One of the most common ways people experience history is through film. Ever since I first saw it, The Illusionist (2006) has been one of my favourite films. The film takes place in Austria-Hungary during the time of their empire in the 19th century, and follows the controversial career and love affair of a returning magician to Vienna and his tangles in the politics of the … [Read more...]
Prometheus, Hanoverians, and the Christmas Tree
Since I've been writing so much on Advent lately, from defining Advent, to asking what the point of it was, to explaining Advent traditions, prayers, and spiritual disciplines, I thought I'd write more on the Christmas Tree. In the film Prometheus (2012) that came out recently, the futuristic space explorers still celebrate Christmas, and do so by erecting a Tree in the ship. … [Read more...]
Advent and "The Lives of Others" (2006): A Cinematic View of Christ's Return.
Yesterday I mentioned East Germany in a post, and I think Christ's Second Advent is a little the falling of the Berlin wall. In the film "The Lives of Others" (2006) set during the fall of the Soviet-controlled government of East Germany, there is a beautiful moment when a group of secret police hear on the radio that the wall has come down. They are busy at work opening … [Read more...]
Movie Review: The Blindside
Today I went to see this film with my mom while I should've been writing an essay. It was an amazing film, very heart-warming, sentimental, and most importantly, true.It was also fairly Christian which I was amazed could still exist in Hollywood, but a beautiful story about the triumph of love/charity over prejudice, apathy, and capitalism(?). It's about a family that adopted … [Read more...]
Beauty and the Beast, Existentialism, and Love
I was woken by my cat at 6:15 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I brought my bedding into the loft and watched Beauty and the Beast which my brother's wife had left at our house. No not the new remastered edition, the old VHS. I hadn't watched the film since I was a kid when it was released in 1991, and as usual my memory served me quite accurately, though of … [Read more...]