BLU-RAY MOVIE FOR LENT We have compiled 4 great movies for your family to enjoy during this Holy Week. You can use these for Lenten reflection and discussion.
War Horse Director: Steven Spielberg. Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell, Emily Watson, Jeremy Irvine.
Overview: Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.
For Reflection and Conversation: There are many redemptive echoes embedded in this movie. War Horse is about passionate friendship —remarkable loyalty between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. It is also about giving up, as Joey later was sold and sent to war. The journey of the horse as he moves through the war soon inspires the lives of all those he meets. In different ways, the horse also brings bravery, reconciliation, healing and resolution to other characters in the story.
Question for reflection: How is love communicated in the relationships shown in the film, especially between Albert and Joey, family members, friends and enemies? Talk about the different cultures, races, and ages represented and how these work together to make War Horse more meaningful.
Hugo Director: Martin Scorsese. Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg, Marco Aponte, Emily Mortimer, Johnny Depp, Ray Winstone, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths.
Overview: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and a robot.
For Reflection and Conversation: Hugo said: “Everything has a purpose, even machines. …Maybe that’s why broken machines make me so sad, because it isn’t able to do what it was meant to do… Maybe it’s the same with people. If you lose your purpose… it’s like you’re broken.”
Question for reflection: How is love communicated in the relationships shown in the film, especially between Hugo and Georges Méliès, Station Inspector, his father, and friends?
Hugo continued: “I’d imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn’t be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason too.”
You may want to talk about Hugo’s experiences: his time keeping for the station's clocks running, his fascination for machines and able to fix them, his poverty life and how he survives, the other people cruelty of maltreating him, his running and breaking free from law enforcer, and his discovery of man-shaped automaton that answers his purpose in life.
Mars Needs MomsDirector: Simon Wells. Cast: Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon.
Overview: A young boy named Milo gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians come to Earth to take her away.
For Reflection and Conversation: The ending of the movie reminds children that their mothers are not only important but also worth fighting for regardless if they are made to eat broccoli and clean their room.
Question for reflection: How is love communicated in the relationships shown in the film, especially between Milo and his mom, Gribble, Ki, and Supervisor?
Focus on Milo yells hurtful comments at his mom. How does mom react to his cruel remarks? How does that make Milo feel? How can words hurt?
Gribble was a little boy when his mother was kidnapped by the Martians. What happened to her? How did it affect him? What does Gribble regret the most?
Words are just words, but they can build up or tear down. What words make you feel loved? What words hurt your feelings? Tell your family members something that will let them know they are appreciated.
We Bought A ZooDirector: Cameron Crowe. Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones.
Overview: Benjamin, an adventure writer, lost his wife Katherine six months before. He is raising 14-year old Dylan and 7-year old Rosie alone. But Dylan is acting out and gets expelled from school and Rosie is old beyond her years. So, Benjamin quits his job and looks for a new home to start new. By buying a rundown zoo, he brings life and joy back not only to the zoo but to their family.
For Reflection and Conversation: The movie is about people, death, dying, grieving, and moving on.
“Grief is a journey that requires the support of a community to traverse. This fact is what makes this revised version of the tale effective. The theme is verbally affirmed by several characters as they all agree that although the animals have brought them together as a group, it is the people and their love for each other that brings healing to their lives and unique experiences of grief. That is a message worthy of remembering and practicing in the losses that occur in all of our lives.”
Question for reflection: - The unique relationship that Benjamin has with his brother, Duncan, provides another form of healing as they use their deceased father’s inheritance to facilitate the restoration of the zoo. If you have received an inheritance, how did you use it to honor your ancestors or heal your grief?
- Katherine’s death disoriented all the members of the Mee family, yet they had no counsel provided to them by a pastor, therapist or friend. Where do you turn when you need help in navigating a loss?
- The response of the community to the reopening of the zoo was overwhelming. Do you believe that such a response was realistic? Why or why not? –from:
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/011212_cinema_in_focus_we_bought_a_zoo/
