Fruitvale Station: A Review

Rated R. Our ratings: V-5; L-5 ; S/N-2 . Running time: 1 hour 25 min.

The Weinstein Company

I say to God, my rock,

   ‘Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I walk about mournfully

   because the enemy oppresses me?’

                                  Psalm 40:9

Even though the opening cell phone video shows us the tragic outcome of a scuffle with San Francisco transit police, director/writer Ryan Coogler’s film, based on a true story, is a fascinating study of the last day in the life of 22-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan). We are taken back twelve hours earlier when Oscar and his wife (or girl friend?) Sophina (Melonie Diaz), are in their apartment at the beginning of New Year’s Eve 2009.  Burdened with a history of run-ins with the law, Oscar is trying to turn his life around—although in this scene he is trying to placate her because she is upset that he has had an affair with another woman. Obviously adoring their  4-year-old daughter, Tatiana (Ariana Neal), he is able to convince Sophina that he will not betray her again.

We follow Oscar through a series of ups and downs. He takes Tatiana to school; meets friends; shops for food for the party his mother will host that night; helps a clueless young woman at the supermarket with a recipe by connecting her to his grandmother; tries but fails to get his job back at the grocery from the manager, who had fired him for being late too often; texts his friends about getting together that night; talked over the phone with his sister who badly needed some cash; been tempted to acquire money by selling the bag of weed he had hidden away, but, genuinely wanting to go straight, dumps it into the Bay. Interspersed are flashbacks to his prison days, two low points being his fight with another prisoner and the day his mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer) tells him she cannot bear to come and visit him any more.

That night at his mother’s house in Hayward, a suburb, everyone, young and old has a great time. When he is about to set out with Sophina and their friends to go out to celebrate the New Year by watching the waterfront fireworks, his mother suggests they take the BART instead. She is worried that their drinking would impair Oscar driving. It is a suggestion that will haunt her all her days.

The group has an enjoyable time, even when the train stalls, delaying their arrival for the fireworks display. In the crowded train car an inter-racial harmony prevails—whites, Latinos, and blacks all laugh and exchange greetings together as the New Year. But this is soon swallowed up in the mayhem that ensues when Oscar’s prison past catches up with him.

The film leaves viewers saddened and upset that even though we have elected a black president, racism is still a strong force in our society. It is bad enough when it exists among the general population, but among police officers it can be deadly, as we see by the way in which the young blacks are treated when they are dragged off the train following Oscar’s attack by a man he had known in prison. It would, of course, have been wise if the ill-treated black men had not protested their abuse, but it would have taken more discipline than any of them possessed to have suffered in silence.

As the aftermath of the  Trayvon Martin shooting lingers, this film will add fuel to the debate over the way blacks are viewed and treated around the nation. The film makes clear that even in the 21st century we are far from Martin Luther King Jr.;s vision of the “beloved community.” If black males in America accept the faith of their mothers, well might they recite the words of the anguished psalmist any time they venture beyond their ‘hood, “Why must I walk about mournfully/because the enemy oppresses me?”

For Reflection/Discussion 
1. Despite claims that this is a nation of “equal opportunities,” what burdens does Oscar carry that few white males his age do? How do we see that he is trying to overcome them? What do you think of the claims of some that he is pictured in too positive of a way?
2. Had he not met with such an untimely end, what hope do you see that he might have been successful going straight—especially in light of his family needs and his lack of employment?
3. What do you think of the manager’s turning down Oscar’s request to get his job back? How is his firing the consequence of his own behavior? And yet how is the matter of punctuality also a difference in cultures?
4. What do you think of the blended black and Latino families? How well do we see them getting along?
5. In what scenes do you see grace in operation? (Sophina’s acceptance of Oscar despite his betrayal; Oscar helping the woman at the supermarket;
6. How is the moment of celebrating the New Year on the subway train a foretaste of the kingdom of God (or MLK’s “beloved community”)?
7. How did you feel in the sequence when the BART police officers took the black men off the train? Did they look for the white man who started the fight? Was there any sign of the officers listening to either the blacks or the passengers? Do you think this is because their minds were closed, accepting the basis of racial profiling, facts be damned?
8. Have you or someone you know seen such treatment? What does this suggest that Americans need to do to eliminate such treatment? What similarities, if any, do you see between Oscar and Trayvon Martin? What have you and/or your church done to foment racial understanding?

The Wolverine

Reviewed by Markus Watson

Note by Ed McNulty: I am happy to welcome back to Visual Parables, Markus Watson, the pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in San Diego.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4

(c) 2013 20th Century Fox

The Wolverine is the sixth movie featuring Hugh Jackman as the mutant, Logan, also known as Wolverine (though his appearance in X-Men: First Class was a mere cameo).  In this latest—not last—installment in the world of the X-Men, Logan finds himself in Japan at the deathbed of Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), an old friend whose life he saved when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and who has now become a wealthy man.

At this point, it is important to understand that Logan’s mutation essentially makes him immortal.  Logan, who was born in the 1800’s, heals from any injury almost instantly.  Additionally, his entire skeleton has been coated with a virtually indestructible metal called adamantium.  One would think Logan would love being immortal.  But he doesn’t.  He has lost more loved ones than he cares to think about.  And he himself has brought death to Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), a woman he loved in the original three X-Men movies (and who makes appearances in Logan’s dreams in this movie).

Now Yashida, at the hour of his death, has a proposal for Logan.  He says he has discovered a way to take away Logan’s mutation, to make him mortal.  But Logan says to Yashida, “You don’t want what I have,” and walks away.

The next day, Yashida dies.  It is at this point that the action really begins, leading to a climactic battle between Logan, another mutant named Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), and an adamantium samurai mech.

Throughout the film, Logan wrestles with his immortality.  When Yashida first makes his offer, Logan briefly considers it.  How he has longed to be mortal!  But he can’t let go of his mutation.  Not long after that, Logan begins to realize he is not healing from his wounds like he normally does.  He’s not sure what to do with that.  Should he embrace his seeming mortality?  Should he resist it?

In the end, he finds a way to restore his immortality, only to nearly lose it again in the final battle.

It is an ironic twist, to see a man with a gift so many of us long for.  The 80’s band Tears for Fears sang, “Everybody wants to rule the world.”  But I think it’s even more true to say, “Everybody wants to live forever.”  Here we have a man who seems to be able to live forever, and yet that very gift is his curse.

How is this different from the eternal life described in the scriptures?  Jesus tells us that those who believe in him will “not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Sounds like what Logan’s got.

But it’s different.  Logan must live his life of immortality in a world that is broken and ruined by violence and death.  Logan’s immortality has, in a sense, become his hell.  And yet, he can’t seem to let go of the hell in which he lives.

The eternal life of the scriptures, on the other hand, is one that is based in “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1).  It is an immortality to be lived in the presence of a God who is light and life.  It is an eternal—and abundant—life in a world made whole, in which “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

It makes one wonder—what would Logan do if he were offered that kind of immortality?

For Reflection/Discussion:
1. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could live forever?”  Why is that something people generally long for?
2. When you think of your own eventual death, what kinds of feelings does that bring up for you?  Fear?  Frustration?  Peace?  Relief?  Etc.  Why do those feelings emerge for you?
3. Even though Logan hates his curse of immortality, he can’t give it up when given the chance.  Why do you think that is?  Have you ever struggled with letting go of something that is painful for you?  Why or why not?
4. As mentioned in this review, Logan’s immortality is not the same thing as the “eternal life” that Jesus talks about.  What do you think Jesus meant when he said that “whoever believes in me will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16)?
5. Look at the “eternal life” mentioned in Revelation 21:1-4.  How does this description of an eternal kind of life differ from the kind of eternal life Logan is trapped in?  What kind of “eternal life” would you prefer—the kind Logan has or the kind the scriptures offer?  Why?

New ROMEO & JULIET Film

Hi,
 I have just been alerted that there is a new version of Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET coming out.

Here's where you can see the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp9yaZcrtnU

ROMEO & JULIET in theaters October 11^th!

Director: Carlo Carrel

Writers: Julian Fellowes

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Damian Lewis, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ed Westwick, with Stellan Skarsgard and Paul Giamatti

Producers: Ileen Maisel, Lawrence Elman, Julian Fellowes, Nadja Swarovski, Simon Bosanquet, Alexander Koll, Dimitra Tsingou, Doug Mankoff, Andrew Spaulding

SYNOPSIS: Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s epic and searing tale of love, is revitalized on screen by writer Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and director Carlos Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent).  An ageless story from the world’s most renowned author is reimagined for the 21^st  century.  This adaptation is told in the lush traditional setting it was written but gives a new generation the chance to fall in love with the enduring legend.  With an all-star cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Paul Giamatti and Stellan Skarsgard, it affords those unfamiliar with the tale the chance to put faces to the two names they’ve undoubtedly heard innumerable times: Romeo and Juliet.  Every generation deserves to discover this lasting love. 

A Review: Unfinished Song (Song for Marion)

Rated PG-13. Our ratings: V-0 ; L-3 ; S-4/N-0 . Running time: 1 hour 33 min.

”…let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

Psalm 96.12

          

                             

                               Marion loves singing with her friends.                    But husband Arthur resents her absence.

All pictures courtesy of The Weinstein Company (c) 2012

Stephen Sondheim is quoted as saying, “If I cannot fly, let me sing.” That is certainly Marion’s view in Paul Andrew William’s London-set film about an elderly couple devoted to each other. Even though she has terminal cancer Marion Harris (Vanessa Red grave) refuses to stop going to the eccentric choir made up of seniors and led by the perky young Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). Marion is still filled with the joy of life even though death is just around the corner. Husband Arthur (Terrence Stamp), however, somehow, for reasons unspecified, checked out of life years ago, so he refuses to sit in on the choir practices, preferring to sulk outside the choir room while smoking a cigarette.

The crux of the story is the slow, painful transformation he undergoes after Marion passes away in her sleep, a process that might well get you to sing about the immeasurable possibilities of life. The film is made memorable by the three principal actors, backed up by a fabulous group of senior singers. Also important to the story are James (Christopher Eccleston) and Jennifer (Orla Hill), the Harris’s single parent son and charming little granddaughter. All their lives a seemingly unbridgeable gap had made Arthur rude to and unappreciative of his son. We gather that it is only Jennifer who keeps the two speaking to each other, and for a while after Marion dies, Arthur breaks off all contact with them, so bitter and aggrieved is he.

James and his daughter Jennifer.

The tormented Arthur is similar to the apostle Paul in that he is aware of his plight but unable to do anything about it: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do… Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:19 & 24) In this thoroughly secular film (the choir sings pop and hip hop songs, not hymns or sacred choral music) it is not Christ but Elizabeth who comes to Paul’s aid and sets in motion his transformation. (Of course, believers might see the hidden Christ working through this sensitive young woman, so devoted to others!)

At first upset and frustrated by Arthur’s cold rejection, she persists, eventually breaking through the high wall he has erected to defend himself from the pain of the world. What happens to the sad-faced Arthur and his relationships with James is worth singing about! The character of Elizabeth adds depth to the film. At first she seems to be the typical perky young adult, ably reaching out to and inspiring the senior members of her choir, and eventually to Arthur. Then we discover that she is a wounded healer, showing up suddenly late one night and pouring her heart out to Arthur, of all people. Perhaps it is her revelation of her vulnerability and need that touches something deep in Arthur so that he is able to give the support she needs at that moment. This, and his unsuspected talent for singing, leads to a series of events that neither of them could have imagined earlier on.

Elizabeth leading the choir of seniors.

Paul Andrew William, who directs from his own script, has given us a remarkable parable of love, transformation, and the power of song. Arthur reminds me of the uptight Englishman Basil (though in a more extreme form) in Zorba the Greek, with Marion and Elizabeth being his Zorba who lead him to embrace life. The film draws back from the brink of sentimentality (the death scene is very understated—no tearful farewells or sweet last words), although depictions of some of the senior singers are almost too cute. So too is the choice of the song for the choir to sing for their festival tryout, "Let's Talk about Sex.” If you explore this film with a church group, be sure to give advance warning of this song. Although this one is played more for cuteness, the singing of two other songs will have you reaching for a handkerchief. Marion sings Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colours” for Arthur, and later Arthur sings Billy Joel's “Goodnight My Angel.” Wow! On the whole this is a film filled with joy and goodwill that says that it is never too late to mend a wounded spirit and restore broken relationships.

                       

                                        

     

                                  Of course there is a competition!                                   All's well that ends well!

For Reflection/Discussion

1. Compare Marion and Arthur. Despite their vastly different temperaments, how do they relate to each other? What couples do you know like them?

2. What might have led Arthur to become the negative person that he is? Which of the two understands the need for others in one’s life?

3. What do you think of James and the way he is depicted? How has his father’s treatment of him apparently affected him? Despite this, what kind of a father does he seem to be?

4. What did you think of Elizabeth in the first part of the film? Of her rapport with her choir members? Were you surprised at her revelation of her past and of her need? Would you have thought that she would have turned to Arthur for help, rather than to one of her choir members? What other surprises do we see in Arthur?

5. What do you think of Henry Nouwen’s concept of “the wounded healer”? (If you haven’t read his book yet, by all means get hold of it.) How is Elizabeth a Christ figure despite her own needs?

6. Check out Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colours” with it’s opening line, “You with the sad eyes/Don’t be discouraged.” How is it the perfect song for Arthur?

http://www.lyrics007.com/Cyndi%20Lauper%20Lyrics/True%20Colors%20Lyrics.html

7. In turn read and discuss “Lullabye (Good Night, My Angel.” What of Marion and Arthur and their relationship do we see in the lyrics?

Note: these are available on YouTube, so if your discussion takes place where Wi Fi is available, you might play them as the group is gathering, or during the discussion. (If you do, keep that box of Kleenex handy!)

http://www.billyjoel.com/music/river-dreams/lullabye-goodnight-my-angel

8. What does the film say about the process of transformation? Is this a do it yourself matter, or are others needed? (See the Letter to the Romans passage cited above.) In your own life how have others contributed to the changing of your outlook, beliefs, or prejudices?

9. How does James’ rejection of his father’s attempt to mend their broken relationship show that reconciliation can be a difficult task? In the apostle Paul’s discussion of reconciliation what was the cost? See 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Why does he say to Arthur, “It’s too late”? Is it ever too late?

10. This is a thoroughly secular film about thoroughly secular people—no mention of God, even by Marion who faces imminent death; no singing of church anthems or hymns. And yet would you agree that it is a deeply spiritual film? Why or why not?

11. Much has been written about the power of music, and we certainly see it in the lives of Marion and Elizabeth. Reflect upon/discuss the following observation by singer Josh Groban

“Some people don't realize the healing power in song. True listening to a song can cause a good cry or help you to relieve that tension that might have been building up. But the listener is not the only one who benefits. Often times the singer finds most of their freedom when letting a song out of their heart. A singer who really loves to sing carries a song in their heart all the time. Singing might sound pretty and may be a beautiful art but for the singer, it is so much more. Don't ever let that passion die if it is something you love to do.

There’s no half-singing in the shower, you’re either a rock star or an opera diva."

This and other good quotes on music can be found at:

http://voices.yahoo.com/encouraging-quotes-singers-5702332.html?cat=9

Film Capsules July 2013

I am posting my latest set of Film Capsules, prepared for the leaders of Cincinnati Presbytery, because of the first film, THE ATTACK. Relegated to the art house circuit because it is an Arabic film with English subtitles, it is not attracting much attention--4 others were present when I caught it--but it should. Any film that sheds even a little light on the complicated issues of the struggle for the Palestinian people against their occupiers and the equally compelling desire of Israelis for their security against terrorists deserves a wide audience.

Film Capsules July 2013

The Attack (Arabic with English subtitles)
Rated R. Jeremiah 17:9
This is one of those rare films that immerse you in an alien culture, leaving you at the end with a little more awareness of why someone unexpectedly does the inexplicable.
Co-written and directed by Ziad Doueiri, this is a dark and troubling film about a dark and troubling situation--the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Dr. Amin Jaafari, a Muslim surgeon who has chosen to live and work in Tel Aviv where he receives its highest honor for a doctor, is devastated when his wife, killed by a suicide bomber at a café, is accused of being the bomber. After the suspicious police confirm that he was not involved, the rest of the film is his parallel spiritual and physical journeys back to his hometown of Nablus in Palestine where he confronts a truth so terrible that it will scar him forever, making him an outsider to both his Israeli friends and to his Arab family. One of the most spiritually challenging films of the year, Lebanese-born Ziad Doueiri’s film is as helpful for understanding the Palestinian viewpoint as was the 2005 film about two friends preparing to become suicide bombers, Paradise Now. Every peacemaker should see this film, available thus far only at art house theaters.

Despicable Me 2
Rated PG. Ezekiel 11:19
It’s the summer movie desert time of year when all the boom-boom, chase-chase, hit-hit blockbusters are dominating the screens, so it should come as no surprise that at this moment two of the best films, at least for those who love good films, are two children’s animated films. The once villainous Gru has become the doting foster father of three little girls when he is recruited by a curvaceous agent of a spy agency to investigate a super villain who has a serum that can change the loveable little minions that serve Gru and others into vicious little monsters. Lots of fun and laughter here.

Monsters University
Rated G. Ecclesiastes 4.9; Proverbs 18.24
This prequel shows how Mike Wazowski and James “Sulley” P. Sullivan started out as enemies before forming their staunch friendship in their first film. Disliking each other from the start and winding up in the same fraternity of losers, the pint-sized Mike vies with his big furry rival to lead the fraternity in a series of games that could earn them the right to enroll in the schools famous Scare Program. Ever since a child, Mike has wanted to be able to scare people. As with other Pixar films, this is filled with funny scenes and dialogue and a lesson about what to do when we fail to achieve our dream. Adults will enjoy this as much as children, so do not send them—go with them and share a delightful experience.

The Lone Ranger
Rated PG-13. Psalm 34:16
This rebooting of the once popular franchise is definitely not the Lone Ranger that my father and I eagerly listened to at 6:30 PM on our old Philco radio. Part camp, and more Pirates of the Caribbean (or should we say Texas), this remake is such a mess of anachronisms (a toy electric train in 1869!) and CGI enhanced action scenes that are both too long and too unbelievable, it is no wonder that it came in third to Despicable Me 2 on its opening week. The cartoon is actually far more realistic! The humor, with Johnny Depp’s Tonto given the best lines, does make this fun to watch, but I recommend that you wait and catch this at a cheap seats cinema—as they say on TV, “Don’t waste your money!”  

The Way, Way Back
Rated PG-13. Matthew 10:31
Poor Duncan, a 14 year-old boy with an unfriendly older teenaged sister and a newly divorced mother (Pam) who is so enamored with her snarky boyfriend Trent that she cannot see the hurt he inflicts on her son, is dragged along to a beachside cabin to spend the summer together. He would much rather be with his dad, but the latter claims his circumstances do not allow this. On the way Trent tells the morose boy that on a scale of 1 to 10 he rates Duncan as a “3.” Real paternal skills here! Fortunately at the cabin Duncan meets a friendly girl slightly older than he and, best of all, Owen, a crazy-talking guy who works at the Water Wizz Park and takes a shine to the lonely boy. This is one of the best coming-of-age films that I have seen, certainly one of the best of any kind of film this summer. It is devoid of the juvenile humor of the usual Hollywood film about teens. There are adults who are jerks, but also some who have the wisdom of experience to impart, and the compassion to pass it on. Treat yourself and take this one in.

White House Down
Rated PG-13. Psalm 55:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:15
How we love our adult fairy tales in which the unlikely hero gets pummeled, shot at by a hundred goons unable to shoot straight, falls unwounded (even crashing through windows) from great heights, and is able to save the day. As in Olympus Down, the White House gets shot up a lot, but this time the President (played by Jamie Foxx) also gets into the action, overcoming his peaceful ways to blast away beside our hero, a Washington cop just turned down by the Secret Service. The villains are a little more believable than the North Koreans of the previous film. This time they are homegrown goons out for a huge stash of cash, and whose backer is convinced that the President’s Middle East Peace Plan will lead to the destruction of America—there also is another secret scoundrel. Entertaining hokum that should be seen on a big screen to take full advantage of the special effects, but wait till it comes to a cheap seat theater.

T. Internship
Rated PG-13. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are fun to watch as the bumbling Odd Couple who manage to con their way into the internship program at Google. Though fish out of water amidst the 100 or so brilliant college grads—they are both in their 40s and know little more about computers than how to turn them on and off—they bring life experience and a knack for team cooperation that stand them in good stead. The interns are divided into teams—no one wanting to work with the “old guys,” they wind up with the other lone rejects—and engage in a series of games and tasks designed to show who is the most creative. Only the winners will be given a chance to work at Google. It is fun to see the Google campus and a little bit of its workings. If it were not for an unnecessarily vulgar sequence set in a pole dance club (a few years ago this film would have been rated R!), this would be a good film for a church group to discuss teamwork and mutual respect.
Showing now at Danbarry Dollar Saver Cinemas

The  Heat
Rated R. Hebrews 10.24
This cop buddy movie stars two outstanding actresses—Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy—who demonstrate that women can equal the guys in the foul mouth department. It’s the old formula of two guys—er, gals—starting off on the wrong foot, and this sequence is really hilarious, especially on the part of the rotund McCarthy’s trying to squeeze through the window of her car. Of course, as they hunt for a drug lord flooding Boston with drugs, they slowly come to respect, and then to like each other. Amidst the raunchy humor are several poignant moments of the women arriving at a sense of sisterhood.

World War Z
Rated PG-13. Exodus 4:13; Jeremiah 1:6
Still another man saves the world from zombies tale, this has some good CGI effects, especially when thousands of zombies attack the walls of a besieged Jerusalem by piling atop one another. These are not the silly slow-shambling zombies of most of this deplorable genre, but fast running critters in more hurry than a New York taxi driver to sink their fangs into an uninfected victim.

T. Purge
Rated R. Psalm 10:8-9.
This dystrophic film would be a little more believable if it were set more than twenty years into the future, a time when the US Government has set up a program of catharsis that allows everyone one night a year to let loose their violent impulses. There is no indication of churches and other groups, especially peacemaking ones, ever objecting to such a barbarous system—but then so many sci-fi tales fall short by pretending that religion and the church have faded away under the onslaught of the new religion, science.
 During the period of The Purge murder and mayhem are not punished, the result supposedly being that during the rest of the year crime has decreased to less than 1 % of the population. Oh, sure. The story is about the family of a successful home security salesman whose family comes under attack when his young son takes pity on a stranger under attack outside and allows him entry into their house. A very violent film with a dubious take on Aristotle’s teaching of catharsis, the film at least offers opportunity to discuss the issue.

Best of the Food Films

14 years ago I wrote the following review for the magazine Christianity and the Arts, which alas is no longer published. Recently I have had two occasions to recall the review--first, the blog before this one when  I wrote about writer Fr. Andrew Greeley; and second, when I wrote the article "The Best Food Films" that will soon appear in ReadtheSpirit.com. 

                     

"Babette’s Extravagant Love"

The narrative of Isak Dinesen’s short story “Babette’s Feast” is as spare as the four Gospels. And like them, it is a story full of grace. Babette Hersant’s story of suffering and service is so suffused with amazing grace and extravagant, sacrificial love that she can be regarded as a striking example of the image of Christ the Lover.

The story begins, almost forty ears before the feast of the title, with two women. Philippa and Martine are the daughters of their widowed father, known to us simply as Pastor. He is the founder of an ascetic sect of the Lutheran Church, as stark as the rugged, bleak coast of Jutland, where they reside. The pastor is so religious that he named his daughters after the Founder of Lutheranism and after Luther’s chief assistant Philip Melanchthon.

All Photos Courtesy MGM Home Entertainment

Philippa and Martine have become their father’s right hands, accompanying him on visits to parishioners, cooking for the sick and the poor, and leading the singing at the Sunday services. Each of them has a suitor; Martine is wooed by a young cavalry officer, exiled to his aunt’s home in order to mend his dissolute ways. Philippa has attracted the attention of a famous opera singer, who gives her voice lessons and who hopes to woo her away to Paris, where he promises to make her a great star. The sisters turn the suitors away, choosing to stay with their father and his ministry.

 

Twenty-six years pass. Pastor has died, and Philippa and Martine have become the spiritual center of the little sect. During a fierce storm, the now elderly sisters hear a knock on the door. It is Babette, half dead from exposure. She bears a letter from the opera singer introducing her as needing help. During a political uprising in Paris her husband and son have been killed, and she has fled for her life. She begs to be hired as a servant, and when the sisters reply that they have no money to pay her, Babette offers to work for room and board.

The sisters teach Babette how to make a gruel from fish, daily fare for them and the shut-ins they visit. The gruel is as appetizing as the word sounds, but it sustains life and is offered freely to those who have nothing. As well as cooking, Babette also takes over the marketing, freeing the sisters to spend more time with the parishioners. A strange phenomenon develops—the food begins to taste better to everyone, and the sisters note that there is money left over since Babette’s arrival. Here is an echo of the abundance from Christ’s feeding the five thousand, although there is no claim in this film to the miraculous. In two brief scenes with local merchants we see that Babette is a shrewd buyer.

Fourteen years pass. The parishioners meet regularly for prayer and a meal at the sisters’ home. But their meals are as filled with grumbling and bickering as they are with prayers and hymns. They harbor resentments and grudges against each other for wrongs committed long ago. Interestingly, their bickering always stops when Babette enters the room to serve their simple meal. A disapproving glance or a clearing of her throat is enough to bring shame and silence. Her mere presence is a rebuke to unworthy words or thoughts.

One day a letter from France arrives for Babette, the first communication she has received since her arrival. She has won 10,000 francs in the French lottery. The sisters, at first delighted at Babette’s good fortune, grow sad thinking that she will now be leaving them. However, Babette surprises them when she offers to prepare a French meal for the sect in honor of Pastor’s one-hundredth birthday. The sisters, who usually serve only simple meals, reluctantly agree. Babette then asks to be allowed to go to France for a few days in order to buy the food. In her absence, the sisters resume the cooking. In a sly touch of humor the viewers is shown the dismay on the parishioners’ faces as they taste the unsavory results. They have grown accustomed to Babette’s delicious offerings.

When Babette returns, followed by a procession of crates of wine and champagne, vegetables and small quail, and even a large turtle, the sisters are aghast. Babette’s French meal has clearly gotten out of hand. The sisters confess their error to the parishioners, but their love for Babette requires that they go ahead with the dinner. They all agree that they will endure the meal, not enjoy it as they honor their founder.

The night of the feast arrives. The sisters remove their father’s portrait from the room to save him the disgrace. Babette is working hard in the kitchen. A kettle of turtle soup simmers on the fire; trays of baked good are in the oven; succulent fruit is on the platters. The table is set with a glittering array of crystal glasses and goblets, fine china, and gleaming silver. The cottage is transformed into a setting fit for a king. For the viewers, this is a visual feast.

 

The guests arrive, reminding one another of their vow not to enjoy the food. Among them is General Lorenz Lowenhielm, Martine’s shy young suitor from long ago. He has risen in rank and prominence at the royal court. He intends to show Martine what she has missed. But nothing turns out as expected.

 

First, the general is amazed at the splendor of the table, far different from the frugal meals he remembers eating here. As the various wines, the soup, and succeeding courses are brought in by the boy serving as waiter, the general exclaims each time about the quality of the presentation. The other guests, whose limited, rigid lives have left them ignorant of culinary fare, ignore or misunderstand his comments. However, the exquisite beauty and taste of the food begin to work their magic on the diners. We see the softening of spirits, the reluctant then growing delight on their faces as the meal progresses. One by one, the parishioners who had held grudges against one another seek pardon or offer forgiveness.    

  

 When the main course arrives, a magnificent dish, the general can no longer contain himself. He exclaims that he knows only one person in the world who could have made this, a Parisian female chef over whom men fought duels, a chef so gifted that her meals were called: "a love affair of the romantic and noble category in which one could no longer distinguish between bodily and spiritual appetite.” He rises, clinks his spoon on his glass, and delivers an address on grace, the grace of God which transcends time and distance, and which “proclaims a general amnesty” to all. No longer is he a vain man parading his lofty position before Martine, the woman who had rejected him.

 

He concludes by quoting Pastor’s favorite Psalm (85:5-10): “Me3rcy and truth have met together. Righteousness and bliss have kissed one another.” (One of many ironies in the film). As the meal moves to a climax, the company adjourns to the parlor to sing a hymn and continue their words of reconciliation, all the result of the extravagant outpouring of Babette’s love (and skill).

The general leaves after assuring Martine that they have been together in God’s grace all along. The others, afraid to break the magic spell of grace, gather in a circle outside the house. There, under a brilliant canopy of stars, they hold hands to dance in a circle as they quietly sing.

The sisters go to congratulate and thank Babette in the kitchen, from which she has not ventured all evening. There she tells them that she has spent all her lottery winnings on the meal and will be staying on with them. When the sisters in astonishment lament Babette’s impoverishment, she replies, “An artist is never poor.”
Babette, as a culinary artist and as a Catholic (“papist” their father would have said), has intuitively seen the rigid ascetism with which the parishioners have imprisoned their spirits. In their denial of worldly things they have forgotten that God created and blessed the world. Each time the general expressed his pleasure with the food before him, he echoed God’s words of delight in the Genesis account of Creation: “God saw that it was good…And God saw that it was very good.”

Christ affirmed the goodness of creation also when he used bread and wine to convey the deepest bond between himself and his followers. He often spoke of the kingdom as a great banquet. Babette’s life becomes an image of Christ as the banquet host.

There are other similarities. Both Jesus and Babette fled to foreign countries. Jesus often called himself a servant, taking that role when he washed the feet of his disciples. Babette worked for fourteen years as an unpaid servant. Like Christ in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2:6-8) Babette “emptied” herself. She forsook her culinary authority and allowed herself to be taught how to make a simple gruel, which she transformed into a worthy meal.

Most central to this film, however, is the theme of extravagant love and grace. Babette gives everything she has to deliver a group of people from their spare, colorless, and loveless, religion. She invites those who have chosen meagerness to a feast, to taste with joy the abundance of life. She transforms a little gathering of ascetics into an affair of beauty and splendor. As an image of Christ the Lover (and, we ought to add, Artist), she has wooed them out of the darkness and into the light of the Creator God’s presence.

Writer Fr. Andrew Greeley's Death Overshadowed by That of Jean Stapelton

News of the death of the noted Catholic priest/writer Fr. Andrew Greeley was almost lost amid all the tributes given to the wonderful actress who depicted Edith Bunker. TIME Magazine even printed its tribute to him below that of Ms. Stapleton's, and yet I was so absorbed by her story that I totally ignored Fr. Greeley's. Glad that I went back through the magazine before tossing it out.

As a liberal iconoclastic priest he was the bane of traditionalists. Trained in sociology, he wrote 150 books, but most were novels, many of them mysteries with a priest as the solver of the crime. What surprised readers at first was that he did not flinch from mixing explicit talk about theology and God with scenes in which a man and a woman "knew" each other in the Biblical sense. He approved of robust romance, many of his love scenes being at the far edge of an R rating had they been movies.

He also loved and wrote about movies. In one of his works he championed the then controversial Madonna, praising her feisty independence. In the book below, which he co-wrote, he provides many valuable insights into such movies as Jacob's Ladder, Field of Dreams, Pale Rider, Ghost, Flatliners, and one of my favorites, Babette's Feast. 

This book is also one of my favorite film books for a selfish reason--my name is in the Index, which sends you to p. 52 where he quotes the last paragraph of the article I wrote "Babette's Extravagant Love." This was written for the Spring issue of Christianity & the Arts, the theme for that quarter being "Images of Christ." I'm not used to being quoted by someone of such stature, so it was very gratifying.

Fr. Greeley will be missed. Typical of him, the hymn used when his coffin was taken into the church was "Lord of the Dance," Sydney Carter's great song set to a Shaker tune depicting Christ as the Dancer Inviting Us to the Dance of Life--once as controversial to church traditionalists as Fr. Greeley was himself.