by Dean | May 25, 2016 | General
Cover of The Song of Bernadette
The central character in The Song of Bernadette (1943) is a good girl who becomes a devout and holy one. In Lourdes, France she sees a vision of a lady who eventually says “I am the Immaculate Conception” and so convinces all that she is the Blessed Virgin. The film, well directed by Henry King, is about changes and revelations related to the soul. . . Really, a Protestant doesn’t know what to make of a pronouncement like “I am the Immaculate Conception,” but this might induce one to contemplate whether all his theological beliefs are true. . .
Although I’ve never read the Franz Werfel novel on which the movie is based, I can declare Bernadette a beautiful and sensitive cinematic work. Jennifer Jones enacts a spiritual person flawlessly.
by Dean | May 24, 2016 | General
I was never drawn to regularly watching the FOX series, Gotham, but Monday’s season finale was a barn burner. It was busy but not too busy, with a cliffhanger involving monsters, and everything is at stake!
Also, Ben McKenzie (Jim Gordon) released his acting chops in a pronounced way.
by Dean | May 23, 2016 | General
The ten-page short story “Substitutes,” by Viet Dinh, takes place in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Expectably, the Vietnamese Communists resemble Nazis and the Vietnamese people resemble Jews, with the story’s setting almost entirely limited to a classroom where a succession of teachers disappears at the hands of the new rulers. Work over education, false propaganda over the truth—it transpires that this is what the victorious Communists represent. With its fine premise, Dinh’s story is savvily and straightforwardly written.
So is Judy Troy’s “The Order of Things.” Here, a Lutheran minister, Carl, ultimately thinks he must walk away from the pastorate after having an adulterous affair. Some words by Saint Theresa, however, leave him understanding that although he has been unthinking, he has not been unloving, and perhaps this is a fulcrum for a certain spiritual renewal. It is an absorbing tale whose setting in Wyoming feels absolutely fitting. . . Both of these pieces won PEN/O. Henry awards, and are included in the 2009 edition of The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories.
by Dean | May 18, 2016 | General
Cover via Amazon
The 2004 Spider-Man 2 is another Sam Raimi success. Again Tobey Maguire plays the titular superhero: not a very interesting actor here, he is nonetheless passable. Kirsten Dunst was cast in these flicks before she got good.
The film asks: What does it take to create in Peter Parker the desire to be a superhero (a desire he is losing)? The answer is when Mary Jane (Dunst) urgently needs a savior. Above all—or just about—Spider-Man 2 is a love story.
Raimi’s scenes and footage are pleasantly resonant, if often familiar. It was smart of him, after showing Spidey merrily swinging amid the tall buildings, to end his movie with a closeup of Mary Jane watching at a window. A touch of class.
by Dean | May 18, 2016 | General
Monday’s season finale of Jane the Virgin was sometimes silly, as in the church right after Jane got hitched, but always rich.
Near the end, the lesbian policewoman (who is actually evil Rose!) shoots Michael, Jane’s new husband, leaving us with the gripping question: Will even a married Jane have to remain a virgin?
I’m certain Jane the Virgin is good for one more season but beyond that, who knows? Let’s have new characters replacing old ones: that will probably bolster it.
