Articles by category: Life

Grief is never an easy process. When the grieving person also has the challenges of Asperger’s or other relational disorders, the process is even more difficult. Unable to fully connect with others, such a person often turns in their grief to their own idiosyncratic methods to deal with their pain. This is where young Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) finds himself in Stephen Daldry’s film “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”

Sixty-five years after the end of World War II, stories of Nazi atrocities still provide grist for cinematic dramas, mysteries and even comedies. So it is with “The Debt” which takes us back four decades to the search and capture of Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), a fictionalized character known as the “Surgeon of Birkenau”, for his brutal experiments on Jewish children in Nazi concentration camps.

When innocent people are abused by the very people who are responsible to protect them, then evil has won. This is the situation in the days following the Bosnian War in 1996. Due to a deep racial and nationalistic hatred that made peace difficult, the United Nations contracted with a private company to provide monitors watching over the police. But instead, the mercenaries this company hired became a part of the trafficking of young girls into sexual slavery. Based on actual events, this story was written by Larysa Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan with Kondracki directing “Whistleblower.”

Dan M. “Buck” Brannaman is the second child of an abusive man. Forcing him and his brother to perform as children in a western act, Buck was regularly beaten by his drunken father, an abuse that only intensified when his mother died while he was still a child. But as is often the case, this experience so sensitized Buck that he is able to identify similar pain wherever he sees it, whether in horses or humans. Intuitively recognizing that he could help lessen both the pain and the abuse, Buck began a life-long mission of healing both horse and rider in special clinics where he teaches both to respect and honor one another. He explains that “Abused horses are like abused children. They trust no one and expect the worst. But patience, leadership, compassion and firmness can help them overcome their pasts.”

The Harry Potter films end where they began: Love, which lays down one’s own life for another, is more powerful than evil that takes life. But in this final film, additional spiritual truths are accentuated: Evil may seek a way to find eternal life, but such a life is only possible through love and sacrifice, not through scheming or sorcery; Power that forces servitude is to be rejected outright and even the temptation to do so has to be destroyed; and ultimate meaning in life is found not in magical adventure but in the rewards of friendship, love and family.

The strength of J.J. Abrams’ work lies in his storytelling ability. As an experienced writer (Lost – 114 episodes) and an imaginative director (Star Trek), Abrams is a master at weaving together good character development with science fiction. Super 8 is a wonderful example of both his writing and directing skill.

Using light to fight darkness is a common theme in both fiction and faith. What makes the light of the Green Lantern unique is that it is the manifestation of the will. Unusual within the comic world, this emphasis on the strength of will allows the tale to explore how emotions like will and fear could be harnessed for good or for evil. Based on the comic hero created by Bill Finger of DC Comics in 1940, the Green Lantern has gone through several forms. Melding them together, director Martin Campbell (Mask of Zorro, Casino Royale) creates a cinematic figure who is both human and hero.

The angst Woody Allen portrays in his characters is easier to view when Owen Wilson is the actor rather than Woody himself. Not only does Wilson present a more approachable neurotic, but it is also easier to believe that his beautiful costars are actually interested in having a relationship with him. But that’s not to say that this film is not vintage Woody Allen. Written and directed by him, “Midnight in Paris” is another creative and witty depiction of an anxious man whose success only leaves him all the more insecure. But Allen adds another dimension to this film that takes the audience on a journey into a world of literary and artistic giants.

The genius of the myths of the ancient Norse gods is their ability to magnify human strengths and weaknesses to obvious proportions. Thus, what might not be as apparent when seen in a mere mortal’s life becomes easily recognized on this much larger scale. In the lives of the gods, sibling rivalry becomes a threat not only to the peace of the family but also to that of the universe, while romantic love not only reaches across the distance between two hearts but across the light-years of space as well. When the strengths of the myths are combined with the simplicity of a comic book, then the imaginations of children and the insights of adults become one. This is accomplished in Marvel’s “Thor.”