Culture Connections
Exodus: Gods and Kings: A comment’ review’
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014, M)
Firstly I want to note this is not a traditional ‘old-style' biblical epic and thus those people seeking a message of traditional biblical encouragement and endorsement will be disappointed. It is a traditional Hollywood movie, and of course the themes are ones that resonate with Hollywood dramas are front and centre:
Hero starts well and has significant influence; has problems and falls from great height; has time away in the wilderness; comes back renewed and finds true purpose and meaning in achieving tasks set out at the beginning; settles down at end.
Leading actors Christian Bale (Moses) and Joel Edgerton (Ramses) have some excellent scenes and Bale grows into the Moses character, though at times he does give the impression he is like a bearded Old Testament version of John McClane from the Die Hard series. Some other acting parts are a bit hammy and some lines are a little too 21st century for the context. Of course, hammy acting in epic biblical based films has an honourable cinematic tradition, but there is a very odd portrayal by Aaron Paul as Joshua. Paul is well-known for his role in Breaking Bad, and in this role he looks like he tapping into the role of a wide-eyed blue crystal druggie.
Overall the film needs some editing. You do not want people screaming out ‘Let my people go (out of this cinema)'. While the overall editing is good, one could easily remove 25-30 minutes, which at least which would make it more manageable and more seamless in the story. It also oddly drags a little once the Red Sea scene is concluded, with these parts almost like an appendix.
A star in the movie is the computer generated imagery which goes well with the 3D base, though perhaps ironically, or deliberately, ‘The parting of the red sea' was a little underwhelming, but then it is probably difficult to do something without appearing to be a homage to The Ten Commandments (1956), though I suspect the main reason for this film's ‘parting of the Red Sea' is the implicit nature based interpretation for most of the miracles.
From church arenas, I imagine there will be a good bit of criticism and focus on the areas where it departs from the biblical message. One could list many, though the use of the giant crocodiles to turn the river into blood is an intriguing secular approach and reminded me more of the black comedy of Lake Placid (1999).
The choice of a child to ‘play out' the voice of God - when God is speaking direct to Moses, will also ensure endless controversy and question about what he was attempting to do? Scott told The Hollywood Reporter magazine that "Sacred texts give no specific depiction of God, so for centuries artists and filmmakers have had to choose their own visual depiction," Scott tells THR. "Malak exudes innocence and purity, and those two qualities are extremely powerful." (November 21, 2014)
I believe overall people need to be realistic. The director Ridley Scott did not set out to make a film to capture a Christian audience. This is clear from the start as he uses the term B.C.E. for the period setting, firmly establishing it in a secular context. God is very present in the film, but God is perhaps primarily the God of certain people's imagination, rather than the Great I Am.
I have often commented on how films provide opportunities to discuss faith, and this is one that certainly provides an opportunity to start a conversation, that could become a very biblical one.
Peter Bentley is the ACC National Director
Freedom - a new experience of Amazing Grace
Freedom (2014 M) was originally to be known as 'Carry Me Home', a title resonating with the spiritual songs in the film. It is a film intimately related to the tradition of the 2007 film Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace was one of the first films reviewed in ACCatalyst when we started in 2007 and the poster graced our second cover.
Freedom stands more firmly in the Christian film tradition, especially as it was filmed in the USA (Connecticut) and is clearly aimed at a certain market.
Musical theatre actor and Australian actor and presenter Peter Cousens is the director - his first film, clearly a labour of love, and a worthy effort. He would be well-known to Australian audiences from many musicals and television shows and he uses his musical theatre background in a variety of ways in the film, overseeing the many well-known spiritual songs and laterally connecting a musical acting troupe and the anti-slavery movement.
Freedom has two intertwined stories, connected by a bible and slavery. Virginian Slave, Samuel Woodward is played by US actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
Samuel leads his family to escape using the Underground Railroad - a network of anti-slavery workers - many Christians, especially Quakers, who provided safe passage for slaves to the north and to Canada.
The other story develops the Amazing Grace theme through John Newton as the slave trader, and connects with the second period as among his cargo of slaves on one trip was Samuel's great grandfather. As readers and singers will know John Newtown's life was eventually changed and this Amazing Grace is experienced by others in the film too.
The film itself is partly a musical as there are times when the actors break into song, but it is mainly a drama and is mostly well acted and made, though could have been helped by a tighter script, and some further editing and also deletion of some visual effects in favour of the simple storyline. The songs are memorable and quite moving. I personally found the star of the movie to be the singer Jubilant Sykes, who plays the slave translator Ozias. After taking up the film's kind offer of downloading four songs, I played City Called Heaven on a continuous loop while I was thinking about and writing my review.
Go and see this film, or buy the DVD when it comes out and invite some friends to view and discuss. It has a warm heart and addresses some serious issues and is part of the increasing world-wide campaign to recognise and address the continuing slavery scandal that belies many increasing wealthy countries.
Peter Bentley
Son of God - new film released
Son of God (2014, M) - Film released 22 May 2014 in Australia
Producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett brought the epic miniseries The Bible to life last year and created a significant amount of media and general public interest in the bible. I have no doubt that many readers viewed all of the ten episodes. Following on from the miniseries is a feature film about the life of Jesus which uses material from the mini-series as well as some scenes not featured. While the publicity refers to this as the first film about the entire life of Jesus since The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), I think the 1979 Jesus film could reasonably be referenced. Jesus is the 1979 docudrama that is available in many languages and has been widely used as an outreach tool. There are some similarities in the approach and the desire for outreach, though I see the Son of God as being a more visually contemporary film, utilising the digital age's stunning film capabilities.
Mark Burnett was always going to prepare a film focussing on Jesus as the material was there for a separate feature. The film could also be fashioned in a more contemporary film style, and Burnett has pointed to it partly as political thriller, and the elements of intrigue and the politics of the day certainly stand out. It is good background and provides the overall context to enable a secular audience to understand that Jesus will die, and given the level of knowledge today, perhaps to be genuinely surprised that he appears after death - raised!
Originally the film was to be about 3 hours, but the final version is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Many secular critics have commented it is a bit ponderous or laborious, and I can understand that they say it is one for the faithful. I think to capture the full attention of many (and younger) secular people today one would need to edit down to the standard 90 minutes, but personally I found many of the well-known stories moving and well-done. Some were wonderfully illustrative of the amazing answers that Jesus provided, especially to the Pharisees. 
Intriguingly at times I caught myself thinking that the portrayal of Jesus by Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado was so genuine that he captured the spirit of the person, but then (and as he has intimidated) who can really portray Jesus? When I reflected, I realised it was his words that are of course so stunning (and yes they are handled with grace and care) and they are (mostly) the words from the Bible. There is some historical ‘development' but the aim; like in The Bible mini-series is to be faithful to, and affirming of, an orthodox understanding of Jesus Christ.
There are extensive resources to use to promote or study the film. I believe it would be helpful for churches to show the trailer on a Sunday, and also encourage people to see and take people to see ‘at the movies' as this visual picture is meant for the big screen.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: click here
RESOURCES: Click here
12 Years a Slave - a critique
12 Years A Slave (2013, MA)
It is difficult to pen a critical review of the winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture, but I believe it is necessary to do, as the film's reception has been illustrative of the sometimes uncritical approach to films that focus on important issues. The issue of ‘historical' slavery in the USA is clearly one that people thought worthy to highlight for the issue itself, rather than the quality of the film.
The film tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a New York state born free African-American who is kidnapped and sold into slavery and forced to work in a Louisiana plantation. When freed in 1853 he wrote an account of his time and this memoir was rediscovered in the 1960s.
While there are some reasonable portrayals, the acting is woefully uneven with some parts amateurish and ungainly. The director's seeming attempt to provide an art-house film as well as mainstream picture conflict, causing at times an odd and sometimes jarring collection of music, dramatic scenes and visual camera techniques that I believe detract from the central elements of the story. A warning to potential viewers; there are some concentrated torture and beating scenes, which ironically could have the adverse effect of turning people off from the central story. The film is also at times boringly didactic, and yet there are quite moving parts as well. It is worth noting that the director, British born Steve McQueen did not receive the Oscar for Best Director.
While it is certainly worth considering for the story itself, it continues the history of Oscar winning films which were worth nominating to raise awareness of an issue, and ended up winning the main prize. Mind you, I could be quite mistaken; as most critics have been so effusive in praise one would think they had directed the film. Certainly I was the only one in the audience laughing at some of the pretentiousness and acting - a rarity for me, as I am usually so socially conformist I wouldn't dare to do so during a preview screening.
You will already know from the title that Solomon did not remain a slave, and thank God for that, but I hope that does not soothe our consciences. Let us reflect that slavery still continues today and the sexual slave industry is estimated alone to be about 21 million people.
Peter Bentley
Forgetting How to Blush
Forgetting How to Blush: United Methodism's Compromise with the Sexual Revolution
(Bristol House, Fort Valley GA, 2012)
Karen Booth's book is a fascinating account of a major US denomination's journey in tandem with the sexual revolution within the wider society. The title is excellent and one that we could well use in parts of our society as well. It comes from Jeremiah (in several references but one will suffice: Jeremiah 6: 15 "Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD."
Karen is presently the director of Transforming Congregations, an organisation that aims to "help train and empower local church leaders so they can reach out with faithfulness and compassion to the sexually confused, broken and sinful in their midst." , based on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7: "Equipping the Church to model and minister sanctified sexuality."
Transforming Congregations is now an official Program of Good News, the largest and oldest renewal and reform ministry within the United Methodist Church (UMC).
This is a very helpful and detailed book as church events are related to the influence of societal and educational changes, especially through certain key leaders such as the now quite discredited so called sex ‘researcher' Kinsey. It was also illuminating to learn that for the UMC, one church figure in particular was clearly very influential - Rev. Dr Ted Mcllvenna, who has become a celebrated gay rights figure (though not homosexual himself). I even found an article on him entitled The Porn-Again Minister highlighting his extensive collection of pornography and involvement in liberal sexual education movements. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4710272/The-porn-again-minister.html).
The book follows the major studies and programmes initiated by the UMC and shows how the liberal direction was started and developed. It provides helpful background to a denomination not dissimilar to the Uniting Church, though more complex due to its size and number of ministers, specialised ministries and range of congregations. There are simply many more people able to be involved in liberal and sexual experimentation and to press for change. It was sobering to read a more detailed analysis of the protests by various liberal groups and their supporters that have been conducted at the four yearly General Methodist Conferences since the early 1970s. UCA members would probably be amazed to learn about these quite strident protests about the UMC position on sexual practice for Christians, and the general lack of respect for the operation and arrangements of the Conference. Despite the protests, the General Conference of the UMC has continually affirmed a normative Christian sexual ethic, though this seems to engage libertarian activism among some UMC ministers and members even more, and as the website Juicy Ecumenism has pointed out, even over the last 12 months there have been a variety of practices and activities within the liberal leaning lobby organisations that need to be highlighted so people can be aware of the extent of the issues involved.(see: http://juicyecumenism.com/2013/10/04/19488/)
There is an important section at the end in the context of ‘remembering how to blush' that discusses the issues associated with the idea of the ‘third way' that I found very insightful. There is promoted in some quarters the idea that a third way will be found that will allow everyone to live in harmony and peace (my paraphrasing). This is a difficult area for all of us in the institutional church. I can appreciate the ideal of this if the person is sincere and genuinely though perhaps naively wanting to maintain denominational unity, but for those of us who have seen this debate over too many years in the wider church, you would understand that the third way often simply means that those who hold traditional and biblical understandings of sexual practice are helped to compromise even further by ‘well-meaning' liberals who are simply manipulating the arrangements to suit their own desired outcomes. I think Rod James's discussion of the two ways in relation to the UCA is illuminative of the issues here: Why' Gay Marriage' is not good for Australia (ACCatalyst September 2013).
Rod outlines that the slant road the UCA is on simply contains an increasing number of bridges to be crossed. The present dominant group wants to imply once you cross this bridge it will be all be okay again, but across the bridge there is another bridge. The narrow way has been far removed and the broad way with many bridges waits.
Other helpful features in the book are a timeline of events and developments; outlines of various organisations and detailed appendices. Though there is a tremendous amount of information, I found this book to be quite a pastoral journey as well, as it interweaves Karen's own story and her pastor's heart, with that of people called Methodist and the call to be holy among the broken and deluded world.
Peter Bentley
National Director of the ACC
Key Writing on the Trinity
Church of the Triune God.
Edited by Michael Jensen, Aquilla Press, Sydney First published 2013 pp.224. ISBN 978-1-922000-85-9. Price $19.95
This book is written by a group of students of Dr Robert Doyle, who taught at the Anglican Moore Theological College in Sydney from 1982-2012. Their essays are intended to celebrate his ministry. It is thus in the form of the traditional Festschrift (book in someone's honour), which focuses on two of the main themes of Dr Doyle's teaching. They are the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity from the Church Fathers Athanasius, Augustine to Karl Barth and T.F. & J.B. Torrance, and the implication of the Trinity for the church's life and mission. Dr Doyle prepared his doctoral thesis under the supervision of Professor J.B. Torrance of Aberdeen, Scotland. Members of the ACC will recall a number of visits to Australia by Professor J.B. Torrance, through his close friendship and fellow teacher at Aberdeen, Professor George Yule. Many will have appreciated the lectures he gave on these visits.
There are 12 contributors and the papers cover the two themes of the Festschrift. One may be tempted to describe the contents as something like the curate's egg, ‘something that is at least partly bad, but has some arguably redeeming features'. This would be somewhat churlish as there is some excellent material in some of these essays. In particular, though lacking reference to Athanasius' major works against Nestorius and the Arians, which furnish the basis of his Trinitarian and Christological teaching, the writer, though concentrating on his Festal Letters, expounds some key aspects of Athanasius' understanding of the Trinity and the relationship of the church and the Trinity. One important conclusion he draws from Athanasius' teaching relates to the contemporary church's preoccupation with ‘ministry structures' in fulfilling its mission.
"So much of church life is niche-oriented rather than common - student ministries, men's ministries, women's ministries, children's, youth, seniors, marrieds ... (Athanasius') observation of the infinitely sufficient grace that we have in common in the life of the church ... suggests (that) by our practices, the grace of salvation is insufficient to meet the diverse needs of our congregation."
This observation follows an analysis of Athanasius' understanding of God's ‘accommodation' of himself to our needs, manifest above all in the incarnation of God in Christ for our salvation.
The essay on T.F. Torrance shows an appreciation of the depths of Torrance's teaching on the Christian doctrine of God as holy Trinity whilst providing some important information about his spiritual formation and motivation as a Christian teacher. It should be noted that Torrance did not teach courses on the Trinity, although the writer observes the oxymoron involved in the situation because Torrance was Professor of Christian Dogmatics at Edinburgh University.,. It was not until he retired that his magnum opus on the Trinity (The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons) was published. This strange state of affairs came about because the laws of the Faculty of Divinity reserved teaching of the Trinity to the faculty of Divinity not Dogmatics! This was and is a prime example of the contradiction to which Karl Rahner draws attention, that in western theology the doctrine of the one God, as distinct from the Trinity, assumed primary importance. The Trinity in the West has become locked in splendid isolation. He observes that Western theologians speak,
"of the necessary metaphysical properties of God, but not of God as experienced in salvation history in his free relations to his creatures. For should one make use of salvation history, it would soon become apparent that one speaks of him whom Scripture and Jesus calls Father, Jesus' Father, who sends the Son and who gives himself to us in the Spirit." (Rahner, K. The Trinity. London: Burns & Oates, 1970, p.18.)
It is precisely this malaise in Western theology, beginning with Augustine that this book, The Church of the Triune God, seeks to address. Though it does not do so directly, the book does it by means of the practical orientation of the theological teaching of the one it seeks to honour. This endeavour, though concentrating on the experience of the Anglican Church of Australia and in particular the Sydney Diocese, is the critical task confronting the theological traditions of all Christian churches. It is obvious that the Sydney Anglicans at least know what the real problems are that confront the church in contemporary culture and attempt to offer an important clue as to where answers may be found. This is of no little importance and the authors are to be thanked for the offerings they have made.
Dr W. Gordon Watson, Port Macquarie NSW
The Railway Man
The Railway Man (2013, M)
While not an explicitly Christian film, the strong theme of forgiveness in The Railway Man will resonate for ACC readers. Colin Firth is Eric Lomax and Nicole Kidman plays his wife Patti Lomax. Some of you may have read his autobiography of the same name (published in 1995). The process of bringing it to film is a story in itself though the film does not deal with aspects of his family life prior to him meeting Patti whom he would marry in 1983.
During WWII British soldier Eric Lomax is captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and ends up working on the Thai-Burma Railway. Apart from the general appalling conditions, Lomax (and many others) was tortured, with a particular incident providing the background to Lomax's torture.
The film weaves back and forth from the war times to the 1980s, illustrating his continuing psychological difficulties, particularly its impact on his second marriage. Eric eventually learns of a book published by one of his captors who is now running a tourist- type memorial (not exploiting the time but attempting to show remorse), and he eventually makes a journey to meet him. The former Japanese officer Takashi Nagase (played by Hiroyuki Sanada), from the prison camp was an interpreter during the torture sessions.
Laura Barnett in The Guardian Film News (24 January 2014 9:30 AM) writes: "'The torture scenes are terrifying - and completely realistic' ... . says torture rehabilitation expert Dr William Hopkins. I saw this film with a colleague who knew Eric Lomax, whose memoir it is based on. He had been a victim of torture, too.
" We both found it strikingly realistic: the torture scenes are terrifying without being remotely sensationalist, as can sometimes be the case with film and TV. Both Lomax's experience of torture in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and his ultimate reconciliation with his torturer are put across excellently."
Both men had become aware of the need for forgiveness, but as is often the case one person has to take the first step to reconciliation, and Eric knew he had to offer forgiveness as the only way to stop the hatred that had dominated his life and start to live again.
Peter Bentley
Helping Families Stay Together
Review of All-In2night
Lynne Burgess
Published by Even Before Publishing/Wombat books. 140 pages
This volume is a sequel to this author’s earlier publication All-In Night, in which Lynne Burgess promotes a regular night each week where the whole family stays home and participates in a special activity with a treat (usually a dessert) to follow. The book is based on a concept that the author has actually put into practice with her own family of five children. In the dedication, Lynne Burgess writes that the “book is for parents who want their children to experience a relationship with Jesus so they can live a bold and victorious life, no matter what the circumstances”.
There are 40 activities involving an amazing array of what I would call psychological variables: self-esteem, courage, loneliness, patience, empathy, confidence, self-sabotaging, revenge, enthusiasm and so on. For each topic, the author provides a purpose so that the aim is clear to the parent who is leading the activity. These nights are not held in school holidays so that both the parents and the children have a break: hence, the 40 weeks. It is interesting to note that the author reports that her adult children who have left home still come back on Monday nights for All-in night.
For the topic courage, the purpose is “to help your child to develop courage so that they have the ability to face difficulties”; for priorities in life, the purpose is “to teach your child to understand priorities in their life and that priorities can change through different phases of life”; for pride, the purpose is “to explain what unhealthy pride is and to teach your children how to deal with it”. The purpose is generally followed by an explanation of the concept under consideration.
There is often a Scripture verse or verses to be shared with children to help them understand the biblical basis of the lesson. For self esteem, the verses are Psalm 139: 13-14; for eating healthy food, the verse is 1 Cor 6: 19; for patience, the verses are James 1: 2-5; for fear, Joshua 1: 9; for worry, Proverbs 12: 25. I was surprised at some of the topics that didn’t have a biblical verse, and was not sure why. Examples included ‘unhealthy pride’, ‘humility’, ‘jealousy’, ‘guilt and shame’, ‘criticism’ and ‘God has a unique purpose for your life’.
I think this book could be very useful for families of primary-school children, combining as it does, fun and serious learning about oneself and others. It is important to remember that these characteristics are produced in young people over years of stable, loving parenting and not in a single session focusing on a particular characteristic.
Patricia Noller
Emeritus Professor, School of Pyschology at the University of Queensland
The Letter Writer
How long has it been since you received a postal letter? This film revolves around the endangered species known as the personal handwritten letter. In an age when short bursts dominate our increasingly social media oriented world, this film provides a ‘time out' for reflection and consideration.
Aley Underwood plays Maggie Fuller, a generally good, but pretty normal teenager and aspiring singer raised by her single-parent mother who has her own struggles. Maggie is trying to find a purpose in her life as she considers the world of music, her relationships, health issues, ageing, and many simply normal events. She is an unusual heroine, but certainly fits the role as she seeks to help others.
Bernie Diamond is ‘The Letter Writer' Sam, an elderly man who sends letters of encouragement and affirmation by post, choosing names from the telephone book. He also hand delivers letters to people he meets in his day to day walks or visits.
After receiving a letter, Maggie is so intrigued she tracks Bernie down and begins a journey of friendship and contact with others she would never have known, unless someone had taken the opportunity to encourage her (and the way this comes about is taken as God-provided).
There are some poignant elements to this film, and certainly those involved with Kairos and Emmaus will know the power of receiving an actual letter and words of encouragement, as opposed to hearing words of abuse or degradation.
In their initial exchange upon meeting, Sam asks Maggie:
Sam Worthingtom: Didn't you like your letter?
Maggie Fuller: Yeah, but you don't even know me.
Sam Worthingtom: If I'm the one person that has something nice to say about you, I know you better than anyone else.
A central theme to the story is ‘finding your role in life'. What are you meant to do on this earth? Sam puts it this way "Within every human being there is a God given ability that if you find it and nurture it you'll be able to bless the lives of others."
This is a gentle and intriguing film. I believe that it could be a film that will resonate with grandparents and parents - perhaps a good one for grandparents and grandchildren (not too young) to view together?
Peter Bentley
Showing in the Faith on Film programme at selected Cinemas in July - August 2013: Click here
Blue Like Jazz (M, 2012)
While this initially seems a conventional Christian film, one is drawn into a far broader picture once the main character chooses the "broad path". The movie is based on a very popular semi-autobiographical novel by Donald Miller, and is set in a USA college. Real-life Texan Marshall Allman plays Don, the Texas student from a Southern Baptist background who chooses to go to a liberal arts college, rather than a bible college. For Don, the college is an eye-opener in all of the traditional ways as he is involved in various forms of experimentation, though always with a little hesitation. It contrasts the Christian foundation he received as a child (and his application of it) with his inability to understand, let alone resist involvement in the new lifestyle, and then through a series of issues and relationships a new contrast with the beginnings of his re-considering of faith and understanding of grace and mercy.
The movie is directed by Steve Taylor, who has had a well-established music and video career. Initially he struggled to secure funding, but the film is now something of an icon in terms of fundraising on ‘KickStarter', a website-based arrangement where individuals from anywhere can contribute to a project they believe is worth supporting.
This is a more ‘adult' Christian film for its themes and approach, but will certainly raise some issues for people to consider, and may well lead to helpful and probably pastoral conversations among those who have found similar bewilderment when their ‘infant' faith is challenged. There is also the honest depiction of the developing conflict that arises from lifestyles that promise much, but in reality do not provide hope grounded in love.
Blue Like Jazz was showing as part of the Hoyts Faith on Film Sunday programme and is available on DVD.
Peter Bentley