Movie: "Places in the Heart"

I was very excited by the number of people who gathered Friday night to watch and discuss Places in the Heart (1983). Aside from a couple of technical issues (which we will work on more diligently for next time), I thought that everybody enjoyed the movie. And I was pleased that several of you shared your impressions and comments.

As I shared on Friday, I find the religious themes of the film very interesting. The exploration of religious community -- as family, church, and as geographic community -- is very interesting. The contrasting of the consequences of our personal actions and of those actions that are thrust upon us (either by the actions of other people, or by things completely outside anyone's control like the weather) is an important issue for everyone of us personally, and it has importance in any congregation.

The final scene of the film is powerful. It is incredibly optimistic. It is also, surprisingly, subtle -- if you do not have a lot of church experience (in specific types of churches), you might not even realize what is going on. It is a powerful vision of what a Christian community can look like and how it can act ideally. It is not the only such vision, of course, but it is one vision.

I hope that we will have other films in our "Faith and Film" series soon. If you have any that you would like to suggest, please share them with me. Someone suggested that a film more appropriate for the kids would be a good idea; or maybe we could show a couple of movies at the same time (one for the kids and one for the adults). I am open to your suggestions. I promise you, there is no shortage of films we could watch together and discuss.

In fact, I hope that this series encourages you to see issues of faith in unexpected places. For all of the bashing of "Hollywood values" over the years, there are surprising displays and subtexts of religious themes in popular movies (the "Star Wars" series is as much an allegory of Christianity as is C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia). American popular culture draws on our shared heritage, and religion is a part of that heritage.

Also, remember that you can share your comments about Friday's movie with each other by making a comment to this post. And if you hesitate to comment, thinking that no one cares, I should tell you that there are certain people (other than me) anxiously waiting for such a conversation to develop.