If anyone is interested in watching a really great spiritual film (that happens to be in a foreign tongue), then I couldn't more highly recommend the following film:Ordet (1955-Danish for the "The Word") dir. by Carl Th. Dreyer (In Danish with Eng. subtitles) - Story of a family struggling with being Christian. A father and three sons living on a farm near the Danish coast. The father is a widower and older believer just learning how to begin to pray. The eldest son is an atheist and married to a Christian woman about to give birth to their first child. The middle son has read too much Kierkegaard and thinks he is Jesus Christ, literally. The youngest is interested in marrying the daughter of the founder of a rival Christian sect down the road. All conflicts converge in the conclusion. A meditation on the Christian life, in all its complexity and simplicity. Not to be missed.



Another spiritual film which must be seen:

The Promise (1996- La Promesse, if you're looking for it on Netflix) is the best film that I have seen this summer. Written and directed by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, it was inspired by the conversation in "The Brothers Karamazov" concerning whether it is possible to be "guilty for all." A young white boy lives with his slumlord father on the Belgian-French border. His father sneaks illegal immigrants over the border from France to Belgium in order to extort money and labor from them. One day, a black immigrant from Sierra Leone dies unexpectedly, leaving his wife and newborn with serious debts. He asks this young boy to promise him to take care of his wife and child. The boy does. "The Promise" is about whether the boy keeps his promise to care for strangers whom his very own father is manipulating and abusing. Is blood thicker than the waters of righteousness?

If anyone sees either of these films, let me know what you think.

-Nick Garklavs