From zero to 60 ... Teresa's top films

by Teresa Peneguy Paprock

"Every single art form is involved in film, in a way." - Sydney Pollack
When our son, Christo, was filling out his college application, he needed to explain why he chose his field of study: film. “My parents are obsessed with films,” he wrote. “I have had to watch one almost every single day!”

Actually, that’s pretty accurate. Given that John-Brian and I are film buffs (and given that we don’t have cable and our TV reception sucks), we’ve found that we can depend on our local library system to round up just about any film we can ask for. Over the years we’ve watched favorites, old and new; the AFI Top 100 Movies of All Time, Academy Award winners, the Arts & Faith Top 100.

I like to point out that early-on, Christo learned the difference between a movie (example: “Hangover II”) and a film (example: “The Maltese Falcon”). Occasionally we spend our time (or money) on movies. But usually, we see films. And we take our films seriously, discussing them, debating them and dissecting them.

I can’t speak for John-Brian, but for me, films have taken on a kind of persona in my life. Films have flung me into all kinds of emotions; they’ve confused and astounded me; they’ve taught me to feel empathy for people I might detest in real life; they’ve transported my mind and heart to places and times far away. Occasionally, a film will stand me up – and I’ll want my $8 or two hours of life back! But for the most part, I’m glad that I’ve seen every film I’ve seen.

Tonight I happened to notice the Flixter app on Facebook. (Apparently, I started using it a couple of years ago and then forgot about it.) I have no desire to harass my Facebook friends by asking them to “rate our movie compatibility,” and I don’t want to get messages about every new release that comes out. But it gave me an easy way to list my Very Favorite Movies. And when I was done, I found out that I had sixty.

Sixty!

So much for ever being able to write a detailed review on every one! But I’m going to provide my list below – first my “Top Ten,” with a brief note about each, and then the remaining 50 in alphabetical order. And over the next few months I’ll review particular films (or genres) when the time is right. So grab some popcorn and a Coke, and enjoy!

TERESA'S TOP TEN FLICKS 1. Citizen Kane – I mean, duh.

2. The Decalogue – Actually a collection of 10 one-hour television films, this 1989 Polish masterpiece explores each of the Ten Commandments (without ever overtly mentioning God or religion), with all their ambiguity and paradox. For mature audiences.

3. The Corporation – This 2003 documentary tripped my trigger. I waked into the theater largely ignorant of corporate control of society; I walked out wanting to rip all the labels out of my clothes. Required viewing.

4. Crash – This stunning bit of cinema dares the viewer to ask himself questions about race – whatever race the viewer is, and however “tolerant” he imagines himself to be.

5. The Prestige – “Are you watching closely?” Two rival magicians become obsessed with out-doing each other in Victorian England. You don’t have to be a magic buff to wind up on the edge of your seat until the (literally) shattering ending. David Bowie makes a cameo as Nikola Tesla.

6. Donnie Darko (Director’s Cut) – Time travel is one thing, a plot that is a Mobius strip is another. Jake Gyllenhaal (pre-Brokeback) is perfect as the psychotic (?) teenager who must prevent the end of the world. Writer/director Richard Kelly denies the Christian symbolism, but there’s a lot of it.

7. Boogie Nights – This is not a porn movie, it’s a movie about porn – specifically, about the soul-crushing dehumanization of those in the “adult film” industry (during the comparatively innocent pre-AIDS era). Almost a Biblical parable, the film introduces Mark Wahlberg and celebrates Burt Reynolds.

8. There Will Be Blood – Paul Thomas Anderson (who wrote and directed Boogie Nights above) does it again, this time with the Turn-of-the-Century oil rush. The lies and corruption started early. Daniel Day Lewis evolves from greedy businessman to evil incarnate. “I drink your milkshake” takes on an all new meaning.

9. The Sweet Hereafter – Armenian director Atom Egoyan (Ararat) had parents who literally named their son after the atom bomb, and Egoyan applies this energy to one of the most exquisitely deep and painful films I’ve ever seen. On the outside, it’s about a small Canadian community torn asunder by a horrible traffic accident; on the inside it’s about something else.

10. The Departed – Don’t blink – you’ll miss something in Martin Scorsese’s tale of double-, triple- and quadruple-crossing by Irish gangs in Boston. And how can you go wrong with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg?

TERESA'S NEXT 50 FAVES (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
12 Angry Men (1957) – Ever wonder what goes on when the jury can’t agree?

12 Monkeys – Even though Cole (Bruce Willis) meets himself as a child (impossible in time travel!) I will always adore this film for its juxtaposition of science and theology.

A Beautiful Mind – The true (but liberally adapted) story of mathematician John Nash’s battle with schizophrenia.

A Serious Man – Oy, vei. The Coen Brothers (Fargo) bring us poor schmuck Larry Gopnik; as he goes from rabbi to rabbi in search of the meaning of life, we just might discover it with him.

American Beauty – A friend called this “The most perfect movie ever made.” One man’s midlife crisis and forbidden lust becomes a story of redemption.

Big – Tom Hanks truly turned into a little boy for this movie about an adolescent who accidentally wishes himself into a grown-up.

Capitalism: A Love Story – Thank you, Michael Moore – as if we weren’t disillusioned enough.

Cidade de Deus (City of God) – Breathtaking cinematography and breathtaking violence mingle in this story of a young man from the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

Cinema Paradiso – A little boy and an elderly movie projectionist form a permanent bond in Fascist Italy. Even if you don’t cry in movies, you will in this one.

Doctor Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb – “Gentlemen, you can’t fight here! This is the war room.”

Encounter Point – In this documentary, Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones in conflict join forces to end the bloodshed.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – Confused about what happened at Enron? This documentary will paint you a picture.

Fahrenheit 9-11 – My husband knows me well enough that instead of buying me flowers for our anniversary one year, he got this DVD for me instead.

Fargo – It all comes down to the woodchipper.

Gangs of New York – Martin Scorsese brings the infamous Five Points area of 1860s Manhattan to life in this graphic but spellbinding tale of immigrant-on-immigrant violence. Anyone who believes that gangs are a new phenomenon needs to watch the film.

Good Night, and Good Luck. – Wisconsin’s own Sen. Joseph McCarthy is brought down by journalist Edward R. Murrow.

Inception – A dream within a dream within a dream. You might want to take notes.

Inside Job – The roots of The Great Recession can be traced back for years, but the giant crash of the financial industry in the fall of 2008 is explained here as easy as A-B-C. You might want to take a Xanax first.

JFK – Oliver Stone’s epic about the “investigation” into John F. Kennedy’s assassination has been duly ridiculed, but that doesn’t make his film any less compelling, nor does it answer many of the questions raised here.

Kill Bill 1, Kill Bill 2 – Quentin Tarantino originally wanted to release these as a single flick. They combine to tell one story, but where the first is fast-paced and hysterically funny, the second is more thoughtful and (could I say it?) sensitive. The violence is, frankly, so over-the-top as to be cartoonish, but if the sight of blood bothers you, stay away.

La Promesse – Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne bring us this powerful tale of a young hoodlum forced, by circumstance, to do the right thing.

Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) (1943) – How is this simple story of a man and his son searching for a stolen bicycle so riveting? I don’t know; it just is.

L'Enfant – Another masterpiece by the Belgian Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne brothers, this film is hard to watch but ultimately rewarding as it asks the question, who is a mother?

Lord of War – Who else but Nicholas Cage could play an international arms dealer and make you feel sympathy for him?

Magnolia – Three hours long, Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic about the effects of child abuse and the daily lives of a circle of people in Los Angeles will either mesmerize you or put you to sleep. People either give this film four stars or none – nothing in between.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) – “I’m Walking Here!” The first (and only) ‘X’-rated film ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Vogt are amazing in this still-shocking tale of male prostitution. (PS. It’s rated ‘R’ now.)

Minority Report – What if they could arrest people BEFORE they commit a crime? Don’t worry if you don’t like Tom Cruise; the story can take it.

Nattvardsgästerna (Winter Light) (1963) Ingmar Bergman wrote and directed this incredibly powerful little film about a Swedish pastor who questions his faith.

Pi – Kabbalah on steroids, way before Madonna.

Promises – This documentary follows two groups of children, one Palestinian and one Israeli, as they learn about each other and grow to love and respect one another.

Pulp Fiction – Is a foot massage the same as sex? And what is a Quarter Pounder called in France? Even after all these years, Quentin Tarantino’s best film (IMHO) is not for the squeamish – but it’s got the best dialogue written for any film, ever. Hands down.

Requiem for a Dream - Darren Aronofsky was the guy who brought you Pi. Now he brings you drugs, drugs, drugs – of all kinds: uppers and downers, legal and prescription. The single most terrifying (and yet realistic) portrayal of addiction I’ve ever seen in cinema. You won’t want to even pop an aspirin afterward.

Schindler's List – Seinfeld jokes aside, this film about the Holocaust – and how one man risked everything to let a number of Jews to survive – should be seen by everyone on the planet.

Screamers – The Armenian rock band System of a Down sounds pretty damned angry. When you watch their documentary about the Armenian Genocide (1915), you’ll be pretty damned angry too. Graphic.

Sunset Boulevard (1950) – She’s ready for her close-up now. This film about Hollywood’s dark underbelly scandalized many, and it’s creepy in a really good sort of way.

Talk to Me – Why did this movie receive NO Oscar nominations? Don Cheadle portrays Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene, a radio personality who spoke for the African-Americans during the Civil Rights era of the 1960s.

The Best Days of Our Lives (1946) – After serving their country in WWII, several vets return to the States to face an all-new set of trials.

The Big Lebowski – The Dude abides.

The Fog of War – Still think that war can solve problems? If anyone would know, it would be Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of Defense. And shortly before his death, he answered that question in this riveting documentary.

The Third Man (1949) – Orson Welles was supposedly a pain in the patootey during the filming of this film noir, but who cares? It’s Orson Welles.

Thirteen Days – Do you really want to know how close we came to nuclear holocaust during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Three Kings – This is not your father’s war movie. As the first Gulf War is ending, a group of soldiers (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze) set out to do some stealin’ – and wind up with more than they bargained for.

To End All Wars – The true story of a group of Allied POWs who are tortured by the Japanese during World War II. Graphic, but worth watching for a very surprise ending.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Absolutely the best book-to-film adaptation ever. Ever, ever, ever.

Traffic – Those who but clothes at Wal-Mart might be disturbed by a documentary about the sweatshops the clothes came from. Those who buy illegal recreational drugs might be interested in this drama about where cocaine and heroin come from.

Why We Fight – War is messy, ugly and expensive. So why do we do it? This documentary examines the United States’ war machine’s hold on our foreign policy and our daily lives. With Gore Vidal.
Winter’s Bone – Filmed in the isolated, rural poverty of the Ozarks, this film follows its young heroine as she searches for her meth-cooking father in an attempt to save her family’s home. A devastating look at the illegal drug trade and the plight of many poor Americans.

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward – What is capitalism? What is its logical end? Would it ever be possible to have a society without money? Somewhat long, sometimes bizarre, Moving Forward manages to ask (and answer) these tantalizing questions. (The film is available to view here - at no charge, of course!)

Zodiac – If the Zodiac killer is still alive, I wonder what he thinks of this movie about him? I thought it was excellent – especially since it’s very suspenseful even though you already know that the killer has never been found.

Vision - Seeing Darkly, Seeing Clearly

Movie review of "Vision" (2010, Zeitgeist Films) 
by Rev. John-Brian Paprock

As I contemplated the messages of the historical film “Vision” about Hildegard von Bingen I was reminded of the New Testament scripture where St. Paul writes: "I saw through a glass darkly and then face to face."

It wasn't until the 1980s that I heard of Hildegard beyond obscure quotes by a few self-proclaimed mystics and spiritual progressives that felt religion was a stifling influence on their universal spirituality.  Indeed, it seems that Hildegard may have been a kindred spirit from an earlier time to those folks.  Perhaps, it is that Hildegard was a woman ahead of her time. Margarethe von Trotta, who wrote and directed the truly historic work of "Vision," reveals Hildgegard as a liberated, intelligent women who is clearly smarter than the men of authority in the church. She is a devout and dedicated cloistered 12th Century German Benedictine nun who is uniquely multi-talented and could easily be among the generation of  the Renaissance, except she was born too early... and she was a woman.  


Her life story is portrayed as an adventure into that era before the Reformation and before the Final Crusades, but after the divisive religious battle over that has divided East and West ever since.  The movie opens, inexplicably although perhaps with great symbolism, at the end of the first millennium with doomed faithful praying in an ancient church praying for God's mercy.  After a priest gives a final absolution for those gathered, the camera pans across the bodies of the faithful lying on the floor of the church after the candles have burned out. In that dim light, a girl, who is not identified in the movie and can be easily confused for Hildegard herself except that this happened almost a century before she was born, steps over the bodies and walks to a seeping light coming under the door. With the help of a boy (foreshadowing of Brother Volmar, perhaps), they open the church doors to a beautiful morning sun. The sleeping repentant faithful rise to meet the new day. 

This opening, beautifully filmed and very much in the flavor of von Trotta's mentor - Ingmar Bergmann, seems to be intended as a metaphor for the underlying theme of the movie.  The European church was in fear of the end, being seiged by superficiality and bullies within, growing powerful and contrary teachings of enemies from middle and northern Europe, and Islamic Ottoman Empire moving from the Holy Land to Mediterranean holds as far west as Spain, driving the Eastern Church into isolation and martyrdom. In every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a salve to heal the church, but her healing was rejected over and over again.

Hildegard von Bingen was a Christian mystic, author, counselor, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, channeller, visionary, and composer that, in 1233,  Pope Gregory IX initiated a process for canonizing her but, for formal and logistic reasons, was never completed.  The movie, however, ends at the second or the third (maybe the fourth) leg of her long life and ministry as a Catholic religious trying to bring enlightenment to everyone before a woman could be taken seriously and long before Pope Gregort IX's efforts to have her regarded as a saint.


“Vision” is filmed with incredible attention to historic details, including the intracacies of the conflicting values of monastic vows and the rich benefactors which sought worldly blessings for their temporal wealth.  It shows Hidlegard in constant contrariness, yet portrayed and directed with a grace that brings even the most chauvenistic viewer into sympathy, cheering for her accomplishments and mourning at her losses. Post-Modern human society may have grown beyond the general need for the mortification of the flesh so common in the era of Hildegard that we instinctively embrace Hildegard who is also clearly disgusted with the morbid rituals of self-flagellation and self-torture and extreme fasting.

Barbara Sukowa portrays Hildegard as a loving and passionate lover of nature and humanity, who is moved by intense visions that she can barely describe and who is driven with an insatiable curiousity that brings her to accumulate a library envious on the Great Library of Alexandria.

There is a obvious contrast intended in the dingy enviroment of the initial cloister lorded over by monks who protect each other by calling womanly beauty a trick of the devil and Hildegard's intelligence proof of her allegiance to him.  Save one. She does have a constant supporter in Brother Volmar (played by Heino Ferch), a monk and priest who helps in the publishing of her controversial visions. There is a honest plutonic relationship between them that reminds one of Zefferelli's "Brother Son, Sister Moon" where love and sexuality are almost opposites in a spectrum of affection and loyalty.

However, Margarethe von Trotta leaves the intense passions and curious sexual tensions for Hildegard's closest female companions.  In fact, von Trotta creates a relationship triangle between Hildegard's childhood best friend, Jutta (played with subtly and grace by Lena Stolze) who has walked through the steps of the monastic order with Hildegard, and a charismatic teen-aged novice, Richardis von Stade (played beautifully by Hannah Herzsprung) who becomes Hildegard's constant companion. Interestingly, von Trotta reminds us throughout the movie, that one of the greatest sins of that era is envy - not limited to vanity and power, but to profundity and wisdom, to love and intimacy. Envy binds childhood friends in an intimacy that later is entangled, perhaps entrapped, by the charismatic teenager Ricardis.

On the DVD interview, von Trotta proclaims, with a wry smile, that these intense female relationships are clear from Hildegard's letters - although in a modern society tolerant of various lifestyles, it seems she is trying too hard not to offend, letting the movie reach the broadest audience. Perhaps this is a wise tactic because the movie is greater than any bit of gossip and inuendo. Like Hildegard herself, von Trotta makes her point by bringing us to the painful aloneness of women of that time, showing us how deep affections can affect even the most saintly.  Here, in these ambiguous female relationships, von Trotta lets Hildegard be her most human, most vulnerable, most anguished. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful music that is the score of the movie - all written by Hildegard, who composed Gregorian chants and a lyrical drama, “Ordo Virtutum,” which is excerpted in a scene with the nuns, frolicing in silk gowns and jewels (as they were allowed to do on certain holidays).

The movie is a great addition to spiritual and religious movies that bring historic figures with moral authority and spiritual power into our lives and into our homes. Although at times cynical of wordly ways and at other times curiously obtuse in clarifying conflicting values under the direction of visionary certitude, there is an honesty that won't allow everything to be resolved, or explained, or forgiven.  Nevertheless, and seemingly with more lives than an alley cat, "Vision," like Hildegard, rises from her death bed of infirmity and doubt, moved with compassion and purpose, to reach us in the 21st Century.

"Vision" is New German Cinema production released by Zeitgeist Films now available on DVD. Written and directed by Margarethe von Trotta; director of photography, Axel Block; edited by Corina Dietz; music by Chris Heyne, original compositions by Hildegard von Bingen; art direction by Heike Bauersfeld; costumes by Ursula Welter; produced by Markus Zimmer. Running time: 1 hour 51 minutes. This film is not rated. It is in German with Englsih subtitles. Starring Barbara Sukowa (as Hildegard von Bingen), Heino Ferch (as Brother Volmar), Hannah Herzsprung (as Richardis von Stade), Alexander Held (as Abbot Kuno), Lena Stolze (as Jutta) and Sunnyi Melles (as Richardis’s Mother).

John-Brian recommends these movies on DVD that have similar theme:

"Brother Son, Sister Moon" - Zefirelli's 1972 film about St Francis of Assisi, another 12th Century saint who struggled against the hypocrisy of church leadership.

"Becket" - The 1964 film about the 12th Century Archbishop of Cantebury, Thomas Becket, portrayed brilliantly by Sir Richard Burton with a wonderful performance by Peter O'Toole as King Henry II.

"The Passion of St. Joan of Arc" Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent masterpiece about the 15th Century saint, who also appears to be a champion of women's power and . The Criterion Collection DVD is scored with original music intended for the film. Truly stunning as a film and as a portrayal of one of the most revered saints.

Life at the Movies - John-Brian's Introduction

by John-Brian Paprock

The media of moving pictures has been my baby sitter - when I was a toddler, a means of celebration, a source of late night comfort, a mechanism for socializing, a vehicle for dating conversation, and a vocabulary of symbols and storylines to help me see and understand the psyche, the soul of humanity.  I have been inspired and naseated, confounded and surprized, bored and dazzled. 

I have watched the worst and have learned the lows of schlockery, sometimes clever schlockery, but schlockery nonetheless.  I have watched the best and found myself caught up in the heights of human expression, of human perception and ingenuity.

All of my favorite movies have quality technical and artistic merits.  All of them have stories and images that can stir the soul and performances that reach into the heart of humanity, exposing the most vulnerable places in the depths of existence.

My least favorite are arbitors for banal and superficial marketing ploys, designed to hookwink the audience as the lights dim. They are the movies where the chomping of popcorn is an eager diversion from the inane babble scripted (or at least recorded) for the tawdry performances of over-paid actors. They lack most of the qualities of technical expertise and choose product placement over artistic nuance.

I am honored to share interest in media with my wife. My father-in-law was a union projectionist, showing films in many of the great cinema theaters of Milwaukee. He also had a stint with Disney.

When the American Film Institute came out with its 100 best films in 100 years, we discovered there were films we had missed and went out of our way to see them all.  Then we expanded to other film lists and have seen and discussed movies from these lists of great movies - both foreign and domestic.

One of our favorite lists, perhaps because of our other interests, has been the list of of the Arts and Faith's 100 Most Spiritual Films (artsandfaith.com/t100/). 

It is from the increased interest in these Spiritual Films that brings me to this blog.  There are so many very very good films that have spiritual power and story and, perhaps, a bit of God and humanity as a reflection of the constant ebb and flow of the profane and the divine - good for the health of our souls and our minds as we come to greater spiritual awareness.

I hope to make the case to anyone reading this blog which movies are worth the effort and time to experience and which, regardless of how spiritual the marketing, should be avoided.

Questions, comments and suggestions are encouraged.