Faith and Movies

Movies are for entertainment. True. But movies can do more than that. Any one who watches movies can explore spiritual meaning not only through movies as literature, but also through storytelling as entertainment. The resulting dialogue not only leads to greater discernment in movie viewing, but also to a keener understanding of the Gospel - our measure of modern-day parables.

For instance, one of the deeply moving movies in recent years is Marvin's Room. Directed by Jerry Zaks in 1996, it is set in Florida, but, on another level, it is also Secrets and Lies territory.

The family conflict here is not as intense as the British film about an adopted biracial daughter seeking her birth mother. But like Secrets and Lies, Marvin's Room touches on pain and regrets, especially between two sisters who have not seen each other for almost twenty years.

Diane Keaton, in an Oscar-nominated performance, plays Bessie, the sister who never marries and stays at home to look after her bedridden father (Hume Cronyn). Meryl Streep is the callow Lee who has tried to make a life of her own, but cannot communicate with her emotionally disturbed son (Leonardo DiCaprio). Robert De Niro has something of a cameo role as the sympathetic doctor.

Scott McPherson, who died of AIDS at the age of 33, wrote the play and screenplay. Because of his personal experience with illness, he was able to create convincing characters and situations from the inside out.

The film shows how opportunities for reconciliation come to us if only we can recognize them and have the courage and love to act on them.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts us, his listeners, to fulfill the whole law, to go deeper into our moral selves and be fully reconciled with our enemies, real or perceived. Jesus asks us to be perfect: to put no bounds to our love just as God puts no bounds to his.

Bessie's life mirrors this teaching about love. Reconciliation is a challenge for the two sisters who have grown apart and find it so difficult to forgive and forget. Bessie's illness gives her the opportunity to reach out to Lee. The illness becomes Lee's opportunity for self-sacrifice in favor of her sister. The two sisters struggle to reach the point of reconciliation.

Hank, who is emotionally disturbed and angry, has the opportunity to reconcile with his mother. Through the experience of meeting his relatives, he grows as a person. Though unaware, Hank becomes the mediator for reconciliation between the sisters.