ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Isaiah

Katie Says Goodbye – More than a Victim

by Leave a Comment

“Thank you for this day, Daddy. I hope I lived right and if I see you one day that I make you proud.”

I first saw Katie Says Goodbye at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival, where I ranked it among my favorites. The film won jury awards for Best Actress (Olivia Cooke) and Best Screenplay (Wayne Roberts, who also directed). Now it has found its way to select theaters and to VOD.

Katie (Cooke) is a waitress in a small Arizona town that is little more than a trailer park and diner. She is constantly happy even though her circumstances are less than ideal. Her mother Tracey (Mireille Enos) is unemployed, and does nothing but watch TV all day. Her mother squanders the rent money, constantly leaving Katie to deal with it. Katie’s dream is to go to San Francisco and become a beautician. She is saving money that she makes by prostituting herself with some regulars, including Bear (Jim Belushi), a truck driver who stops on his way through. Bear is kind and fairly paternal towards Katie. Katie is also mentored in life by the owner of the diner, Maybelle (Mary Steenburgen), who is far more of a mother to Katie than Tracey is.

When Bruno (Christopher Abbott), a new mechanic with a shady past comes to town, Katie is smitten. Bruno never smiles, but Katie is willing to smile enough for both of them. As they spend time together, Katie blossoms. But when Bruno discovers her prostitution, he is upset and demands she stop, which she does. However, there are others who demand more from her.

For all Katie’s rose-colored view of the world, things soon become darker as Tracey continues to take advantage of her, Bruno’s coworkers treat her badly, and another waitress at the diner frames Katie for theft. As her world begins to crash around her, Katie faces losing everything. Her smile disappears.

One criticism that some (but not me) might raise is that Katie is too much a victim. Her innocent (some might say naïve) approach to the world sets her up to be used and abused by those around her. And she never fights for herself. And when others do wrong, she is willing to silently assume the guilt. In a “Me Too” world, Katie could seem to be the poster-child for women accepting exploitation.

The reason I do not bring such a charge is that I see in Katie a similarity to the Servant of Isaiah 42-53. I think the film invites us to open ourselves to see more than just Katie’s victimhood. Each night as Katie goes to bed, she speaks to the father she has never met, with the quote I opened this review with. It is only a small leap to think of this as a prayer. How then does this filter our understanding of Katie?

Consider some of these descriptions of the Servant (all scriptures quoted from NRSV): “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench (Isaiah 42:3); “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.” (50:6), and “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account…. But he was wounded for our transgression, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed…. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that before the shearer is dumb, so he did not open his mouth.” (53:3-7 passim).

Of course, this picture is familiar to Christians because the early church quickly came to see Jesus’ sacrifice in its light. But there is more to the Servant than just the suffering he underwent. It is important to note that the Servant Song found in Isaiah 50, even as the Servant recounts the suffering he has undergone, is not a song of lament, but rather a psalm of confidence. He says, “The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near” (50:7). Such is the realization that Katie finally comes to at her darkest moments. That allows her to move on to a new life with hope that others might find Pollyannaish, but that certainly resonates with the Servant of Isaiah, and by extension, with Christ.

Photos courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

The Miracle Season: Line’s Legacy

by Leave a Comment

Helen Hunt (as Coach Bresnahan) making a point

A few weeks before beginning my senior year of high school, my mother read a sad story in the newspaper, then ran into my room, woke me up, and said, “You need to read this!”  After a long night of work, all I wanted was a few more hours of shuteye.  But I groggily took the paper from her.  Ten minutes later, I was standing alone on my high school soccer field, trying to make sense of the death of one of my fellow teammates.  It was a shock to the school, our team, and our community. It took quite a while for life to resemble normalcy again.

Tragedies do happen in our lives—sometimes to the best people.  A few years ago, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel did a feature on the town of Iowa City IA.  No, not for anything Iowa Hawkeye-related.  Instead, it centered around West High School and a student named Caroline Found (known as Line to those close to her).  She was the setter on the state champion volleyball team and was looking forward to defending the state title the following year.  But tragedy struck.

Here’s the feature from Real Sports—it’s about 15 minutes in length, but completely worth your time.

Sean McNamara, the director of Soul Surfer, made a film about Caroline’s life that’s called The Miracle Season. Despite its shortcomings, it’s a great reminder that one’s legacy can be a powerful thing to empower and encourage others to be their best.

For the most part, McNamara did a great job selecting the cast.  Danika Yarosh (Jack Reacher) played Line and was a consummate sparkplug in her short time on screen. Upon her character’s death, Line’s friend Kelly (Erin Moriarty) takes over as West’s setter for the last three-fourths of the movie.  Moriarty shows a timidness that begins to be transformed into a Line-like persona by the time of the big championship match. William Hurt and Helen Hunt play their respective roles of Ernie Found and Coach Kathy Bresnahan with aplomb.  There are lots of tears to go around, as you might expect in a film of this nature. The one issue lies in the depth of characterization for everyone outside of Line.  Because there’s so much to talk about, the story takes center stage and puts the characters as an afterthought.  As a result, when it comes time to really care about the struggles Ernie is dealing with or how Coach is transforming a bunch of hurting teenagers into a championship team, the effects are minimized when they need to be accentuated.

With that said, the cinematography is well executed with long, sweeping shots of Iowa farmlands and packed out gymnasiums full of passionate volleyball fans.  The match sequences convey appropriate amounts of teamwork, camaraderie, and sheer ahtleticism. Volleyball isn’t always known for long, drawn-out points, so McNamara gets the most out of his time on the court.  In the end, this is what saves the film and makes it worth viewing.

Sweet Caroline (ooh ooh ooh . . .)

Line’s legacy is powerful enough to transform her school and even garner admiration from rivals.  To me, that’s powerful.  None of us have any idea how we’ll be remembered after we pass from this earth, so we need to be examples to our friends, family, and others through our actions, words, and lifestyle. They can take the lessons we’ve taught and pass them down to future generations.  In addition, I find Kelly’s transformation into Line encouraging.  It’s not easy to fill the shoes of another, but if we’re asked, we should certainly try to the best of our abilities.  She tried and failed miserably at first, but as time passed, she began to become the true leader of her team.  Isaiah saw a vision and was then asked by God, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Isaiah responded, “Here am I! Send me” (Isa. 6:8). I’m sure when he heard what God wanted him to do, he was a bit fearful and overwhelmed.  But he gathered up his strength and did his best.  And to this day, his legacy of pointing people to Jesus still exists.

In the case of my friend, his legacy remains through an annual soccer tournament that raises money for a scholarship bearing his name. May The Miracle Season remind us of the legacy we’d like to leave while providing a boost of inspiration, encouragement, and challenge in people’s lives through the life of Line.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return – Appreciating the Good (and Bad)

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Darren Michaels, SMPSP

A large portion of my cultural knowledge came while attending graduate school. One of my classes involved watching classic films such as Crimes and Misdemeanors and The Godfather, analyzing them for their relation to aspects of the Christian faith. Friends introduced me to the Claymation short films of Nick Park one evening (specifically those involving Wallace and Gromit).  Another student in my department talked glowingly about a series called Mystery Science Theater 3000 that poked fun of horrible films.  This concept sounded interesting, so my roommate and I invited a friend over to watch Joel and the bots skewer Manos: The Hands of Fate. It was oddly fascinating to see the effect witty commentary had on one of the worst films in history (the guy we invited over actually fell off the couch from laughing so hard).  Since then, I’ve enjoyed an occasional foray into the world of MST3K.  The series ended in 1999, but devoted fans kicked in over $5 million dollars to have a new season created (currently on Netflix as Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return).  For the most part, it’s as if the gap of seventeen years didn’t exist—and this is a great thing.

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of MST3K (as it’s commonly known), here’s a quick primer: an unwitting human (in this case, Jonah Heston [Jonah Ray]) is forced to reside in a bone-shaped spaceship called the Satellite of Love by some mad scientists (Kinga Forrester [Felicia Day] and TV’s Son of TV’s Frank [Patton Oswalt]) as part of an experiment: How much can a person deal with when it comes to watching horrible films?  The answers are revealed as the subject and his robot friends (Cambot, Gypsy, Crow [a gold-plated wisecracker voiced by Hampton Yount], and Tom Servo [gumball machine body and all played by Baron Vaughn]) endure horrible film after horrible film, seen only as silhouettes sitting in the front row of a theater. There is some interplay between the Mads and Jonah, and that’s about it.

Strangely enough, it works.

There are definitely some changes between the old episodes and the new—Crow has movable arms; Tom Servo can fly in the movie theater; the Mads’ base is on the dark side of the moon; and the jokes come quicker.  As with the older episodes, each will take multiple viewings to pick up on different aspects of the commentary, ranging from Aeschylus and Shakespeare to Facebook and Temple Run.  You’re not going to get it all on a first viewing, so sit back and enjoy the films as best you can.

As for those films . . . MST3K has always prided itself on picking non-mainstream films to make fun of, and this season is no exception.  At this point, I’ve seen the first four episodes, so here’s what you can look forward to:

* Ep 1 – Reptilicus: It’s a Godzilla-like film that takes place in Denmark with wooden dialogue and some laughable graphics—as an example, two of the monster’s human victims look like they were excised from a flannel board.  After about 20 minutes finding their footing, Jonah and friends begin to get into a rhythm.

* Ep 2 – Cry Wilderness: Imagine a forest with wolves, eagles, raccoons, and tigers.  Add in a sunburnt, badly costumed Bigfoot and a kid who runs away every thirty seconds, and you can imagine the result.  I thought the tiger sequence involving the jeep was classic.

* Ep 3 – The Time Travelers: A bunch of scientists jump a century into the future, only to find some ugly android creations and mutants.  Danny, meanwhile, is too focused on the future women.  If I was on the Satellite of Love, I might’ve pleaded for mercy after this one.

* Ep 4 – Avalanche: Poor Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow—their chemistry is completely nonexistent (I think he’s still trying to fufill that lunch date). It’s a horrible sign when an avalanche is the most memorable character in the film.  Crow gets in a zinger while the snow falls: “Just when you thought this movie couldn’t get any whiter…”

As is typical for MST3K, some of the jokes fall flat, but others are fantastic.  Your experience will vary, of course.  The more you’ve invested in the series, the more you’ll be rewarded.  There are also cameos by famous actors sprinkled into the season (one sings a duet with Day in the fourth episode)—see if you can spot them.

One thing I’ve come to appreciate from viewing episodes of MST3K over the years is what it takes to make a good film.  There must be a convincing plot, actors and actresses willing to invest in the film emotionally, quality camerawork, and realistic sets/backgrounds.  If any one of these is not present, the movie will not work as intended (and could become fodder for a new season of MST3K, should more be created).  A beginning filmmaker would be wise to consider examples of what comprises a good film—and what doesn’t—in order to get the full perspective. If anything, God wants us to learn from our mistakes instead of repeating and perpetuating them across generations, as the Israelites often did (see Isaiah 1:10-20).  If we can do this, our lives will provide encouragement and purpose the whole world can see and appreciate.  Appreciating the bad can truly be a good thing!