Hello dear readers, so sorry I have been awol for a while. I think I had a Christmas hang-over – not the real kind of hang-over but just a too much festive activity, too many commitments and too many decorations to take down and put away, kind of hangover. Such that I have not had the energy or inspiration to open up (Ir)reverend Ramblings and post a blog!
To combat the situation I have been seeking refuge at the movie theatre. Now, before I go any further, you readers who do not live in Bracebridge need to know that we have one very good movie theatre with three screens. That said, sometimes the movie offerings just do not appeal to me. This week however, has been a bonanza. I saw Philomena last week and Saving Mr. Banks on Sunday night. I recommend both movies as good entertainment but also as a spirit stretcher.
Each of the movies is based on actual people and real-life stories. Philomena tells of a woman, reviewing her youth and the loss of the son she gave birth to as a teenager. He was taken from her and sold into an adoption. The movie opens on what would have been his 50th birthday and tells of her search to find him. Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of the development of the movie Mary Poppins. Walt Disney wooed P.L. Travers for twenty years before she sold him the film rights to her story. Both movies unfold a great tale but they each also tell of the need for each woman to reconcile her history and to find forgiveness both for herself and for those who disappointed her. So along with the characters of the story the role of forgiveness is a major player in each picture.
I am always grateful when a movie both moves me and makes me think. In Philomena she says to the Catholic sister, who was so mean to her for many years, “I forgive you.” The journalist who accompanies her on this journey of discovery looks at her with astonishment on his face and says, “I can’t forgive her.” It is both a tender moment but also a moment of truth as it points to the challenge and difficulty in the act of forgiveness. Likewise in Saving Mr. Banks the characters of Walt Disney and P.L.Travers share a moment of recognition as they must each forgive their disappointment and hurt as they remember their imperfect fathers.
Forgiveness is a call that is common in faith and is one that I think offers one of the biggest challenge to those of us who struggle to be faithful. How are you at forgiving? Do you find it helpful to see this kind of topic explored in entertainment offerings of tv and at the movies?
