"I am a human being": The Elephant Man (1980), w/ Andrew Petiprin
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
1w ago
On the latest episode of Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast, Andrew Petiprin joins James and Thomas to discuss the late David Lynch's most uplifting film, The Elephant Man. The film is based on the real Victorian-era life of Joseph Merrick, a man who suffered terrible abuse because of his extreme deformities, yet whose human dignity was ultimately recognized and allowed to flourish by those who rescued him and cared for him with Christian compassion. Panel on film at Notre Dame with Thomas Mirus, Andrew Petiprin, and Nathan Douglas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7oE8d6RcCw&ab_chann ..read more
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In a Lonely Place (1950)
Criteria
by Thomas Mirus, James Majewski
3w ago
James and Thomas discuss Nicholas Ray's thrilling 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place. In an outstanding, nuanced performance, Humphrey Bogart plays quick-tempered screenwriter Dixon Steele, who enters into a fast-moving relationship with Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) just as he is under suspicion for the murder of another young woman. The investigation puts a strain on their romance, revealing the problems of relationships without the requisite mutual trust. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.cathol ..read more
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New birth for humanity: Children of Men (2006) w/ Timothy Reckart
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
1M ago
Oscar-nominated writer and director Timothy Reckart rejoins the podcast to discuss a movie that has a marked resonance with the Nativity story, Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliantly crafted dystopian thriller Children of Men. Set in 2027, it depicts a world that has fallen into despair and chaos because of a worldwide infertility crisis: no one has been able to have a baby in eighteen years. The film, made in 2006, depicts a future England looks in many ways like today’s: childlessness, terrorism, and state-provided euthanasia. In the midst of all this, jaded protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) is given the ..read more
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Job and St. Augustine in one film: The Tree of Life (2011)
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
3M ago
The Tree of Life may well be the greatest movie ever made. Heavily inspired by the book of Job and St. Augustine's Confessions (and even including some lines about nature and grace seemingly derived from The Imitation of Christ), director Terrence Malick gives profound spiritual and cosmic scope to the story of an ordinary family in 1950s Texas. The film begins with the death of a son, detours to the creation of the universe, and then flashes back to a richly observed sequence of childhood in all its beauty along with the tragic effects of sin - seen through the memory of a present-day na ..read more
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Freedom in vocation: The Sound of Music (1965)
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
4M ago
The Sound of Music is rightly beloved by Catholics. James and Thomas discuss the movie's all-around excellence, break down Julie Andrews's virtuosic performance, and explore what the film says about the freedom and openness necessary to discern and pursue one's vocation in life. DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com ..read more
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Malick’s humble camera: The New World (2005)
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
4M ago
The Criteria crew continue their journey through the works of today's most significant Christian filmmaker, Terrence Malick. The New World is an underrated masterpiece about Pocahontas and the founding of Jamestown in 1607. Starring the 14-year-old Q'orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas, Colin Farrell as John Smith, and Christian Bale as John Rolfe, Malick's retelling of the story remarkably combines realism and historical accuracy with poetry and romance, as all three protagonists explore not just one but multiple new worlds, geographical and interior. With The New World, Malick definitively en ..read more
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Godzilla Minus One, a profound appeal for a culture of life
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
4M ago
You may be surprised to hear that one of the more morally profound new movies we’ve seen recently is a Godzilla reboot! The original 1954 Godzilla had its own ideas, being a way of processing Japan’s nuclear trauma and the ethical implications of superweapons. But the new Godzilla Minus One goes even deeper, examining not only the trauma of the war but the psychological and spiritual fallout of a culture that produced the kamikaze phenomenon. The film confronts the culture of death that dominated WWII-era Japan and its corruption of the idea of self-sacrifice, and shows how our sacrifices in w ..read more
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Generational wounds in Tokyo Story (1953)
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
4M ago
Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story is a quiet, gentle yet tragic family drama about the distance that can grow between elderly parents and their adult children. It's a critique of the transformation of culture and mores in postwar Japan, particularly the loss of filial piety, but it's not just specific to Japanese culture. The film holds a mirror up to both parents and children, and if it is critical of those who fail to honor and love their elderly parents, it also shows that this is often a result of the parents having failed their children ..read more
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The Chosen, Season 4: Lectio Divina or Fan Fiction?
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus, James T. Majewski
5M ago
The Chosen has now passed the halfway point of its seven seasons. Four seasons in, it is possible to take a big-picture look at the show’s trajectory. Season four takes us from the execution of John the Baptist to the raising of Lazarus, ending on the verge of Holy Week with the apostles preparing for Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Biblical threads throughout the season include the falling away of Judas, and Jesus’ sorrow and frustration at his disciples’ inability to hear His predictions of His imminent death. This season still has some of the great moments that have made The Chosen ..read more
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Church Teaching on Cinema: Vatican II and Beyond
Criteria
by Thomas V. Mirus
5M ago
Thomas Mirus and Nathan Douglas's mini-series on magisterial documents about cinema comes to a close with an episode covering the Vatican II era - specifically between 1963 and 1995, spanning the pontificates of Pope St. Paul VI and Pope St. John Paul II. This was, frankly, an era of decline in terms of official Church engagement with cinema. Where previous pontificates had dealt with film as a unique artistic medium, Vatican II's decree Inter Mirifica set the template for lumping all modern mass media together under the label of "social communications" - discussing them as new technology and ..read more
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