| Movie Name/Yr | Description (Director) Movie Types: 1-Inspiring 2-Excellent 3-Enjoyable => | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
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2011 Jul |
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The Gospel of John - The Catholic Bible Reading Guide says: |
1 |
| Aug |  |
Ushpizin-Holy Guests - An inside look at an orthodox jewish husband and wife as they navigate humorous tests from God and are richly rewarded in the end. A rare and delightful view into the life of jewish orthodox spirituality (Gidi Dar 2004) | 1 |
| Sep |  |
Music from the Inside Out - Do you think you might have as much joy in your work as a gifted musician would? Find out as this movie follows the musicians of the Philadelphia Symphony in their fascinating private lives (Daniel Anker 2004) | 1 |
| Oct |  |
Arranged - An Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman,
meet and discover they are both facing arranged marriages. They become
friends, help each other navigate their families' mistakes and make sense
of it all. (Stefan Schaefer, Diane Crespo 2007) |
1 |
| Nov |  |
Flywheel - God told them to make a movie with no experience and only $20,000. Things soon went wrong causing them anxiety and panic. The whole crew responded by every day starting their day by praying: "Lord, You take over. Whatever happens will be your will." (their prayer sessions are documented in the special features of the DVD).The movie was completed and became a huge box office success, returning much more than their investment. A concrete and moving document on how we are supposed to pray. (Alex Kendrick 2003). | 1 |
| Dec |  |
As it is in Heaven - Internationally famous conductor Daniel retires to a small town and helps in the Holy Spirit’s transformation of the church’s choir. His dream to “create music that opens people’s hearts” becomes a reality in a very unusual way, and we experience what “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” might mean. A jewel of a film which you will not easily forget. (Kay Pollak 2005) | 1 |
| 2012 Jan | |
As it is in Heaven - Suggested it for January again since few people were able to watch it during the busy Christmas Season. See summary above | 1 |
| Feb |  |
New in Town - Renee, a lady management consultant, is sent to a Minnesota town to close the local plant and finds the locals have much to teach her. (Jonas Elmer 2009) | 1 |
| Mar |  |
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn - Farmer Noah leads an uncomplicated life until a big time developer tries to buy his land which Noah will not sell. Noah's noble ways win the day. (Gregg Champion 1999) | 1 |
| Apr |  |
The Way - How does a pilgrimage work? A man in low spirits is inspired by God to go on a pilgrimage. Along the way he meets evident "losers" and initially rejects them. But in a pilgrimage one cannot just get away from them. Little by little he begins to receive unexpected graces through them and by the end of the pilgrimage, a close group of friends has been formed, and God heals him through that surprising community. (Emilio Estevez 2010) | 1 |
| May |  |
The Women on the 6th Floor - Jean-Louis, a stodgy Parisian investment banker, is fascinated by the joyous life of the Spanish maids in the servant quarters of the building he owns. When his wife unfairly throws him out, they offer him a helping hand. It is a delightful comparison of a wealthy-but-unreal and a poor-but-rich life. (Philippe Le Guay 2010) | 1 |
| Jun |  |
Fireproof - Fire chief Caleb's wife is a beautiful hospital administrator but his marriage is an out of control blaze. Demoralized they decide to split. When Joe tells his father, his old man asks him a favor. Complete one assignment a day from a book I'll give you before you divorce. The results are as interesting as they are entertaining. The Kendrick brothers spent $500,000 making Fireproof. It became the highest-grossing independent film of 2008, grossing over $33,000,000. (Alex Kendrick 2008) | 1 |
| Jul |  |
A Shine of Rainbows - An ostracized orphan finds his colorless life transformed after spirited Maire adopts him and instills him with confidence and magic in this inspirational tale, set in heavenly Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland. (Vic Sarin 2010) | 1 |
| Aug |  |
The Kingdom of Heaven - During the 12th century in the holy city of Jerusalem, a young peasant blacksmith takes up the mantle of knighthood so he can help prevent a massacre caused by the irresponsible acts of Christian knights (Ridley Scott 2005) | 1 |
| Sep |  |
Ocean of Pearls - This movie will acquaint you with the strong spiritual values of Indian Sikhs. An engaging story of a world-class surgeon, who compromises his values, and realizes that, for Sikhism as for Jesus, it is not worth it to "gain the whole world while losing your soul." (Sarab Neelam 2008) | 1 |
| Oct |  |
The Keys of the Kingdom - Sent to China to reconstruct a ramshackle mission, Fr. Chisholm (Gregory Peck) by instinctually being a good shepherd overflows the boundaries of the Law and provides God's abundance on earth (John M. Stahl 1944) | 1 |
| Nov |  |
The Magic of Belle Isle - Morgan Freeman is a retired writer running away from life who ends up spending a summer next door to a full-of-life woman, her three daughters, and a labrador retriever. Delight yourself watching the resurrection of Freeman under this tsunami of life-force. (Rob Reiner 2012) | 1 |
| Dec |  |
My Life as a Turkey - A naturalist having to raise a group of wild turkeys discovers how animals experience a joy in life which God has made immediate to all creatures and which we sometimes miss by filtering everything through our minds. (David Allen 2011) | 1 |
| 2013 Jan | No Jan movie | ||
| Feb |  |
Gifted Hands - This real life story of how a kid from a poor African American family became one of the current top neurosurgeons of the United States will delight you. (Thomas Carter 2009) | 1 |
| Mar |  |
An Unfinished Life - In this uplifting view of an unusual country life, Einar (Robert Redford), a tough Wyoming rancher, can handle anything except his own failures towards his wife, his ranch hand (Morgan Freeman), and his daughter-in-law. (Lasse Hallstrom 2005) | 1 |
| Apr |  |
My House in Umbria - We are told He associated with sinners but we don't get a real sense of who they are. Maggie Smith is a sinner with a house in Umbria and her story shines with the beauty Jesus saw in sinners. (Richard Loncraine 2003) | 1 |
| May | 
|
Letters to Juliet - This enchanting 2010 spin on Romeo and Juliet has Vanessa Redgrave in Verona and surrounding countryside searching for a love lost 50 years earlier (Gary Winick 2010 ) | 1 |
| Jun |  |
Train of Life - During World War II, a Jewish village in Nazi occupied Romania buys and old train and attempts to self-deport itself out of the German occupied zone. A cheerful celebration of life that would make God smile at humans. In French with English subtittles. (Radu Mihaileanu 1998) | 1 |
| Jul |  |
Eight Below - A team of sled dogs has to be left to fend for themselves in the Antartic winter while their master fights attempts to come back for them. The dogs show us the importance of community for survival. Just as in the animal kingdom we can deduce how the same would hold in the human Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus preached. We depend on each other. (Frank Marshall 2006). | 1 |
| Aug |  |
Lagaan - The power of nobility over small-mindedness is demonstrated by Indian villagers in the 1800's when they are forced into a capricious bet by a pompous British military officer. The Indian peasant leader overcomes the odds by behaving correctly, which wins the heart of the British officer's sister, his Indian fiancee, and ours (Ashutosh Gowariker 2001) | 1 |
| Sep |  |
Master Harold...and the Boys - Each element of 1950's South African Apartheid is represented by a member of a family. Apartheid itself is the racist crippled white father whom the mother, who represents the "mother-country" forces on her adolescent son who represents the white population. The boy, who loves his black servant as a surrogate father and with whom he envisions a world where there might be a true unity of all races, experiences a crisis in having to chose between his racist father and his wise servant. He lashes out in frustration and uses his father's racist jokes to humiliate the servant.. Showing how Apartheid leads to such an adolescent crisis is a fascinating insight (Lonny Price 2010) | 1 |
| Oct |  |
Invictus - South African Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years in 1990 and became President of a deeply divided country in 1994. He started to heal the split by convincing the blacks to support the white rugby team of the Afrikaners and by inspiring the team to win the 1996 Rugby World Cup against great odds. Mandela showed that it is possible to achieve instances of re-unification in spite of 50 years of venomous racial hatred. (Clint Eastwood 2009) | 1 |
| Nov |  |
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen /2011 A top director turns an unusual UK best-seller into a delightful love story. Four excellent actors, a Scottsman, two British leading ladies, and an Arab heartthrob, come together in a charming story where the hero switches his uninspiring job for the job of his dreams. (Lasse Hallstrom) | 1 |
| Dec |  |
The Last Brickmaker in America - Sidney Poitier, the last manual brickmaker in America, has lost his spirit since his wife died 3 months ago. It takes a 13 year old in trouble, his parents, and a whole town to heal his soul. While experiencing the greatness of the human spirit we learn to make beautiful bricks. (Gregg Champion 2001) | 1 |
| 2014 Jan |  |
Ladies in Lavender - The ladies are Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. In his review in the New York Times, Stephen Holden said: " This amiably far-fetched film... heralds the return of the Comfy Movie (increasingly rare nowadays), the cinematic equivalent of a visit from a cherished but increasingly dithery maiden aunt. In this fading, sentimental genre peopled with grandes dames (usually English) making "grande" pronouncements, the world revolves around tea, gardening and misty watercolor memories." A pleasure for those of us who love "Comfy" movies. This particular movie has also a gorgeous violin concerto. (Charles Dance 2004) | 1 |
| Feb |  |
Dustin Hoffman directs a brilliant cast including Maggie Smith and many top British actors in a tender love story with a soundtrack of moving classical and opera music against the background of a gorgeous English mansion. (2012) | |
| Mar | .png) |
Unfinished Song (Song for Marion)- She (Vanessa Redgrave) laughs a lot, he is just serious. She is dying of cancer and worried about him after she goes. She sings in a lively choir of seniors, he just takes care of her. The choir director is a magnificent, sensitive, charming, supportive, always there, full of life lady. If you are weighed down with problems you will walk on clouds after you see this inspiring movie. Every now and then okfinds comes across characters in a movie that embody the idea of the "breath of God on earth". The wife and the choir director in this movie are both these type of characters - study how well they support people with their love. (Paul Andrew Williams 2012) | 1 |
| Apr |  |
Warm Springs - Franklin Delano Roosevelt has contracted polio and while looking for a cure happens into an old resort in Georgia that had claimed to help paralysis conditions. He finds it is not a cure, but it does help, and begins to envision that his status as a public figure might allow him to guide people with polio that do not have his education and resources towards the few treatments that help. An inspiring film about a charismatic, powerful man. (Joseph Sargent 2005) | 1 |
| May |  |
The Scapegoat - An English nobleman's chance encounter
with a man who looks exactly like him inspires him to temporarily switch
lives with each other. Fascinating meditation on what lies behind appearances.
A superb brand new British version of the famous Daphne Du Maurier plot.
(Charles Sturridge 2012) . |
1 |
| Jun |  |
Emperor - General Douglas MacArthur must transform mortal enemy Japan into Japan the ally. The task appears impossible after the blanket bombing raids of the last days of the war and two atomic bombs. And it is impossible. MacArthur musters all his intelligence and heart to try to change the odds with the help of an american general who loves and understands Japan. Very inspiring to see Americans behaving so honorably. (Peter Webber 2012) | 1 |
| Jul |  |
The Grandfather - An old Spanish nobleman returns home penniless on news that his son has died. There are rumors that his wealthy daughter-in-law was not faithful to his son. Since the old man now depends on her for his suvival the tensions mount. The working out of this complex situation is full of turns and surprises masterfully created by the famous Spanish writer Perez Galdos. (Jose Luis Garci 1999 2hr 31 min) | 1 |
| Aug |  |
Paper Clips - In 1998, the principal at Whitwell,
Tennessee middle school needed a project to teach 8th graders about prejudice.
The Holocaust was part of their studies, but in a town of 1,600 in a 97%
white area, it was hard to imagine discrimination by race. In WWII, Norwegians
wore paper clips in their lapels as a sign of their resistance against
the Nazis. Maybe the students could collect 6 million paper clips to visualize
the magnitude of this crime. This is a documentary is very touching and
includes no shocking pictures.. |
3 |
| Sep |  |
Dance with Me - A young Cuban travels to Houston to visit his father after his mother passes away. The father not knowing that the visitor is his son gives him a handyman's job in his dance studio. After many adventures the son takes part in the World Dance Competition in Las Vegas. A delightful love story and a great dance movie. (Randa Haines 1998) | 2 |
| Oct |  |
The Mighty Macs - Ellen Burstyn is the wise Mother Superior of a catholic college having economic troubles. The last thing she wants is a high maintenance basketball program from a new woman coach who has new ideas. In the end the strong willed nun and the coach help each other to succeed in this true story. (Tim Chambers 2009) | 1 |
| Nov |  |
Hitch - Hitch is a professional "date doctor" who coaches men in the art of dating women. He is actually a true professional who works to make relationships work for both the nice but shy men he counsels and their dates. After many successful jobs for others where he exhibits much wisdom, Hitch fails with his own girlfriend. A delightfully enjoyable comedy. (Andy Tennant 2005) | 2 |
| Dec | No suggestion | Holiday Break for 26 December | |
| Jan |  |
The Hundred-foot Journey - One hundred feet is all the distance we have to go to meet our neighbours and make friends with them...but we seldom do. A brilliant exploration of how our principles, by setting limits to how far we will go to condone foul play, will bring us back into the light and open a new possibility of full life to us. A superbly entertaining movie even if it did not have a powerful moral teaching in its joyful story. Hellen Mirren demonstrates why she is considered an excellent actress. (Lasse Hallstrom 2014) | 1 |
| Feb |  |
Bride and Prejudice - A most delightful Indian Bollywood ("Bombay-Hollywood") re-work of the Pride and Prejudice classic. (2004) | 1 |
| Mar |  |
Evelyn - Pierce Brosnan is a single father trying to take
care of his three children. Evelyn, the eldest, easily wins our hearts.
Legal case and love story set in old-time Ireland. Adding to the attraction,
Alan Bates, Aidan Quinn, and Stephen Rea complete the excellent cast. . (Bruce Beresford 2002) |
1 |
| Apr |  |
Elsa & Fred - "If a man does not have the vitality of youth he should lie down and wait for death" says Christopher Plummer. Shirley McLaine begs to disagree and convinces him otherwise. Need we say more? Superb actors, engaging story, not to be missed. (Michael Radford 2014) | 1 |
| May |  |
And so it Goes - Michael Douglas as an impervious old rich realtor next to Diane Keaton as a sensitive night club singer who has a hard time finishing her songs because she starts crying. Each has what the other one needs but will they be able to move past their defenses to get it...a delicious dance of two actors at their peak. (Rob Reiner 2014) | 1 |
| Jun | No June movie | ||
| Jul |  |
Music and Lyrics - Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in a romantic movie where delightful comic timing works like magic. He is an old singer playing his old hits in amusement parks. She is a plant caretaker with a talent for songwriting. Fate gets them into some very funny times together. (Marc Lawrence 2007) | 1 |
| Aug |  |
In the Land of Women - A nice guy gets his heart broken and finds out that there are many women in his life that can help him. His mother tells him "women are attracted to you - you will do fine." He cooks for his granma, befriends a neighbor's wife and her daughters, a teenage and a delightfully precocius little girl, and finds they can all help him... and he can help them. A wonderful movie about how friendship between men and women can make our lives great. (Jon Kasdan 2007) | 1 |
| Sep |  |
Living is Easy with Eyes Closed - An english teacher in Franco's Spain has his students memorize Beatles songs. John Lennon wrote Strawberry Fields Forever in 1968 in Spain. A line from that song is about the adventure of "how living is easy with eyes closed". A sweet film about how life can be when the only agenda is to help each other. If we could do that how alive would we feel! (David Trueba 2013) | 1 |
| Oct |  |
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - The story of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.is contiuned by this excellent sequel. An exploration of several senior people's loves played by Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere and more, integrated with the love story of two very engaging Hindu young stars. The resulting movie is very engaging. Not to be missed. (John Madden 2015) | 1 |
|
Dec 4 |
 |
Words and Pictures - Giving the lie to the cliche that "they do not make good movies any more," here is a superb Canadian/Australian production. She is an honors art teacher, he an honors literature teacher in an exclusive preparatory school. He declares war to her on the basis that words are more important than pictures. The war involves the best of words and the best of pictures as they each score points off each other and their respective students who typically take both his and her class. The most stimulating exploration of the arts of words and images and their magical creations that allow us to know each other deeper where magic is the only currency. (Fred Schepisi 2013) | 1 |
| Jan 2016 |  |
Iron Jawed Angels - In 1920 a constitutional amendment was passed to grant women the vote. The forgotten history of the fight for women's vote in the United States dramatized in an engaging and suspenseful film. Watch it and learn about a heroic fight that finally succeeded in respecting the civil rights of women. .(Katja von Garnier 2004) | 2 |
| Feb | Cancelled due to illness | ||
| Mar |  |
All Passion Spent(1986) - After having been the wife of
the British Viceroy in India, a charming widow now back in England, gets
the chance to withdraw from all public life and befriend only those interesting
characters she likes. A delicious movie about the enjoyment of old age. |
1 |
| Apr |  |
McFarland, USA - Kevin Costner plays a talented coach who
loses his job through an outbreak of temper. A poor Latino high school
in California's Central Valley becomes his last opportunity. After several
false starts he gets it together and leads them to become State Cross
Country Champions. This is a true and exciting story (Niki Caro 2015)
(Niki Caro 2015) |
2 |
| May | Buen Dia Ramon - After 6 failures to sneak into the US illegally a young Mexican decides to try sneak into Germany. To go to Germany from Mexico without speaking a word of German is a major undertaking. Very engaging movie. | 2 | |
| Jun | The Boys and Girl from Country Clare - A love story wrapped around a yearly Irish Caelie Band Battle of the bands contest in remote westmost country Clare with some charming characters and pretty Irish girls. A very nice peek into traditional Irish music and life - easy to love. | 2 | |
| Jul | Big Stone Gap - Several top comedians make the love story of the town pharmacist and a coal miner a delight to watch. | 2 | |
| Aug | Hector and The Search for Happiness - A psychiatrist bored by his practice takes off on a trip around the world to find the secret of happiness and does find it. Several talented comedians make it a pleasure to watch this light comedy. | 2 | |
| Sep |  |
Nature: Living with the Mule Deer - This documentary could be called "My Life as a Mule Deer". Biologist Joe Hutto on another project becoming accepted by an animal species as one of their own through infinite patience. A delightful look into the life of a wild mule deer herd in Wyoming as if you were part of them (2014) | 1 |
| Oct | Sydney White – A comedic retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A teen ager raised by her widowed plumber father in a construction crew goes away to college. There she meets a fraternity of 7 geeks with the help of whom she takes over the campus. | 3 | |
| Nov | |||
| Dec | Movie is skipped due to Christmas Season | ||
| Jan | Learning to Drive - Ben Kingsley plays a driving teacher
who by his consistent showing up restores the trust in life of an older
divorcee and is himself healed of his own afflictions in the process.
The balm of friendship cures the damage of life’s brokenness in this
sweet story. |
3 | |
| Feb | Saving Grace -Accidentally the Pope is locked out of the Vatican and takes it as a sign from God that he should get closer to his people. The delightful exploration that ensues shows us how a person can be totally supportive of everybody they meet while remaining faithful to the highest ethics. This tangible image of how to really be a very good catholic will illuminate your life for a long time. | 1 | |
| Mar | Woman in Gold – True story of a Los Angeles Jewish aristocrat who, among the papers of her dead sister, finds out about a fascinating family secret about the most famous Viennese painting of all times. She decides to follow the clue with amazing results. Helen Mirren at her best. | 1 | |
| Apr | Two Weeks Notice - Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant are very funny in this fast moving 2002 comedy. | 2 | |
| May |  |
Peter and Paul - Part 1 - Anthony Hopkins gives us a splendid St Paul as we know from his epistles and the Acts of the Apostles. We get to meet Peter, the evangelists Mark and Luke, and several other personages of the first hundred years of christianity. (1981) | 1 |
| Jun | |
Peter and Paul Part 2 - Anthony Hopkins gives us a splendid St Paul as we know from his epistles and the Acts of the Apostles. We get to meet Peter, the evangelists Mark and Luke, and several other personages of the first hundred years of christianity. (1981) | 1 |
| Jul | The Light Between the Oceans – A returning soldier gets a job running a remote lighthouse in Australia in an attempt to forget all the death of World War I. His job is to be the strong light that saves people from death. Then he breaks his vow by choosing his wife over a woman in distress. But he is forgiven through the legacy of a lazy wise man who once mentioned that it is much easier to forgive because you only do it once and life returns, whereas to fight against life demands 24/7 work. A superb film. | 2 | |
| Aug | Fugitive Pieces – A beautiful exploration of how a Jewish boy who tragically lost his family in WWII is healed by life through the kindness of a Greek professor who rescues him and teaches him that when depression comes, writing poetry about our pain can help. Dreadful dreams of his lost sister Bella haunt him. As an adult many years later in a dream Bella tells him the old Greek saying that "the mystery of wood is not that it burns but that it floats" - humans can be destroyed but there is hope: their spirit can live on to restore those that loved them. In a dream Bella tells him to expect salvation. He meets a woman, falls in love and is able to hope for the new life a child will bring him - they will name it Bella! A miracle... (Canadian - Jeremy Podeswa 2007) | 1 | |
| Sep | Boynton Beach Club - Several elderly residents in a Florida retirement community awkwardly rejoin the dating life after their partners pass away. This sweet movie, using great tact from a woman director, explores the human side of starting late new relationships with several well written parts and good actors. (Susan Seidelman 2005) | 3 | |
| Oct |  |
Won't Back Down - A single mother will not take no for an answer when wanting a better grade school education for her only daughter. Against overwhelming inertia she won't back down and organizes the teachers and the parents of Adams grade school in Pittsburgh to provide more effective learning for the children. Based on actual events. (Daniel Barnz 2012. | 1 |
| Nov | Our Souls at Night - Robert Redford and Jane Fonda give us superb performances in a very sensitive movie about two older widowed small town people that due to the very creative initiative of the woman begin talking to each other daily in the most delightful friendship. We are drawn into their conversation as we experience full older lives as they should be as opposed to a condemnation to isolated, lonely survival. | 1 | |
| Dec | Christmas Holiday | ||
| Jan | The Water Diviner - In the aftermath of WWI an Australian father who lost his three sons in the Gallipoli invasion of Turkey in 1915 comes to Turkey to bring back their remains to Australia. The insanity of the Australian failed invasion with 30,000 Australian boys and 70,000 Turks killed, is woven in and out of the story of the father's search for his dead sons in Istanbul. A superb story superbly told. (Russell Crowe 2015) | ||
| Feb | The Last Word - Shirley MacLaine as an overbearing retired career woman who knows how to find joy and how to guide a young woman to find adventure in her life. A very satisfying view of how wisdom can move across generations and plant and grow new seeds. | 2 | |
| Mar | East Side Sushi - A Mexican American young mother in East Oakland gets a job in a Sushi Restaurant and finds out how patriarchal traditional Japanese culture can be. But she is a good cook and a fast learner. Delightful story about how courage and talent can beat the odds. | 2 | |
| Apr | Stardust - Fascinating fairy tale about a teenager that dares to defy convention and spend a night outside the city walls of his little town. His escapade initiates a complex tale and many entertaining adventures until we arrive at a grand finale where all the elements come together in the most delightful manner. Superb acting and film making. (Matthew Vaughn 2007) | 1 | |
| May |  |
Million Dollar Arm - Jon Hamm of Madmen fame plays the lead in this moving film about two poor Indian boys with strong arms who are recruited to play professional baseball in the US. Their true story is charmingly dramatized in this movie.(Craig Gillespie 2014) | 3 |
| Jun | The Statement - A superb Michael Caine mystery in the South of France. A French war criminal evades justice and climbs very high in the government. But in modern times, justice in human rights has become very important and an idealistic judge persists in trying to find those responsible for the significantl betrayal and execution of 7 French jews by the Nazis. (Norman Jewison 2003) | 2 | |
| Jul | Frankel The Superhorse: The story of the late Sir Henry Cecil one of the best racehorse trainers in England and Frankel, his last champion, acknowledged as the the best racehorse in the world...ever. | 3 | |
| Aug | Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks - Gena Rowlands came out of retirement for this film. An elderly Florida woman who used to love dancing, hires a young dance instructor for six lessons. But he has been forced to survive giving dancing lessons after the tragic loss of his life partner and is extremely bitter. The awkward relationship that ensues eventually successfully turns into the friendship they both need. (Arthur Allan Seidelman 2014) | 3 | |
| Sep |  |
Hachi, A Dog;s Story - A superb illumination of the spiritual dimension of beings through the story of a man and his loyal dog. It is hard to imagine a better way to express how humans and dogs make the living image of God shine and illuminate the whole of the earth.. Moviemaking does not get better than this. (Lasse Hallstrom 2009) | 1 |
 |
Ida - An earthshaking comparison of the life of the world and the life of the spirit. Ida, a catholic novice about to make her last vows, finds out she is really jewish, and her only relative is an aunt that has been a brilliant communist state prosecutor in Poland and is still an influential judge. The mother superior orders Ida to go spend some time with her aunt Wanda before she makes her final vows. The comparison of their lives is the occassion for a meditation on the depth of the religious life versus the secular life. A jewel of a film. Gorgeous movie making that illuminates the depth of our lives. (Pawel Pawlikowsky 2014) | 1 | |
 |
The Greatest - Sarandon and Brosnan lose their son in this perceptive story. Chaos is all there is, each of the survivers lost in their own pain. But when they join together life somehow recovers its breath and relief is at hand.. An incredibly view of how humans can resurrect from grief back to life when they do it together but not as loners. (Shana Feste 2009) | 1 | |
 |
Of Gods and Men - A group of monks are isolated during the war of liberation in their remote monastery in Algeria. They have a chance to flee to France but decide to remain in committment to their ministry of help to the local town. The rebel muslim leader occupies their monastery for a short while but protects them after the deeply religious Abbot tells him that his only loyalty is to God - the rebel leader being a deep believer himself feels they are on the same side. After the government kills the rebel leader the monks unprotected are captured by the rebels and are killed in unexplained circumstances in the fight between the government forces and the rebels.(Xavier Beauvois 2011) | 1 | |
 |
Twin sisters - Twin german girls are separated by fate during WWII. Later unthinking prejudice drives a wedge between them and dries up their love until almost the end of their lives. How long will we make the unthinking, easy bad choice for hatred when as this movie shows it is so simple to allow doubt, talk to each other, and choose life. The advice from Jesus to break the cycle of violence was "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." (Matthew 5:39). Was Jesus naive? (Ben Sombogart 2002) | 1 | |
 |
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea - A bottle in the Mediterranean leads to contact between a Palestinian and a French-Jewish teen ager. The enlightening conversation that ensues shows us that peace is a choice that breaks the chain of totally justified animosity and violence on both sides. The advice from Jesus to break the cycle of violence was "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." (Matthew 5:39). Was Jesus naive? (Thierry Binisti 2011) | 1 | |
 |
Raphsody in Blue - The story of George Gershwin, a composer that combined blues, jazz, and classical music to create american concert music starting in the1920's. This 1945 movie gives us the unique opportunity to hear and see many of the original top performers that made Gerschwin music famous such as Oscar Levant, Paul Whiteman, Al Jolson, George White, Hazel Scott, Anne Brown. (Irving Rapper 1945) | 3 | |
 |
The Citizen - Ibrahim emigrates to NY on the day before 9/11 and is persecuted as he fights to make a life for himself. Finally, when he is up for citizenship, the Inmigration department decides to deport him on the basis that a cousin of his with whom Ibrahim had no contact, had unknowingly sheltered one of the terrorists. A trial ensues where the people that Ibrahim had helped stick up for him. An uplifting movie about a charming man. (Sam Kadi 2012) | 1 |