The Cathoholic

Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone, an indie film that takes place in southwestern Missouri, is now in theaters and well worth watching. Here's my commentary on the film in National Review Online. The story unfolds in a poor rural area decimated by the crystal meth plague. But the movie is also  a meditation on human endurance and it has special relevance for anyone living with problems that have no immediate resolution.

The Street Stops Here (documentary)

On March 31st, PBS will be airing a  documentary, "The Street Stops Here," about St.Anthony, a Catholic high school in Jersey City that educates inner-city teenagers, some of whom become top basketball players. Their strong work ethic and team spirit come together through the  dynamic influence of their coach, Bob Hurley, Sr.. I heard about the film today and plan to take a look at it soon.The Street Stops Here is based on Hurley, the central figure in the book,  “The Miracle of St. Anthony.” (Update: The film is not based on the book, but takes a fresh look at Coach Bob Hurley, Sr, a new team, and a new season).

It's a slightly strange coincidence, but today the New York Times published a story about a nun at Xavier University who helps to keep their basketball team focused on academics, and obtaining their diploma

The Times front page story begins:
"

( page of 4 )

By some measures, the success of the Xavier men's basketball team rests not with a sharpshooting guard or a ball-hawking forward. Rather, it rests largely with a 5-foot-4, white-haired 77-year-old nun not afraid to rap on dormitory doors or to call players before dawn to ask about missed classes or late assignments.

Xavier, a Jesuit university in Cincinnati, is entering the NCAA tournament seeded sixth in the West Region with a 24-8 record. But Sister Rose Ann Fleming is a perfect 77-0. Since she became the academic adviser for Xavier athletics in 1985, every men's basketball player who has played as a senior has left with a diploma."

UPDATE: Here's my review in the National Catholic Register of The  Street Stops Here. It airs tomorrow, March 31st. check local listings.

The Road and The Book of Eli

I don't know whether I would have enjoyed the film adaptation of The Road, had I not read the book first. Cormac McCarthy's deeply stirring prose stays with you, and when you see the film, it's easy to replay the language of the book in your head. In any case, I'd strongly recommend the book--though it's not for the faint-hearted), and encourage friends to see the film with some qualifications. More recently, The Book of Eli was released, and it also sought to present a post-apocalyptic world, in part, through the eyes of faith. Unfortunately, The Book of Eli didn't have a great book propping up the audience's expectation. Here's my commentary in the National Catholic Register that looks at the very similar themes addressed in both films.

The Oscars Celebrate Marriage

This past year, I've been struck by the number of movies that celebrate traditional marriage, rather than attack it. With the Oscars coming up, it's surprising to see how many nominated films and acting performances embrace married love: Up, Julie and Julia, and The Blind Side all celebrate married love. Other films inject a note of caution regarding modern values and practices that shifted away from tradition, like the excellent, An Education, another Oscar contender.  Here's my commentary on the subject for the National Catholic Register. Now let's sort out our Oscar predictions!

UPDATE: Speaking of marriage and that "note of caution" that leads many individuals to refuse the ultimate leap of faith, here's an article I wrote for Touchstone that looks a trend among baby boomer parents. Many discourage their twentysomething kids from diving into marriage. Why? Read the story!

Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

Here's my post from The Catholic Thing on Cormac McCarthy's The Road. My advice: don't watch the movie until you read the book.

My Sister's Keeper

This summer, I published commentary in the National Catholic Register on the film, My Sister's Keeper. The film and the book, from which it was adapted, provide very different endings that further underscore Hollywood's tendency to put its own spin on on complex issues.

Shusaku Endo's Silence: Film Planned

Thrilled to learn that filmmaker Martin Scorsese will shoot a film adaption of  Shusaku Endo's "Silence." Silence is an incredible historical novel about the brutal 17th-century persecutions of Japanese Christians. Endo is a kind of Japanese version of Graham Green, the British novelist and Catholic convert whose tortured characters in classics like "The Power and the Glory" and "The End of the Affair" struggled to resolve conflicts between the demands of their faith and the moral dilemmas posed by human existence. I lived in Japan for four years and read most of Endo's novels.

I especially recommend his collection of short stories, "The Sea and Poison." Based on historical accounts of Japanese war crimes during the Second World War, it weaves together the individual stories of women and men appointed to a Japanese medical team, which is ordered to perform illicit experiments on American POWs. Another memorable work is "The Samurai," an historical novel about a Japanese samurai who accompanies a Christian missionary on a trip to the New World. 

After I returned to the United States, and heard that Endo had died, I wrote an article about him for Crisis magazine.

Review of Eastwood's Gran Torino

Inside Catholic just published my review of this entertaining and deeply thought-provoking film.