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"You can't measure the success of a [film] on how many tickets it sells. You can only measure it in how many hearts it changes." Hayao Miyazaki …more »»  
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is about loving film and finding life. Here, we sort of turn things around: Rather than us critiquing a film, we more see if the film can critique us. Some films do this very well — others, not so much.

We prefer to see great films yet, with any film, we:

  • Tone down our critique of a film’s failings.
  • Turn up the volume on seeing how, despite its failings, a film may still embody things that are good, true, and beautiful.
  • Allow a film to show things that are bad, false, and ugly so that goodness, truth, and beauty stand out all the more.

Why? Because life is best when we’re better people, and what we see in the movies can help us get better. See the summary of principles below. Also see:




A angle on film has core principles and principles for choosing and engaging with film.

Core principles:

  • Heart. Our hearts define who we are, and film can have a heart level impact that moves us toward loving the best things.
  • Beauty. We were created with hearts that long for beauty, and we need a strong understanding of Beauty, its character, and its source.
  • Love. Film can be a place to find and live love and relationship with those around us.

Choosing and engaging film:

  • Dealing with ugly content. We should be concerned about ugly content in film, yet films that dive deep into the issues of this life will touch with ugly parts of life.
  • Choosing films to watch. Beyond content, when we choose a film to see, we should understand how we as individuals relate to the broader culture around us.
  • Engaging with film. Once we’ve made our choice, the question becomes whether we watch a film simply for pleasure or whether we’ll let the film show us Beauty out beyond our own prejudices, desires, and fantasy worlds.

I hope you’ll join us.

Randy Heffner
organizer


Talk about great films: Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Before viewing talk
Lars and the Real Girl asks big "what if" questions about how we, the "normal", might love those with mental illness. It would be easy ...more »»
After viewing talk
For me, the impact of Lars and the Real Girl went beyond the film’s top-line theme of forbearance and love in the face another’s mental illness. I … more »»
 
…more »»  

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