This April, the Recordatio Project celebrated Easter via one of the most joyous Musicals of all time, Easter Parade, which paired together the formidable talents of Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Exceptional song and dance routines are to be expected, but Emily Di Natale reflects on something completely different…
Running Away With Gender in the Easter Parade by Emily Di Natale (Click here for Full article)
Based on real people and real events, filmed within months of Rome’s liberation as WWII was coming to an end, capturing on film the ruin of the city in a rough but electrifying style, Roberto Rosselini’s Rome, Open City brought Italian Neorealism to the attention of the world. Tense, passionate and naturalistic, the film uses its documentary style to melodramatic effect bringing us the story of individuals connected to the Italian resistance as they attempt to outmaneuver the Gestapo and survive the war. Rossellini, being one of the most ‘Catholic’ of filmmakers, creates a masterpiece that invites all who encounter it in a “thrilling call to conscience and hope” (Kristin Jones, Wall Street Journal).
Pope Francis cites it as one of his favourite films, and after watching it, we trust you will applaud his choice.
IN THIS POST
*The Choice To Live Well in Rome Open City by Benard Chedid
*A Reflection on Don Pietro by Pablo Vila
A film that demands to be seen on the big screen, as anything less does not do it justice, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the great films. It is the story of a man who is a mystery to himself, as he enters an exhilarating and transformative journey through the desert of Arabia in an attempt to shape his own history.
IN THIS POST
*The Epic of Arabia: For Once, The Hype Is Justified by Rodney Mansour
Two films from the fabulous Jacques Demy that take us on a journey from Nantes to Cherbourg, from simple black & white to vibrant colour, and from spoken dialogue to sung Musical. Both films create a magical world of beautiful people, and yet a world that is all too real beneath the surface. Demy builds his own cinematic universe inhabited by characters who cross into other films, as we experience here with his alter ego, Roland Cassard.
Roland bumps into his old childhood friend Lola, now a cabaret dancer, who awaits the return of her long-lost lover and the father of her child. Their lives are intertwined with Frankie, an American sailor, Madame Desnoyers and her daughter Cécile, as they each seek to fulfill their hearts’ desires.
In The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Guy and Genevieve are young and in love, but must undergo a long separation when Guy is drafted into the Algerian War. Things are further complicated when Roland Cassard enters the scene… Demy utilises dazzling colours, and beautiful music (the whole film is sung) to tell this amazing story of love, disappointment, and redemption.
IN THIS POST
*Two Portraits of Longing and Love by Jacques Demy By A.A. Crayley
*Absence in Jacques Demy’s Lola and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Jeremy Ambrose
A retired detective who suffers from acrophobia is asked to follow the wife of an old friend, in one of the greatest mystery films of all time. But beneath the conventions and appearance of the romance-mystery genre lies far more, as Hitchcock takes us on an exploration into fear, love and obsession. Using many experimental techniques, Hitchcock created a film so unique and strange that the audience of the time just didn’t know how to respond. Originally panned by the critics, Vertigo is today recognised as being not only Hitchcock’s very best, but also one of the greatest films of all time.
IN THIS POST
*Blessed Are The Merciful By A.A. Crayley
*The Vertigo of Dishonest Love by Fr. Peter Kwak
*A Tall Story About A Pushover by Rodney Mansour
*The Single Man, the Ideal Woman and the Vertigo of the Human Heart by Jeremy Ambrose
Written by Graham Greene as a piece of entertainment, as opposed to one of his more “serious” theological works, and yet still full of Catholic themes that probe beneath the surface of humanity, The Third Man is one of THE great films and famous for its noir filled vision of post-war Vienna and the signature zither music that accompanies it. Steeped in an indescribable atmosphere where shadows hide truth and evil lurks behind the most charismatic of personalities, The Third Man is a marvel of storytelling and filmmaking. Holly Martins is offered a job by his old friend Harry Lime, however, when he arrives to Vienna, he finds his friend dead in a suspicious accident, leaving him to unravel the truth and discover the identity of the enigmatic “third man” at the scene of the crime.
IN THIS POST
*Harry Vs. Holly by Fr. Peter Kwak
*Vienna, Anna and Forgiveness By A.A. Crayley
*A Reflection on Holly by Benard Chedid
*Harry, Holly and The Third Man by Jeremy Ambrose
*Fantasy vs Fact: What Do Women Really Want (and Need)? By A.A. Crayley
Paths of Glory
A war film that gives us one of the strongest anti war sentiments ever. If war is Hell, then we see true evil at work in the corruption of those in power and in a system that treats the human person as a mere object, as means to the greater end of victory. It is a film that is truly shocking it its depiction of moral bankruptcy and the persecution of the powerless. Grandly crafted, its technique serves to create a bold vision and captivating story, and then fills the frame with incredible performances from all the actors. A film that has no women until the last scene possibly speaks the loudest about the power of the feminine genius and its necessity in bringing man back to humanity. The spellbinding and rather strange finale offers an exploited woman as a figure of hope and a reminder of the higher nature that mankind is called to, and all too often forgets.
IN THIS POST
*A Reflection on Evil in ‘Paths of Glory’ by Pablo Vila
*A Catholic Imagining of ‘Paths of Glory’ by Fr. Peter Kwak
*The Casualty of War by Benard Chedid
Diabolique (1955)
A French horror film that still packs a wallop in entertainment, style and performance… It is a study of human evil and its all too real spiritual effects. Who the ‘devils’ of the title actually are, is debatable, but what we witness is an evil plotting that outdoes itself in psychological malevolence. The Director cleverly subverts Catholic imagery to create what is anti-Catholic, in other words, a parody of the good. Water, thus, has great significance in this film, but from the opening shot, it is water that is dirty, murky, and unclear. Evil is made present in different levels and to different degrees within the characters but we only realise the full extent of it at the climax of the film. Along the way we are thrilled, captivated, horrified – and finally, grateful to have had the experience and even more grateful that we can leave it behind.
Warning: The reflections below are full of spoilers. The aim is to share these insights with all who are inspired to watch these films and help to draw out even more from the experience. So watch the films first and read the reflections afterwards…
IN THIS POST
*Temptation and Evil in ‘Diabolique’ by Pablo Vila
Make Way For Tomorrow & The Awful Truth
Make Way For Tomorrow and The Awful Truth
In the year 1937, Leo McCarey directed two films. One flopped and disappeared for seventy years. The other won him the Academy Award for Best Director. When receiving the Oscar, he said “Thanks but you’ve given it to me for the wrong film…” This double-header was a chance to see both films together and the cinema club audience unanimously agreed with McCarey; that while ‘The Awful Truth’ may be an entertaining comedy, it is ‘Make Way For Tomorrow’ that is the masterpiece! A film
about an elderly couple was never destined to do well at the box office, however, its power should not be underestimated, because by the time the last frame melts away, don’t be surprised if you feel like your heart has just been wrenched out of your body. It is a traumatic film, and yet a rich one, with vivid characters, pulsating with honest beauty. What does one do with the elderly when there is nowhere for them to go? What do their children do and at what cost? The film holds up a mirror to all those watching it where, although we may feel disgust at the behaviour of the grown-up children of the elderly couple, we also feel discomfort at the fact that we understand the children and even may identify with them. The film challenges us in a way that demands a response. It is a difficult challenge, one that most would prefer to ignore, but one that invites us to look into ourselves and what we believe in to hazard an answer.
The Awful Truth appears like fluff after such an experience, but this fluff won McCarey THE Academy Award. And it is rather impressive that a screwball comedy could affirm marriage through its depiction of the lead characters’ ‘divorce’. Witty, elegant, romantic, and funny, this seems the perfect definition for what “comedy” should be. Leo McCarey was a practicing Catholic who would later give us films like “Going My Way” and “An Affair to Remember,” but in these two films of 1937, we already see a master at telling great stories, be they comedy or tragedy, yet in both the ability to reflect themes crucial to building a culture of life.
Warning: The reflections below are full of spoilers. The aim is to share these insights with all who are inspired to watch these films and help to draw out even more from the experience. So watch the films first and read the reflections afterwards…
IN THIS POST
*Marriage in McCarey by Pablo Vila
*A Reflection on ‘Make Way For Tomorrow’ by Benard Chedid
The "Recordatio" Cinema Club 