York City (with a brief excursion to Mexico). It is a relationship movie that looks at two troubled relationships at the same time, and ends up healing them both.

Laura (Rashida Jones) feels like she has a comfortable and happy marriage to Dean (Marlon Wayans), until someone mentions something that raises a hint of doubt about the amount of time he is working late and traveling with his new business associate. Unsure if she should be worried, she calls her globe-trotting, playboy father Felix (Bill Murray), who thinks the signs are obvious. Felix immediately comes back to New York to help Laura find the truth. Felix uses connections to find information, but they also spend time traveling through the city to spy on Dean. When Dean has a sudden trip to a resort in Mexico, Felix hauls Laura down there to confirm everything.

A key to understanding this is that Felix is very experienced in infidelity. He believes that such behavior is inbred in men since early humans. Since he knows his behavior, he reads that in to what he expects from Dean. Felix’s unfaithfulness had an impact on Laura’s family life as a child. Now, he is using this as a chance to reconnect with Laura.

In some ways, this film has some fairly conventional tropes: a workaholic husband who sees that as the way to provide for family, an at-home mom who begins to feel frumpy (at least that’s how Laura dresses). But the humor in the story is really based in the dialogue more than in the events themselves. To be sure, most of the comedy is created by Murray’s persona. The rest of the cast is essentially his straight man throughout.

The whole story is one about trust. When doubt begins to creep in to Laura’s thoughts, her faith in Dean waivers. The only person she feels she can call on is someone who seems very untrustworthy. Felix is full of himself and has gone from woman to woman. But Laura seems to feel that when it comes to his relationship with her, Felix will come through. He may go overboard, but he is going to be sure that Laura knows the truth. In finding the father/daughter relationship anew, Laura becomes ready to find the trust in Dean that she has misplaced.

On the Rock is available on Apple+.

Wednesday at AFIFest 2020

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My cat has enjoyed AFIFest 2020 Presented by Audi a great deal this year. She rarely has a chance to spend a whole afternoon on my lap when I actually have to go to movies. I doubt she realizes the qualities of movies she’s sleeping through. She’s missing out on some very good stuff.

The documentary Collective, by German-Romanian filmmaker Alexander Nanau, arrived at AFIFest with a load of festival awards. It takes place in the aftermath of a tragic 2015 nightclub fire that claimed 27 lives. The corruption that that fire exposed led to the fall of the government, and a new temporary government of technocrats. Yet, another 37 victims of the fire died over the next four months, mostly from infections. All the while the Minister of Health claimed the hospitals were among the best in Europe. When journalists discovered that the disinfectants being sold to hospitals were blatantly diluted, a new scandal erupted. This film takes us inside the controversy, the investigation, and the attempts at the new Minister of Health to create a better medical system.

The key quote I found in the film: “The way a state functions can crush people some of the time.” This is one of many films I’ve seen this year that portray the need of an independent and trustworthy press for democracy to function. Collective not only speaks to that need, but is clear that the power of government can be overwhelming. This film is Romania official submission for Best International Feature Film Oscar consideration.

In Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor, an Angolan immigrant in New York is reunited with his family after seventeen years apart. Walter came to America following the Angolan Civil War, his wife Esther and daughter Sylvia went to Tanzania. It has taken all this time for Walter to get permission for them to join him. Meanwhile, their lives have gone in different directions. Esther has become quite religious. Walter has made a life for himself—with another woman. Sylvia, in high school, has her own dreams. There are chapters in the film that give us the perspective of each of these characters. It is interesting how dancing keeps coming into play within the film. The characters find identity, both separately and as family, in dancing. At times that dancing may be a source of conflict, but it can also be the beginning of healing.

You may wonder if there are ever any comedies at festivals. Yes, in fact I took one in yesterday with My Donkey, My Lover & I by Caroline Vignal. Antoinette, French fifth grade teacher, is having an affair with Vladimir, the father of one of her students. When he cancels a romantic getaway to take a hiking trip with his wife and daughter, Antoinette decides she will do the same hiking adventure and surprise him. Totally unfamiliar with hiking, she hires a donkey for the journey. Naturally, it becomes a comedy of errors as Antoinette must deal not only with Patrick the donkey, but with her total lack of hiking ability. When she does manage to run into Vladimir and his family, the awkwardness and revelations become a bit more than she expected. The trip turns out to be a way for Antoinette to come to better understand herself and opens up new possibilities for her.

Scare Me – But with Humor

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“You look like a fella who might be interested in scary stories.”

Mary Shelley’s Gothic/proto-SciFi novel Frankenstein grew out of a contest between her, her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and their friend Lord Byron. The competition was to see who could write the best horror story. (I wonder if there is any record of the two men’s attempts.) Josh Ruben’s premier feature film Scare Me is the same concept. Two writers (plus a couple minor characters) try to see who can scare the other. The result is a hybrid between comedy and horror.

Fred (Ruben), a wannabe horror writer, has rented a cabin in the woods so he can write his werewolf story. The only real problem is that he’s not really a writer and nothing goes onto the page. Out on a jog, he meets Fannie (Aya Cash) who is staying in a cabin nearby. It turns out Fannie is a bestselling horror author. She’s not much interested in Fred—she’s there to work. But when the power goes out that night, Fannie goes over to Fred’s cabin and they decide to tell each other scary stories.

Fred is obviously at a disadvantage. His werewolf story does nothing to change or advance that trope. He only has the bare bones of the story, even though Fannie prompts him for details. When Fannie tells her story, she creates a dark world into which Fred is drawn as he listens. Then they begin a tale about a troll that lives in the air vents of an office building. They bounce back and forth in the telling and acting out this story. When pizza delivery man Carlo (Chris Redd) shows up with dinner, he too joins in this celebration of being scared by words. In the end, Fred is confronted by the biggest horror, that he may not be any good as a writer, and his life is a failure.

For most horror stories we have come to rely on special effects, moody music, gore, and sudden surprises that make us jump in our seats. But here the horror is almost exclusively done with words. At times we visualize just a bit of the story, and there are occasional shadows on a wall or ceiling that reflects something in the story being told, but that just allows us to get better into the words.

Because it walks a line between horror and comedy, it never gets overly scary or over-the-top funny. But for those who like something a little different in their horror, Scare Me might fit the bill for a dark night in an empty house with wind, thunder and lightning outside.

Scare Me is available on Shudder streaming service.