ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

England

23 Walks – A little different love story

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We may think that a love story is a love story. They meet. They clash. They become friends. They fall out. They reconcile. Life is beautiful. Those are the typical beats in such a story. They are all there in 23 Walks, written and directed by Paul Morrison, but it all seems a bit different because the characters are a bit older. That brings some new dimensions to the film.

Dave (Dave Johns) and Fern (Alison Steadman) first meet while walking their dogs in a park in North London. Fern is a bit grumpy that Dave’s dog, while perfectly behaved, is not on a leash. They begin to run into each other on their daily walks, and are soon planning to meet on the walks. Little by little a friendship develops. But they are both in their sixties. This is not a story about raging passion. It is a much mellower journey into the possibility of some kind of new future.

The age of the characters slows down the story just a bit—and that’s fitting. (I move slower now than I used to, too.) Because they are older, they have learned that things can happen over time. But their ages mean that they each have histories. Those pasts have brought joys and pains. They may make them wary about this relationship. It does lead them to keep some important things secret—which leads to serious problems.

It is those histories that bring the new perspective to this romance. In a more traditional love story, we are looking toward a future and the possibilities that holds. While we do hope for a wonderful future for Dave and Fern, we know that for them, this relationship is going to have to deal with the past as well, because those pasts linger in our lives.

Their futures are complicated. Both are about to lose their homes. (No, the answer to their problems isn’t to move in together.) Both have family issues they must deal with—not because of a lack of love, but because of so much love. But perhaps in that tension between their difficult pasts and their uncertain futures, they can find a present in one another that will bring some happiness.

The story is told with sweetness, but it is not cloying. These are characters that are firmly based in reality and common people. They are aging, but still have a good deal of life in them that they are seeking to maximize. The love that grows between them has that same sense of reality. It is grounded in a relationship that feeds them both. Any physical manifestations of love grow from that, which puts it all on a firm foundation. The love we see is a warm-hearted enjoyment of each other. It is the kind of love that those characters in traditional love stories with younger people hope they can grow into over time.

23 Walks is in select theaters and available on VOD.

The Dig – Life in the Midst of Death

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“Death is more universal than life; everyone dies, but not everyone lives.” A. Sachs

I’ve never been able to verify the existence of A. Sachs to know if this is a legitimate quotation, but it is one that clearly has true wisdom. In Netflix’s The Dig, directed by Simon Stone, the constant presence of death, in many forms, is what makes the realization that we are alive so important.

THE DIG (L-R): CAREY MULLIGAN as EDITH PRETTY, RALPH FIENNES as BASIL BROWN. Cr. LARRY HORRICKS/NETFLIX © 2021 

As the nation is preparing for the likely war with Germany, well-to-do- widow Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) hires Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), a self-taught archeological excavator to see what is in the ancient mounds on her land. Most people assume they are burial mounds dating back to the Vikings. Both Mrs. Pretty and Mr. Brown have an appreciation for discovering the ancient world in such ways. When Brown unearths the remains of a huge ship that pre-dates the Vikings, the museum authorities step in to take charge (and the credit) for what may well be the most significant archeological find in Britain. It is the remains of a burial ship, which could only have been for a great man, possibly an Anglo-Saxon king.

That is the setting in which more human dramas play out. Edith Pretty is suffering from a dangerous heart condition. Her young son, who has a wonderful imaginary life, worries about what will become of his mother. Edith’s cousin comes to help with the work, and has a mutual attraction to a married woman also part of the dig. The cousin may soon be going off to war with the RAF. Background shots often include soldiers saying long goodbyes to girlfriends or wives.  Death, whether ancient or potentially near, is a constant presence throughout the film. But so too is life.

THE DIG. Cr. LARRY HORRICKS/NETFLIX © 2021

My early expectation of what this film would be was a Masterpiece version of The Detectorists. While there are aspects that fit this, The Dig is really a bit more philosophical than that. It sees a world in which death seems to be all around. In this case, it is even the focus of a massive undertaking into the distant past. In some ways actually holding something from the 6th century creates a bond with those for whom this was a part of their life and death. The question this brings to the surface is if death is the given, what does it mean to be alive—now—this moment?

The Dig is streaming on Netflix.

Blinded By the Light – Words Matter

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“Mister, I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man, and I believe in the promised land” (Bruce Springsteen, “The Promised Land”)

In Blinded by the Light, Javed (Viveik Kaira), a Pakistani young man growing up in a town outside of London, struggles to find his place in the world. He wants to be a writer, but his strict, traditional father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir) doesn’t see that as a proper job for a Pakistani. Javed feels much more English, but that is not acceptable. He feels trapped in a family that doesn’t understand him. His troubles are amplified by the presence of anti-immigrant thugs. But when a friend (Aaron Phagura) introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, he feels he’s found someone who speaks to his problems. Toss in a budding romance with a classmate (Nell Williams), a growing distance from a childhood friend (Dean-Charles Chapman), and an encouraging teacher, and Javed begins to find his own voice. But will it be at the price of losing his family and traditions?

(L-R) NELL WILLIAMS as Eliza, VIVEIK KALRA as Javed and AARON PHAGURA as Roops in New Line Cinema’s inspirational drama, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT, a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

The film is inspired by a true story and based on Sarfraz Mansour’s memoir, Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll. The film only touches in the briefest way on the religious aspect of the story, but it still manages to show us how the conflicts Javed faces between family, society, and self-fulfillment are compounded.

Obviously, music plays a key roll in the film. We often hear bits of Springsteen’s music. From time to time a Bollywood vibe comes in, with the lyrics coming on screen in various ways, and one or two minor production numbers that go along with the Boss’s songs.

The adolescent struggle for an independent identity has always been fertile ground for stories and films. (The best example is Rebel Without a Cause.) The expectations of society and parents often feel stifling. The relationship between Javed and his father is highlighted by conflict. As Javed notes early on, “In my house no one’s allowed opinions except my father.”  Malik feels that he is responsible for all his family maintaining the values he brought with him from Pakistan. He is stern and demanding. He expects his son to grow up to be Pakistani, not English. But Javed has a different view of where he wants his life to go. Director Gurinder Chadha looked at the generational issues of South Asians growing up in the UK in her earlier film, Bend It Like Beckham. Although the immigrant family issues play roles in both Blinded and Bend It, it is really a universal story of generational conflict.

Although set in 1987, this film seems to be very current in terms of race and nationalism issues. Javed is regularly cowed by National Front thugs and their nationalist and white-supremist actions. Thirty years later, those issues have not only not gone away, they seem to have reemerged in recent years on both sides of the Atlantic. We see the threat of anti-immigrant violence through Javed’s eyes. It is another obstacle he must deal with to find his place in the world—a world where some are very vocal about thinking he doesn’t belong.

One of Springsteen’s lines that comes up at varying points is the one that opens this piece. The push to be seen not as boy but as a man is the essence of the adolescent struggle he is going through. For Javed, the music of Bruce Springsteen not only gives him something to identify with, but it pushes him to express himself through his writing. It is his words that will finally show his family and the world who he can become.

Special features include a “Behind the Scenes” look at the true story behind the film and the making of featurette, as well as deleted scenes.

God’s Own Country – A Different Kind of Love Story

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God’s Own Country will no doubt be compared to Brokeback Mountain. The easy comparison crossed my mind as I watched the screener for this film. But the dynamics of this relationship bring an entirely different feel to this love story.

Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) is working on his family farm in Yorkshire. He is isolated. When most of his contemporaries have goon off to cities or university, he has remained. With his father’s health failing, Johnny must keep the farm going himself. He deals with his feelings by binge-drinking and casual sex—but not with any sense of pleasure. He is self-destructive, irresponsible, and unlikable.

When his family hires Gheorghe Ionescu (Alec Sacareaunu), a Romanian immigrant, to temporarily help on the farm, Johnny has to deal with new emotions in his life. At first Johnny is resentful of Gheorghe, but as they spend time isolated in the fields during lambing season, he begins to respect his work. Their relationship becomes sexual but there is an evolution to it. At first it all seems to be about domination, but as the two become closer emotionally, it takes on aspects to tenderness and affection. But what will happen when Gheorghe’s contract is over?

The landscape for this story is not a lush and verdant Eden, but a harsh, difficult terrain. That applies to the love story that unfolds in the film as well. It is a struggle for Johnny and Gheorghe to maneuver through the emotional landscape of their relationship. What starts off as resentment, anger, and competition slowly evolves into a complex relationship. As they become more comfortable with their relationship, they also become more vulnerable to the pain that love can bring as well.

Perhaps the thing we appreciate most about this growing relationship is the way it helps both Johnny and Gheorghe (but especially Johnny) grow into more caring men, but also men who we can care about. That kind of growth is a key factor in loving relationships, they allow us to become, through our loving, more than we have been alone.

Photos courtesy Samuel Goldwyn Films

The Man Who Knew Infinity – The Mathematics of Faith

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“An equation has no meaning to me unless it expresses a thought of God.”

Theoretical mathematics may not seem a fertile ground for a movie, yet there have been some very popular and acclaimed films grounded in that discipline (A Beautiful Mind and The Imitation Game come to mind). It may seem even less likely to use that field to speak of the nature of faith.  The Man Who Knew Infinity is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

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This is the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a mathematician without formal education who is “discovered” by G. H. Hardy, a Cambridge professor. Ramanujan goes to England at the start for World War I, leaving his wife and mother in India. There he strives to have his work published, but Hardy demands that he provide proofs for his very complex (and exciting to mathematicians) equations. Ramanujan must put up with the racist and classist prejudices of the others at the university (which includes dietary issues) and with Hardy’s personal coldness. Can this brilliant mind (called miraculous by one professor) find its way to not only great discoveries, but the recognition of his genius?

In the film math serves as the medium that allows the characters to talk about not just numbers, but about existential meaning. For Ramanujan, mathematics is an aesthetic. He explains it to his wife as a painting with colors you cannot see. Mathematics is not about the practical, but about beauty. He is obsessed at finding and sharing the wonders that he finds in the numbers he works with. But Hardy is not willing to accept the beauty without understanding how it is found. His demand of proofs, a key part of any mathematic work, is really a reflection of his own view of reality. Hardy is an atheist because he refuses to accept what cannot be proved. They come from two different world views, yet in the language and processes of mathematics they can come to understand one another.

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Hardy’s atheism is not incidental to the story. It becomes the way the film is able to talk about ultimate ideas. What is impossible for Hardy to believe is essential to Ramanujan. In one sense this may reflect the way many people expect that science and religion are by their natures incompatible. But the film moves beyond that to try to show that they blend together in seeing the world through clearer eyes than either can see alone. At one point Ramanujan even claims that the source of his insights is his god. The discussions about faith and doubt don’t strive to convert, but serve to help the two men to understand each other. Hardy is not moved to leave his atheism, but he does get insight into what it means to believe something or someone. Ramanujan finds meaning in his proofs that provide even more beauty to his painting of invisible colors. There are indeed many ways to see the beauty of the world around us. Atheist, Hindus, Christians and others all appreciate that beauty however we may describe or ascribe it.

Photos courtesy of IFC Films