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A conversation this morning made me realise I’d never posted this article here, which is why it’s appearing some time after the film. This article was first published on Culturewatch.

Beware: spoilers ahoy!

One of the many changes which the Internet has brought into our lives is that it is remarkably easy to masquerade as something we’re not. It’s always been possible, of course. Pretence is an element in some of the earliest human stories. According to the Bible, deception became part of human experience back in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent persuaded Eve that he had her best interests at heart. He was the first in a long, long line of tricksters, impostors and con artists. Yet until we started spending significant amounts of time in the online world, it generally required perpetrators to be quite daring since it usually involved face-to-face encounters. In a world of social networking profiles and cyber-relationships, however, it is the work of moments to invent for ourselves an identity that may have little or no basis in reality.

Catfish is the story of a relationship which began online, and which turned out to be built on a web of lies and fabrications. It’s a familiar story from the online world, but it’s rare that it is documented in this way. This one was captured on film because it centres on Yaniv ‘Nev’ Shulman, a photographer from New York who also makes films with his brother Ariel and a friend, Henry Joost. Nev claims that they are always filming each other doing mundane things, which is how this particular story came to be filmed in such detail from very early on.

Nev had one of his pictures of a dancer published in the New York Sun in August 2007. Three months later, he received a painting of the photograph in the post, apparently the work of an eight-year-old called Abby. As a result, a friendship developed via email and then Facebook. Nev would send one of his photographs and Abby would send her painting of it. Given her prodigious talent, it was natural for Ariel and Henry to take an interest in documenting something of this from Nev’s end. After a time, they felt that it would be worth making a film of what was happening.

At the very start of the film, Nev claims that Abby should be the sole subject of the documentary, and he shouldn’t be part of it at all. ‘I don’t think I’m that interesting,’ he protests. Does he really mean this, given that he and his friends are always filming trivial aspects of each other’s lives? Or is this a classic example of misdirection, designed to make us think that he is a reluctant participant in what unfolds? The problem with this story is that it is presented as a documentary, and yet it all seems so unlikely that it’s difficult to ignore the possibility that it may all be staged. This possibility is reinforced by a comment made by Abby’s father, Vince, at the very end of the film. He describes how live cod were transported from Alaska to China in large vats. But by the time they arrived, ‘the flesh was mush and tasteless’. Someone came up with the idea of putting some catfish into the vats to keep the cod agile. Vince reflects:

There are those people who are catfish in life and they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank God for the catfish, because we’d be droll, boring and dull if we didn’t have somebody nipping at our fin.

The question is, who is the real catfish in this film: is it Abby’s family or is it the people making the film?

The online friendship with Abby pulls in other members of her family almost immediately. Nev is rightly insistent that their communication should take place with the full knowledge of Abby’s parents. Before long, Nev is also communicating regularly with Abby’s mother, Angela Wesselman, and increasingly with older sister Megan. They appear to be a tight-knit and talented family, and Nev forms the impression that Angela is a great mother. ‘She must be awesome,’ he reasons, ‘because the kids are pretty awesome – at least from Facebook.’ Abby seems to be something of a celebrity in her home town in Michingan. Although packages of Abby’s paintings arrive every few weeks, Angela tells Nev that many are sold to local collectors and that they plan to open a gallery just for her work.

An online romance develops between Nev and Megan who, judging by her Facebook profile, is intelligent, creative and beautiful. Nev is smitten with her:

She works as a vet so she likes animals a lot. I like animals. I’m not a crazy animal lover, but I do like animals. She’s also a musician. I think she plays the cello. Maybe also the guitar, and she sings. I’m not really a musician, but I guess you could say we have a similarity there, as I . . . whatever. She’s a dancer; she takes ballet . . . she does belly dancing. Again, not that I do either of those, but dance is a big part of my life. I mean, yeah I guess I don’t know that much about her. Yet.

Megan and Angela start recording songs for Nev, with the help of Megan’s brother Alex. Nev and Rel wonder if one track is a cover version or an original composition, so they search online and quickly find another version. ‘You can’t hold it against her,’ argues Rel. ‘She didn’t say, “Hey, I wrote this song.”‘ Nev agrees: ‘It doesn’t matter; she’s still young.’ But then they find the ‘exact same recording’ and the first seed of suspicion begins to take root. Nev is disturbed that Angela ‘responded to a number of compliments that I gave her about the song and how much I liked it, and it’s not even her singing. It’s just a recording of someone else’s.’ More googling soon turns up a Youtube video which is clearly the very same recording of another song which Megan and Angela had claimed was theirs. Now Nev is getting worried: ‘They are complete psychopaths. I’ve probably been chatting with a guy this whole time.’

In their ensuing discussions, Henry is adamant that they should try to get to the bottom of what’s going on, while Nev insists that he doesn’t want any more to do with the family. Again, Nev’s reluctance may simply be a device to make us trust him and his perspectives more than we otherwise would, to make us believe that these young film-makers are telling us the truth. Other questions now, finally, become obvious to the trio: Why has Nev never spoken to Abby herself? Why has no one heard of her if she is such a gifted eight-year-old who is selling paintings and opening a gallery? Nev and Rel search online for the gallery and soon find the building that appeared in one of Angela’s photos on a real estate agent’s site. It’s still for sale. Nev finally wonders how he could have been so gullible. Significantly, the music playing at this point is fromThe Truman Show.

They eventually decide to drive to Michigan to pay the family a surprise visit and drive past the farm which Megan supposedly owns in the early hours of morning. They look in the mailbox and find postcards which Nev had sent to Megan. Nev remarks, ‘What surprises me the most is that, to go to the trouble to lie as elaborately as they have, for her not to just drive here and pick up the mail seems crazy doesn’t it?’ He wonders how Megan could be so lazy, but Rel points out that Megan’s family are ‘so lazy they fooled you for eight months. That’s pretty good.’ ‘They didn’t fool me,’ Nev retorts. ‘They just told me things and I never cared to question it.’

In the morning they find Angela’s house and introduce themselves. She is nothing like they expected, and nor is her family. Megan is mysteriously absent; Abby can’t even remember what she looks like. And Abby herself is not quite the prodigy Nev had believed. While we as viewers have expected the Wesselmans to be somewhat different from the photographs Nev has seen online, it is still uncomfortable to discover how significant the discrepancy is. The question facing the three men now is, how should they respond to this new situation? Henry doesn’t want to embarrass Angela or her family. ‘It’s not malicious. It’s just sad,’ he says. Nev agrees, saying, ‘We’re not here to hurt, we’re here to help.’ Rel just wants to ‘shake the truth out of her’.

The question of whether or not this is a genuine documentary or something which masquerades as one is itself part of the issue which the film explores. The point is that we simply cannot know whether what we are being told is true or a complete fabrication. While many of us restrict our Facebook friends to those people we really know, there are plenty of people who become ‘friends’ with people they’ve only met online. Some other social networking sites, such a Twitter, are much more open and we don’t really have much of a clue about the true identity of someone whose tweets we’re following.

Trust is one side of the equation, and if we’re not sure who to trust then we need to exercise due caution. The other side of the equation is what drives people to invent a new identity. Nev finally gently confronts Angela with his conclusions, and discusses the relationship with her. He reflects that, ‘It was an amazing correspondence . . . a real friendship that I was also looking for myself.’ Angela confesses, ‘I didn’t want to lose the friendship, and there were times when I felt I was really overstepping and I tried to pull it back,’ but it was giving her something she was lacking in her life. The trouble is, a friendship built on lies is not a real friendship, but Angela could convince herself that it meant something. She talks about the relationship with Nev opening up other parts of life to her, and admits that she always wanted to be a professional dancer, but was too concerned with having a good time. ‘A lot of the personalities that came out were just fragments of myself,’ she observes. ‘Fragments of things I used to be, wanted to be, never could be. You know, when I met [Vince's severely disabled sons from a previous marriage], I knew I was making a sacrifice with my life, but I didn’t count the cost of things that I was gonna be giving up and sort of resigning for the rest of my life. And this year when I resigned my career, I don’t know, it’s like I gave up a lot of myself. And I don’t know most days who I am.’

This is the core of the problem. She has an identity crisis. Angela’s life has taken turns which have brought regrets and difficulties, and left her feeling that her life amounts to nothing. She is so discontented with her true identity and situation that she has wantonly manufactured new ones. While the rational part of her brain clearly knew that this invention really meant nothing, the emotional part of her brain was getting the attention and affirmation that she craved. Every positive communication from Nev gave her an emotional hit: made her feel like she was somebody, that she mattered. She simply wanted to keep hold of that feeling rather than be plunged back into the frustration and tedium of an unremarkable life and the challenges of caring for the two boys.

It is clearly quite possible to have meaningful communication with someone online, and even to form genuine friendships, at some level, with people we’ve only met virtually. But such communication and friendships are only part of what we need. God created human beings in his image; we reflect something of his nature. Part of this is that we are profoundly relational beings; without meaningful relationships we wither away to a shadow of what we should be. Loneliness is one of the worst blights of the modern technological society. But because we are constantly bombarded by media representations of what the good life should be, many of us bear a profound sense of inadequacy. The world is apparently full of beautiful people, but we’re not. The world is apparently full of people who are feted because of their talent, but ours is mediocre. The world is apparently full of life-enhancing possibilities, yet ours is so constrained, so full of pain and frustration and missed oportunities. We find ourselves longing to be something that we’re not.

The trouble is that if we try to build our lives and relationships on foundations which are not true, we are setting ourselves up for even greater disappointment. Another aspect of being made in God’s image is that, ultimately, we need things to be true. Like Nev, Rel and Henry, we know that there is something deeply wrong with being deceived. So how can we reconcile the longing for significance with the need for our identity to be genuine and honest? How can we be content with the limitations of life as it is? As long as our society keeps defining value in such external terms, we will have problems. We need to discover that our true value comes from being made in God’s image. Our deepest satisfaction can only come from knowing him, but we will also discover genuine satisfaction when we learn to invest wholeheartedly in relationships with the real people who are around us, rather than pretending to be something we’re not.

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I love this quote from C.S. Lewis’s An Experiment in Criticism (1961), which is easily applicable to film as well as literature:

This, so far as I can see, is the specific value or good of literature as Logos; it admits us to experiences other than our own. They are not, any more than our personal experiences, all equally worth having. Some, as we say, ‘interest’ us more than others. The causes of this interest are naturally extremely various and differ from one man to another; it may be the typical (and we say ‘How true!’) or the abnormal (and we say ‘How strange!’); it may the beautiful, the terrible, the awe-inspiring, the pathetic, the comic, or the merely piquant. Literature gives the entrée to them all. Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realise the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realise it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through the eyes of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. I regret that the brutes cannot write books. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or a bee; more gladly still would I perceive the olfactory world charged with all the information and emotion it carries for a dog.

Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality. There are mass emotions which heal the wound; but they destroy the privilege. In them our separate selves are pooled and we sink back into sub-individuality. But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do. (pp. 139-141)

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I often lead film discussions, but there’s enormous value in organising leading them yourself rather than depending on some ‘expert’ from outside (though sometimes that can be a good thing – I’m still open to invitations!). Here are some brief guidelines. I’ll add to this and expand on some of the points at a later date. There’s a list of some good films to discuss here.

Choosing films to discuss

There are a few criteria to bear in mind when choosing a film to discuss:

Relevance

Does the film raise good issues which are worth talking about? Are they the right issues for your group?

Appropriateness

Is the film suitable for your group in terms of language, violence, sexual content, etc.? There are films in this list which I would use with some small groups in a home, some which would be fine with students, and some which I would never use in church! Don’t just look at the film certificate, look at what the BBFC (or MPAA in the USA) give as reasons for the certificate.

Popularity

Is your group going to prefer a mainstream film which they know about, or have already seen? Or would it be better to use something unfamiliar, maybe something arty?

Length

A film which runs for 90 minutes or so is great – you can have time for a good discussion and the evening doesn’t feel too long. I think two hours is the top limit in most circumstances. One that runs for 150 minutes may be OK for your group, but many people will be too tired to discuss it much afterwards. Check the running time on DVD, not what it was in cinemas. Cinema projection is at 24 frames per second, but films are transferred onto DVD at 25 fps, which means it will be about 4% shorter. In general, the running times included on my list of suggestions are all DVD running times, but if not, the actual running time will be 4% less.

Licensing

If you’re showing a film in your church, etc. you do need to make sure you have the appropriate licence. Either CVLI or Film Bank (if you’re in the UK), depending on the distributor.

Organising a film evening

• Set a date, time and venue well in advance and make sure you publicise it well (but note the restrictions of the licences on what you can and cannot do about publicising the title of the film)
• Find a venue that is comfortable, with enough room for everyone and where you can have refreshments
• Make sure you have the equipment you need for showing a film – do you just need a large-screen TV and a DVD player, or do you need a projector and screen, laptop or DVD player, and sound amplification equipment
• Organise some refreshments, which could be a simple as some bowls of popcorn or maybe something to tie in with the theme of the film
• Download and print off copies of any Culturewatch discussion guides or articles you wish to use

Leading a discussion

Keep the discussion focused, starting with some general reflections on how people found the book or film or whatever you are discussing, moving on to explore the ideas within it in some detail, and not forgetting to reflect on how it relate to a Christian worldview.

You will find a list of twenty questions to ask about a film here (download the pdf) and a longer list (taken from my book, Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema) here (pdf file).

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Here are some suggestions for films which are good to use in discussions. This list nowhere near exhaustive; merely a few films that I’ve either enjoyed using myself or that I’m confident would be great. The list is very roughly in order of how suitable I think a film is for discussing: things near the top are very good; things near the bottom are less so, but they may suit a particular occasion. Don’t read anything into the order beyond that; it’s certainly not in order of how much I like them as films. I’ll add to this list as other things occur to me and as new films come out. The Culturewatch website, for which I am Managing Editor, is a great place to find discussion guides – around 500 of them (though they’re not all on films). There are some links to articles and discussion guides in the list.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2009)

When best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) go to Barcelona for the summer, they have very different agendas. Vicky is sensible, serious and engaged to a respectable and ambitious young man, Doug (Chris Messina). She is spending her last months as a single woman doing research for her Master’s degree thesis on Catalan identity. Cristina, however, is romantic, impulsive and eager to find new sexual relationships in her quest to find her ideal romantic partner.
They stay with relatives of Vicky, who take them to a reception in an art gallery. Cristina is fascinated by a man called Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). She is intrigued to discovered that he is a painter who had an extremely explosive relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz in the role for which she won a Best Supporting Acress Oscar), resulting in her trying to kill him. Later, Cristina and Vicky are having dinner in the same restaurant as Juan Antonia. He comes across to invite them to join him on a trip to Oviedo, a short flight away. He explains that he plans to view a particular sculpture which he finds inspiring. Vicky is sceptical, and has her worst fears confirmed when Juan Antonio outlines his plan for them to look around the city, eat well, drink good wine and make love together. Despite Vicky’s protestations, Cristina accepts, seeing it as a romantic adventure.

Directed & written by Woody Allen
Starring Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz

Certificate 12 – Contains moderate sex references and implied sex
Running time: 92 mins

My article on Culturewatch | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Up (2009)

As a boy, Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner) longed for adventure and idolised the world explorer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer). When he met and fell in love with a fellow adventurer, Ellie (voice of Elie Docter), he made her a promise: one day they would follow in Muntz’s footsteps and travel to South America to live at Paradise Falls. They have a long and happy marriage, but Ellie dies without ever making it to her dream destination. As a widowed senior citizen with a dodgy back and dentures, Carl longs only to live an undisturbed life. Until one day when he is forced to move out of his home and into a retirement community, and decides to do something radical. He attaches thousands of helium balloons to his house, intending to fly it south.
Carl still imagines that this will be a solitary venture that doesn’t greatly disrupt his comfort. But all this changes when he discovers eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer Russell (voice of Jordan Nagai) clinging to his porch as the house ascends. Russell had approached Carl in the hope of earning his ‘assisting the elderly’ badge, but this odd pair must now join forces as they navigate their way to Paradise Falls and encounter all sorts of bizarre creatures and life-threatening situations.

Josh Hurst writes that the ‘most outrageous thing’ about this film is that, “It’s a summer blockbuster that’s head-over-heels for the joys of marriage. Here lifelong commitment isn’t a burden; it’s an adventure.”

I loved this film; definitely one of last year’s highlights for me. My wife insists that is solely down to the very moving, bittersweet opening sequence. She thinks it appeals to my deep love of melancholy. Maybe she’s right, but I did really enjoy the rest of the film too.

Directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Bob Peterson
Written by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

Certificate U – contains mild threat
Running time: 102 mins

Culturewatch article by Holly Price | Discussion guide

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The Merry Gentleman

The Merry Gentleman questions whether second chances are possible. Kate Frazier (Kelly MacDonald) moves to Chicago to escape her abusive husband Michael (Bobby Cannavale). She is a private person so keeps her new colleagues at a distance. Frank Logan (Michael Keaton) is an assassin who has no friends and is on the verge of suicide. Kate and Frank meet serendipitously and form a unique friendship. Kate is ignorant of Frank’s profession and Frank is ignorant of Kate’s past. Their relationship offers the prospect of a fresh start.
A love triangle develops when the detective investigating Frank’s murders, Dave Murcheson (Tom Bastounes), takes a liking to Kate. He is a respectable man but, because of his low self-esteem, he messes Kate around. Kate is put in a position to forgive or bring some redemption to Frank, Dave and Michael – but will she?

Director: Michael Keaton
Screenplay: Ron Lazzeretti
Starring: Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald, Tom Bastounes

Certificate 15 – Contains strong violence and language
Running time: 95 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

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An Education

What is life really all about? That’s the question which troubles Jenny – played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan – when she finds her life being pulled in two different directions. She is a very bright 16-year-old schoolgirl who is destined for Oxford University, but who longs to be sophisticated and is entranced by everything French. When she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), he seems to her to embody nearly everything she longs for. Though is not French, he is charming, witty, urbane. He introduces her to a world of fun and glamour and excitement, which contrasts starkly with her stifling middle-class existence in suburban Twickenham. David sweeps her off her feet, and the pre-planned trajectory of her life is thrown radically off-course.

Director: Lone Scherfig
Screenplay: Nick Hornby based on a memoir by Lynn Barber
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike

Certificate 12A – Contains moderate sex references
Running time: 96 mins

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide yet

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A Serious Man

Larry Gopnik’s (Michael Stuhlbarg) life is one of suburban routine. He visits the doctor, and finds he is in good health. He is a physics lecturer at the local university. His concerns are those of suburban life: is his neighbour encroaching on his lawn? But he’s wrenched from his complacency when his wife (Sari Lennick) announces that she wants a divorce. A Korean student, Clive (David Kang), is dissatisfied with his grade and appears to bribe Larry to raise it. When Larry challenges him about the bribe, Clive’s father (Steve Park) threatens to sue. Larry crashes his car, receives repeated demands from the Columbia Record Company for fees and has to deal with his wife’s infuriatingly sympathetic lover, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). As his problems pile up, he starts looking for answers. What does it all mean?
Gopnik’s life is set almost entirely within his Jewish community in Minnesota. His doctor, dentist and lawyer are all Jewish, and everyone counsels him to turn to the rabbis, to ask them what his problems mean. But with each visit, Gopnik’s exasperation grows as none give him a satisfying answer. He’s invited instead to ‘accept the mystery’ of it all. A Serious Man doesn’t set out to debunk faith or ridicule religion, but however seriously Gopnik tries to find his answers, they never come. As his problems swirl around him, apparently without solution or explanation, surely we must conclude that everything is meaningless?

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenplay: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick

Certificate 15 – Contains strong language and soft drug use

Running time: 101 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Creation (2009)

Primarily set in 1858, the year before On the Origin of the Species was published, Creation has many flashbacks revealing Darwin’s struggles during the previous years. The key event was the death of his eldest daughter, Annie (Martha West). Charles was an unusually devoted father for his day, and Annie was his favourite child. He was with her, caring for her, while she died at the age of ten, far from home and the rest of the family. Her untimely death devastated him, and it made deeply personal what had been an intellectual struggle for years: the problem of suffering.

Damaris created official resources to help churches, schools and community groups make the most of this film. These resources – some of which are included on the DVD – contain material from a variety of viewpoints. Neither Damaris nor Icon Film Distribution endorse all the views expressed!

Director: Jon Amiel

Screenplay: John Collee

Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch

Certificate PG – contains mild language and emotionally intense scenes
Running time: 104 mins

Culturewatch article | There is also a downloadable pdf for an event based on Creation, with quizzes, discussion starters and even recipe ideas!

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Gran Torino

Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a Korean war veteran and the proud owner of a 1972 Ford Gran Torino. He is indifferent towards his family, openly racist towards his Hmong neighbours and offensive towards the priest (Christopher Carley) who tries to befriend him after the death of his wife. The son of Walt’s neighbour, Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang), is cajoled by a gang into trying to steal the Gran Torino. Walt catches him in the act and Thao’s mother insists that the boy does chores for Walt to make amends. Slowly Walt gets to know the Lors and they become more of a family to him than his blood relatives. Walt takes it upon himself to teach Thao how to stand up for himself in their dangerous neighbourhood.
Father Janovich (Carley) has promised Walt’s late wife that he will try to get Walt to confession. Walt is sceptical of religion and believes the priest to be utterly unqualified to give advice about life, death and forgiveness. The priest has a series of conversations with Walt, but it is only when Walt gets a glimpse of Janovich’s weaknesses that he begins to listen to his message.
As the film progresses, Walt’s cold heart thaws. He begins to value relationships and put others before himself. By the end of the film, Walt is committed to protecting the Lor family, even at the risk of his own life.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay: Nick Schenk (screenplay; story by Nick Schenk and Dave Johannson)

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her

Certificate 15 – Contains moderate sex references, language and a drug reference

Running time: 112 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Departures

2009’s Foreign Language Oscar winner is a film about a disillusioned cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) who decides to abandon his life and career in Tokyo. He responds to a job advert for a company called ‘Departures’ which he thinks is a travel agency, but it turns out to be an undertaker.

Director: Yōjirō Takita

Screenplay: Kundo Koyama

Starring: Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hiriosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Certificate 12A – Contains emotionally intense scenes of bereavement

Running time:

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide yet

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Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Harold Crick leads an intensely measured life. Every stroke of his toothbrush and every step to work is counted, and every day precisely timed (even though he almost misses bus each day, it’s always by the exactly the same time). But one particular Wednesday, this order is forever disrupted when he begins hearing a voice narrating his life. This is the beginning of a strange story for Harold Crick (Will Ferrell). The voice is an annoyance at first: Harold thinks he is going mad (though with admirable acceptance), but that same Wednesday he hears the voice calmly narrate, ‘Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.’
The meticulous control Harold once had over his life is gone, and he sets out on a search to find out exactly who is narrating his life, before they kill him. Harold’s unusual knowledge gives him the chance to take the advice of literature professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), breaking out of the stiffness of his IRS agent’s manner (and his loneliness) to make his life the one he’s always wanted. He starts a romance with the energetic and free-spirited baker Miss Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), he learns the guitar, he ‘lives his life’. But when will his story’s plot catch up with him?
We soon discover the identity of the voice: it belongs to author Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). She hasn’t been seen by the literary community for ten years and, we discover, is struggling with writer’s block on her new novel. How can she kill Harold Crick? As viewers we have the rare opportunity to watch Harold’s life story being written from a sparsely decorated room in an apparently untraceable location. Will Harold be able to find his life’s author before the perfect way to kill her character comes to her?
From both sides of the narration, this film is a witty and engaging look at the life of a man who now has one question: is his life a comedy or a tragedy?

Directed by Marc Forster

Starring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman

Certificate 12 – contains one use of strong language)

Running time: 108 mins

Culturewatch article by James Musson | discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

13 Conversations About One Thing (2005)

An academic is badly shaken by a mugging, and having been forced to take an uncomfortable look at his life, he begins an affair. A hotshot lawyer strides confidently into a bar, certain that his hard work and pursuit of justice have made him immune to bad fortune, but he is about to be proved wrong. A young cleaner believes in miracles and can find hope in any situation, but her optimism will be put to a severe test. An unhappy businessman becomes increasingly embittered by the cheerfulness of one of his co-workers, and conspires to thwart him.
The smallest actions that these four people take as they try to work out what it means to be happy have a far-reaching impact. The film’s narrative jumps backwards and forwards through time, revealing the meaning in apparently meaningless events, and showing how the lives of the central characters and those close to them are more connected than they can know.

Directed by Jill Sprecher

Starring Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Amy Irving

Certificate 15 – contains strong language

Running time: 99 mins

My article on Culturewatch | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Up in the Air (2009)

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has an unusual job: he flies around America firing people on behalf of their employers. Equipped with motivational anecdotes, a winning smile and a pamphlet purported to contain ‘all the answers you’re looking for’, he is confident that he makes the experience bearable, even dignified.
One might wonder what attracts a person to this role. Ryan doesn’t do it out of spite or goodwill; he does it for the miles. He wants to become the seventh person ever to reach ten million frequent flyer miles. Ryan also wants to continue meeting frequent flyer Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), the female version of himself.
His goal is put in jeopardy when his boss, Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman), is won over by Natalie Keener’s (Anna Kendrick) idea of sacking people over the internet rather than in person. Ryan is adamant that Natalie knows nothing about firing people, so Craig shrewdly insists that whilst the necessary preparations for Glocal (the name given to Natalie’s concept) are being made, Ryan should show her how it’s done.
As Ryan and Natalie travel together, making people redundant as they go, they build a friendship. Ryan thought he was completely content with his life, but Natalie and Alex make him question his goals and long for deeper relationships.
Russ Breimeier calls this a “cautionary parable about investing more in selfish pursuits than in relationships”. I’m not sure that makes it redemptive. There does seem to be some hope for George Clooney’s character towards the end, but Gareth Higgins, on The Film Talk podcast, read is as being ultimately unredemptive.

Director: Jason Reitman

Screenplay: Sheldon Turner and Jason Reitman, based on the book by Walter Kirn

Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick

Certificate 15 – contains strong language

Running time: 105 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Juno (2008)

Amid the falling leaves and beautiful colours of autumn, quirky teenager Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) drinks ‘like, ten tons of Sunny D’, takes three pregnancy tests, and discovers that she has a big problem. As she tells the father, her close friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), these situations, if left unchecked, typically lead to infants, so Juno decides to take matters into her own hands. Deciding against abortion, Juno and her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) set out to find the perfect adoptive parents for the unborn child. As the year progresses, and her condition begins to show, Juno gets to know her chosen family, wealthy suburban couple Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). She also confronts the judgemental attitudes of her school acquaintances and others in her own inimitable way, providing plenty of laughs for the audience, as well as some fearless insights into her wacky life.
As we see more of Juno and the people who are important to her, we begin to realise that nothing and no one in this film is predictable. Juno is certainly not a stereotypical sixteen-year-old. Eloquent and quick-witted, she is also a compassionate and courageous young woman, far removed from the common conception of teenagers as sullen, self-centred and angst ridden. In fact, very few of the characters in Juno are easy to dislike, and none are superficial. Juno’s gruff father (J. K. Simmons) reveals a warm and loving heart, her dog-obsessed stepmother (Alison Janney) is a true parent and a constant support to Juno. Leah, the best friend, is a cheerleader, but is happy to hang out with the less mainstream Juno without worrying about her image. Bleeker is athletic and ‘cool’, yet also sensitive and devoted to Juno. Even the apparently perfect Mark and Vanessa Loring have a few surprises to let slip.
A lovely, quirky film about life and love.

Directed by Jason Reitman

Oscar-winning Screenplay by Diablo Cody

Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, J. K. Simmons, Alison Janney

Certificate 12A – contains strong language and moderate sex references

Running time: 92 mins

Culturewatch article | discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Blind Side (2009)

Big Mike walks as though every step is an effort. Head and shoulders taller and a good few inches broader than everyone he passes, dressed in dirty shorts and a T-shirt despite the cold, he carries all of his worldly possessions in a plastic bag. That this timid misfit could ever go on to become one of American Football’s biggest stars seems far too good to be true. But the extraordinary thing about The Blind Side is that this apparently fanciful fable is based on a real-life story.
When drifter Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is accepted into Wingate Christian School, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will turn his life around. The affluent Tuohy family, led by tough matriarch Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock, in the role for which she won an Oscar), encounter him one chilly night as he searches for a place to sleep and invite him into their home. But what begins as a small, impulsive act of generosity soon escalates. Discovering the truth about Michael’s devastating situation piece by piece, Leigh Anne takes him under her wing as a surrogate son.
A film about Christian compassion in action, it’s a little clichéed and simplistic, but also surprisingly moving thanks to an Oscar-winning performance from Sandra Bullock.

Director: John Lee Hancock

Screenplay: John Lee Hancock, based on the story by Michael Lewis

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates

Certificate 12A – contains infrequent moderate violence, language and sex references

Running time: 128 mins – a little on the long side

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide yet

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Crazy Heart (2010)

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a washed-out country music legend, who spends most of his life on the road and makes his living playing gigs at bars and bowling alleys across the American southwest. The best he can hope for is to open a concert for his acclaimed protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). When he’s not playing, he’s drinking or lying in a drunken stupor. He lacks any purpose or direction in life outside of his own day-to-day existence. But all of that changes when he meets a young reporter named Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal). He hits it off with her four-year-old son Buddy (Jack Nation) and shortly after, Bad and Jean begin a romantic relationship. Near-tragedy causes them both to stop, step back, and take a look at their lives. The romance ends and Bad determines to kick his alcoholism with the help of his friend Wayne Kramer (Robert Duvall).

Director: Scott Cooper

Screenplay: Scott Cooper, based on the novel by Thomas Cobb

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall

Certificate 15 – Contains strong language
Running time: 108

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli is set 30 years after the world has been ravaged by nuclear war. Law and order have collapsed, fresh water and food are scarce; few people remember the world as it once was. The story follows Eli (Denzel Washington), a lone traveller with a mission. He is carrying a copy of the Bible, believing that he has been charged by God with protecting it. It is probably the last copy in the world, after people destroyed all the Bibles they could find, blaming it for causing the war.
Only those alive before the war remember the book and its power. Carnegie (Gary Oldman) is one of these survivors. Using hired thugs, he has established himself as ruler over a small town. He searches tirelessly for a copy of the Bible, hoping to use it to tighten his control on people. When he realises that Eli has what he has been looking for, he does everything he can to try to get it from him. But Eli will do anything to protect the book, even to the point of killing those who try to take it from him.

Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Screenplay: Gary Whitta

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis

Certificate 15 – Contains strong violence and language

Running time:

Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

A Single Man

George (Colin Firth), a meticulous college professor, is preparing to commit suicide in the wake of his lover’s death. But as he goes about his normal routine for the last time, ordinary moments seem to take on extraordinary significance and the people around him glow with sudden beauty.

Director: Tom Ford

Screenplay: Tom Ford, David Scearce, based on the book by Christopher Isherwood

Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult

Certificate 12A – Contains suicide theme, moderate threat, drug references and nudity

Running time:

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide yet

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Lars and the Real Girl (2008)

A brilliant, quirky independent film that most people will have missed, lots about  identity, self-worth and finding acceptance in a community

Director: Craig Gillespie

Screenplay: Nancy Oliver

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider

Certificate 12A – contains mental illness theme and moderate sex references

Running time: 102 mins

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Son of Rambow (2008)

A look at religious extremism with a strong theme of freedom and expression

Directed and written by Garth Jennings

Starring: Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon

Certificate 12A – contains dangerous behaviour, smoking and moderate language

Running time: 91 mins

My Culturewatch article | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Last Chance Harvey (2009)

Last Chance Harvey tells the story of two middle-aged people who have been hurt by life, but find themselves with a chance to make a new beginning. Deals with themes such as living with past failures and regrets, overcoming the fear of pain and disappointment in new relationships, and establishing good relationships old and new.

Director: Joel Hopkins

Screenplay: Joel Hopkins

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Kathy Baker, Liane Balaban, James Brolin

Certificate 12A – contains mild comic violence and scary moments

Running time: 89 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

There is also a Film and Focus guide for organising an evening around the film

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Invictus (2009)

Brett McCracken writes, “It’s a beautiful portrait of forgiveness and a model for how reconciliation can happen in reality, and how politics can employ things like sports and poetry in the service of national renewal.” I think Invictus is a little rose-tinted, even sentimental, in its view of the events of 1994–1995, but it was a hugely import moment in South Africa’s history and I think Brett is spot on in his assessment. Great performances from Morgan Freeman (though his accent wavers at times) and Matt Damon.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay: Anthony Peckham, based on the book Playing the Enemy by John Carlin

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Certificate 12A – contains infrequent strong language

Running time: 133 mins – too long for most contexts

My Culturewatch article | No discussion guide yet

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) (2007)

One of my favourite films of the last few years. Bear in mind that it’s in German with English subtitles.

Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch

Certificate 15 – contains strong sex

Running time: 138 minutes – too long for most contexts

My article on Culturewatch | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Deals with themes of obsession, greed and religious extremism

Directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Ciarán Hinds, Kevin J. O’Connor

Certificate 12A – contains strong violence

Running time: 158 mins – too long for most contexts

Culturewatch article by Nicola Lee | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

A very powerful, now classic film, but too long for most contexts.

Director: Frank Darabont

Screenplay by Darabont, based on the novella by Stephen King

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Certificate 15 – contains frequent strong language, violence and sexual assault

Running time: 136 mins

Culturewatch article | Discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Dark Knight (2008)

A powerful exploration of morality but too long for most contexts

Director: Christopher Nolan

Screenplay: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Certificate 12A – contains strong fantasy violence and sustained threat

Running time: 146 mins

Culturewatch article | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Gone Baby Gone (2008)

Director: Ben Affleck

Screenplay: Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane

Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Amy Ryan

Cert 15 – contains very strong language, strong violence and hard drug use

Running time: 109 mins – a little on the long side

My Culturewatch article | No discussion guide

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

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These question are based on those in my book, Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema. They are intended to help you organise your thinking as you watch a film. As well as helping you in your own thinking about movies, these questions also provide a useful framework for group discussions (in a Culturewatch Group, for example). You can download these questions as a pdf document, as well as the complete set of questions from the book.

First response

1.    How did the film make you feel? What aspects worked well, and which didn’t (think about writing, direction, cinematography, acting, editing and soundtrack)?

2.    To what extent did it fit with your expectations, or did it subvert them in some ways?

Structure

3.    What causes the major turning points in the narrative come?

4.    Does the world of the film work like the real world? If not, what are the differences?

5.    How does the film end? Is everything resolved? How? If not, why not?

Characters

6.    How would you describe the main characters? What are their goals? What problems do they face?

7.    What choices do the characters make? What motivates them? What are the consequences?

8.    What do the main characters learn about themselves, and how do they change?

Meaning

9.    Whose point of view does the camera represent?

10. How is our attention drawn to particular images? How are particular visual elements used as symbols or metaphors?

11. How does the film’s editing contribute to the meaning of the film?

12. How does the film handle the underlying themes (morality, politics, religion, sexuality, happiness, freedom, love, spirituality, identity, etc.)?

13. Are there are religious themes or connections? How is faith treated (if at all)?

Worldviews

14. What is the view of reality? Is there any place for God or other spiritual dimensions to life? Is impersonal fate used as a substitute for God?

15. What is the view of humanity? What does the film say about the nature of human beings? What does the film say about communities and families?

16. How is the image of God within human beings seen in this film? How is human rebellion against God expressed?

17. What is the view of knowledge? How do characters know what is true (experience, logic, intuition or revelation)? How do they make decisions? Where do they find wisdom?

18. What is the view of morality? What does goodness mean? How do characters make moral decisions? What are the characters’ values, and are these the same as the film’s values?

19. What do human beings most need in life? Does the film identify any universal problems confronting human beings? What do humans need in order to flourish? What does it see as the point of life? What substitutes for God are there in the film?

20. What good insights into life are there in the film? What does it get wrong? How might it affect viewers?

Twenty questions to consider when watching a film by Tony Watkins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You may share and adapt this work for non-commercial use only, but you must attribute the work to Tony Watkins and share any adapted works under the same terms. For other uses, contact Tony Watkins for permission.

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Norman Wisdom was one of the funniest people in the history of British film. His talent for physical comedy was matchless – no wonder Charlie Chaplin called Wisdom his favourite clown. But he could also switch to become sensitive and serious, as when he first sang ‘Don’t Laugh at Me’ in Trouble in Store (1953). He was always on the side of the underdog, deflating the pretensions of the high and mighty, and looking for real love.

Here he is in Trouble in Store, the film which launched and defined his film career, playing opposite Jerry Desmonde:

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Africa United (in UK cinemas 22nd October 2010) tells the extraordinary story of three Rwandan children and their dream to take part in the opening ceremony of the football World Cup. During their 3000 mile journey, we encounter an Africa few people ever see; experience an epic adventure across seven countries; and feel the joy, laughter and hope that comes from making an incredible journey together.

First and foremost Africa United is a dramatic, heartfelt and enchanting story set to enthral family audiences worldwide. But it also provides a fantastic opportunity to raise important issues with a wide audience. Two lead characters are AIDS orphans and the friends they make along the way include a child soldier and a child in prostitution. 

As with a number of previous films, Damaris is providing official resources to help churches and schools engage with the film. There is also a free resource DVD available.

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