Our next film night will be Saturday, May 6 at 7:30PM. We will watch Wag the Dog at the Drake/Myhan residence:
8601 15th Ave NE #101
Seattle, WA 98115 (map)
206-834-0272

We will watch The Story of the Weeping Camel on Saturday, Februrary 4 at the Drake/Myhan residence at 7:30 PM.
8601 15th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115

Synopsis:
Springtime in the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia. A family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. One of the camels has an excruciatingly difficult delivery but, with help from the family, out comes a rare white colt. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, refusing it her milk and her motherly love. When any hope for the little one seems to have vanished, the nomads send their two young boys on a journey through the desert, to a a backwater town in search of a musician who is their only hope for saving the colt’s life. More from IMDB

For some time now, our church has viewed and discussed films that have something to say about spirituality. Film and Spirituality, as it has come to be called, has been an interesting way to engage the culture around us, by giving us an avenue for discussing the way that spirituality is expressed in media. Personally, I find this a proactive way of connecting with the culture around us in potentially redeeming ways.

Modern western evangelicalism, with its Platonic separation of the sacred and secular, has dictated to the church what are and what are not acceptable acts of worship. I have been discovering that this was not always the case. Other cultures have understood and exemplified that all of life is worship. Ancient Celtic Christians, for example, acted to sanctify their day-to-day activities by having prayers for milking a cow, bathing, etc. There is even Biblical precedent: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Back to movies. Films are one of the major ways our culture expresses itself: its wants, fears, hurts and desires. Films have the power to change public perception, to educate, to entertain. They open our eyes to a wider reality; they show us a world that is bigger, brighter, darker, more full of life, beauty, and danger than our everyday experiences. They are a primary medium for our generation’s mythology. Almost anything that we (as a culture, a nation, a society, a generation) believe about ourselves, God, and our world can be found in our movies.

What a pity that the church has widely regarded movies as problematic, something to be either shunned altogether or dissected on an arbitrary decency scale. I empathize with those who wish to protect society’s children from overexposure to sexuality, violence, coarse language, and occultism. However, I believe that isolationism, opposition and denial are not the best alternatives that Christianity has to offer. I think that the challenge to Christians is to be a prophetic witness to culture. Just as Daniel interpreted the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, so I believe that we as the church will be able, with God’s help, to provide meaning to the often meaninglessness of contemporary art forms, such as movies (even when such meaning was unknown to the creator at the time of its creation).

I would go further. Beyond saying that we Christians, the Bible, God, or simply our worldview has something to say regarding film, I would contend that the conversation can and should go two ways - namely, that film can and should influence our reading of Scripture. Something that has been missing from the Church’s movie-watching, if it has done any, is the allowance for the film to speak to us in a worldview-shaping way.

In his book Useless Beauty: Ecclesiastes through the Lens of Contemporary Film, Robert K. Johnston attempts to do that with the specific subject matter of the book of Ecclesiastes. He juxtaposes some of the book’s major themes: “life’s vanity, death, amorality, our existence’s incrutability” (p. 185) with several modern films, allowing them to illustrate these topics and provide a fuller picture of what the writer said. Not surprisingly, in light of the subject matter, many of the movies Johnston covers are rated R (Magnolia, Monster’s Ball, and American Beauty, among others). According to Johnston, several scholars have lately entered the arena of film, seeking to “reverse the hermeneutical flow,” or allow the conversation between faith and culture to be two-way.

This is a call for the community of faith to get involved, to get our hands dirty, to be actively engaged with our society - not just to have something to say to culture, but to listen for the voice of God in our circumstances, no matter how unlikely the source.

We will watch Waking Life on Saturday, January 7 at the Martins’.
640 SW 129th St,
Burien, WA, 98146
map

We will watch Tokyo Story on Saturday, Nov 26 at the Baeder/Ogle residence.
2907 S Byron St
Seattle, WA 98144
Map
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The Warrior will be our next movie, on Saturday, October 29th. This one will be taking place at the Drake/Myhan residence:

8601 15th Ave NE
Apt 101
Seattle, WA 98115

Synopsis: Shot on location in the deserts of Rajasthan and the Himalayas, Asif Kapadia’s award-winning drama centers on Lafcadia (Irfan Khan), the local despot’s ruthless head warrior. Just as he’s about to kill a young girl, Lafcadia experiences a mystical moment of enlightenment. He renounces his ties to the warlord (Anupam Shyam), who sends his army of brutes after the deserter. Tragedy ensues, and Lafcadia embarks on a personal journey of redemption.

We will be watching Born Into Brothels at the Baeders’ place on Saturday, October 1.

2907 S Byron St
Seattle, WA 98144
206-325-0663

Synopsis: This Oscar-winning documentary is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta’s red-light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Spurred by the kids’ fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a photographer documenting life in the brothels, decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids awaken to their own talents and sense of worth.

Here is our film schedule for July and August 2005. All films are on Saturdays, starting at 7:30. Click the name of the film for more info from IMDB; click the name of the hosts for directions/map.

July 9: Rabbit Proof Fence - Martins
July 23: American History X - Drakes
August 6: Amadeus - Baeder (Ogles to host)
August 20: The 25th Hour - Martins
September 3 (Labor Day Weekend): Song of the South – Drakes
September 17: What the Bleep Do We Know? - Baeders

Here is our film schedule for July and August 2005. All films are on Saturdays, starting at 7:30. Click the name of the film for more info from IMDB; click the name of the hosts for directions/map.

July 9: Rabbit Proof Fence - Martins
July 23: American History X - Drakes
August 6: Amadeus - Baeder (Ogles to host)
August 20: The 25th Hour - Martins
September 3 (Labor Day Weekend): Song of the South – Drakes
September 17: What the Bleep Do We Know? - Baeders

We will be watching Mystic River at the Martins’ on Saturday, June 25.
640 SW 129th St
Burien, WA 98146
206-248-6027

Synopsis:
With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men are reunited by circumstance when one loses a daughter. More

Cast:
Sean Penn …. Jimmy Markum
Tim Robbins …. Dave Boyle
Kevin Bacon …. Sean Devine
Laurence Fishburne …. Sgt. Whitey Powers
Marcia Gay Harden …. Celeste Boyle
Laura Linney …. Annabeth Markum

More from IMDB