In our first episode of 2020, writer/director Sam Mendes wants to take us back to 1917 where he immerses the viewer in the Great War and tells the story of two young soldiers who are given the impossible task of reaching another unit to warn them of a trap that could potentially wipe out hundreds… [Read More]
1917: Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne
Director/co-writer Sam Mendes used stories his grandfather told about World War I, plus others’ stories from the Imperial War Museum archives, for the foundation of 1917. It is the story of friendship, loyalty, determination, and courage. But it also touches at times on the futility that is inherent in war. The film opens with Lance… [Read More]
The Millionaires’ Unit – The Path of Honor and Glory
he Millionaire’s Unit, a documentary by Darroch Greer and Ron King, is a return to celebrating the virtues of a group of young, affluent American college students who understood that their privilege required responsibility, and became some of the first American aviators in the war.
The Promise – Love in a Time of Genocide
The modern concept of genocide did not begin with the Holocaust; it started with the attempted extermination of the Armenians during the early years of World War I. The Promise tells the horrifying tale through the story of a love triangle (or perhaps quadrangle).
Frantz – Is It Ever Right to Lie?
The foundation of the story is the devastation that war brings. Everyone in this story suffers from the war. Anna and Frantz’s parents (and many of the townspeople) grieve the loss of the young men killed in the war.
The Man Who Knew Infinity – The Mathematics of Faith
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.
