Pierced to the Heart

film discussions aim to build a unique community of talk about film, the foundation of which is represented by principles. Thus, the film talks have a particular organization and intentionality. Understanding these will help you decide whether and how to participate in the discussions. The most important points are:

• Focus on impact, not film ratings. The reason for extended discussion of a film on is that it has had a notable impact on our lives. Although the best made films often have the greatest impact, this is not necessarily the case. An artistic film can get too wrapped up in being well-crafted, and a clumsily made film can hit on something that strikes us deeply. So, when talking of a film’s craftsmanship, discussions should stay connected to the impact that artistic decisions have had on us, not merely admiring art for art’s sake (that’s a good thing to do, but it’s not what is mainly here for). is about the quality of a film’s impact on us, not about rating and scoring films. For each film, there are links to traditional film ratings and reviews on other sites.
• Heavy focus on selected films; light focus on some of the latest films. Since is about the impact films have had on us, we focus on films that indeed have had a notable impact. This means you’ll find here extended discussions of selected films from any time period, along with short discussions of some of the latest films. The point is diving deeper into a film through great discussion of how it has enriched, enlivened, and changed us. is mostly about extending the impact of great films, although we do provide short thoughts on a wide range of film.
• Four kinds of film talks. Although the focus of is on extending the impact of great films, we also include brief articles with quick thoughts about a wide range of films, no matter how much impact we think they have. The main focus, however, is on in-depth discussion of great films via a combination of three kinds of talks: before, after, and backstory. For each kind of talk, each film has at most one base article upon which discussion builds. One conversation each for:
• Quick talks. These are the closest that comes to traditional film reviews, but Quick talks don’t have long discussions about what happens in the film and whether the filmmaking is of the highest caliber. Instead, they wrap all of that into short perspectives on whether and for whom a film is a good investment of time. They touch on a wide range of films: great films, cheesy films, recent films, old films, art house films, popular films, whatever. Quick talks themselves don’t have spoilers, but if readers are warned, comments on them may have spoilers (this is because Quick talks stand alone: when a film has one, it will not have an After viewing talk for discussing the film).
• Before viewing talks. These are similar to Quick talks, except that Before viewing talks are only for great films that we think have strong impact. They provide short descriptions of why the film is worth your time and the general direction in which it might impact you. They contain no spoilers of content or major impact, and neither do comments on them. Sometimes a great film will first have a Quick talk, and then later we’ll convert it to a Before viewing talk and an After viewing talk.
• After viewing talks. These are the meat of film talks. They explore films in detail and discuss the various ways in which selected films have enriched, enlivened, and changed us. For After viewing talks, there are no restrictions on or warnings required for spoilers. After viewing talks work from the film itself, without bringing in discussion of backstory elements (e.g., how the film came to be made, history of the book on which the film is based, etc.).
• Backstory talks. For those times when there are substantial behind-the-scenes stories that add depth to the impact of the film, we may include a Backstory talk. For Backstory talks, there are no restrictions on or warnings required for spoilers.
• Moderation. A wide range of comments is encouraged, yet to help to keep the discussion on track as we build the community, I monitor and review all comments. This is primarily to ensure that comments are respectful and directed toward exploring the film’s impact.

As the community builds and we learn better ways to keep the discussions focused, we’ll make adjustments. I hope that you will find value in film discussions, and I’m always open to suggestions — use the “post a reply” option below, or email me at:

Randy Heffner
organizer