In the latter half of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Rear Window, Lisa bemoans to her wheelchair bound beau, Jeff, (a luminous Grace Kelly alongside the ultimate everyman James Stewart) the ghoulish reality that they are disappointed by the possibility Thorwald, from the apartment across the yard, may not have killed his wife. She quips, “Whatever happened to that old saying: ‘Love thy neighbour?’”

More than just an amusing line, I want to suggest that herein lies one of the more significant issues raised by the Catholic formed Hitchcock in this wildly entertaining film… 

Read the full essay Who Is My Neighbour? A Look Through the ‘Rear Window.’

When Ernst Lubitsch made the rip-roaring comedy To Be Or Not To Be, about a Polish theatre troupe under Nazi occupation, playing their part for the resistance and “acting” to save their lives, he probably had little idea that his timely 1942 film was paralleling the real-life heroics of another group of Polish actors, who came together to form the “Rhapsody” theatre, playing their part by putting on underground plays as acts of cultural resistance and “acting” to save the identity and tradition of the Polish people. Amongst these actors, who would perform clandestinely behind closed doors before an audience of friends and colleagues, was Karol Wojtyla – the man who would one day become Pope John Paul II…

Read the full essay on Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be Or Not To Be.

“What’s it all about, Alfie?”
The famous line from the film’s theme song poses an existential question that lies at the heart of Alfie. The swinging sixties and the start of the sexual revolution are personified in Michael Caine as Alfie, and under the guise of a comedy, we are given an honest glimpse into the highs and lows of such a life and the consequences that follow.
A film that couldn’t be made today (although attempted in 2004 with Jude Law playing the lead role) yet timeless in its portrayal of humanity and life, Alfie is a film that will always be relevant and is not to be missed!

Read The Pro-Choice Politic of Alfie by Jeremy Ambrose

Often to be found in most top tens of the greatest films of all time, Ordet (The Word), is a profound  experience. It is a challenging film, that asks many questions, without offering direct answers, and yet, by the end of the experience succeeds in bringing the viewer closer to God and fellow man.

A Danish family go about their ordinary lives, experiencing love, pregnancy, and conflict. In the midst of all of this stands Johannes, the second son of the family, who has gone mad, and thinks he is Jesus Christ.

Roger Ebert describes his experience of Ordet:

When the film was over, I had plans. I could not carry them out. I went to bed. Not to sleep. To feel. To puzzle about what had happened to me. I had started by viewing a film that initially bored me. It had found its way into my soul. Even after the first half hour, I had little idea what power awaited me, but now I could see how those opening minutes had to be as they were… The film stands utterly and fearlessly alone. Many viewers will turn away from it. Persevere. Go to it. It will not come to you.

Read Divine Madness In Ordet by Kamila Soh

In our Year of Mercy film series, The Searchers stands out especially for depicting one of the most merciless antiheroes of all time. Monica Doumit reflects on this film and the different motivations behind the two main characters in The Searchers.

Introduction to The Western  by Jeremy Ambrose

Searching For Meaning in The Searchers by Monica Doumit