RELIGION IN FILM – A LIST OF FILMS
http://theotherjournal.com/filmwell/2010/02/17/religion-in-film-a-list-of-films-for-the-religious-studies-classroom/
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- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAnatoliy SolonitsynIvan LapikovNikolay GrinkoThe life, times and afflictions of the fifteenth-century Russian iconographer St. Andrei Rublev.This challenging film tracks a Russian Orthodox iconographer through the turbulent history of Russia, suggesting some complicated things about religion and history along the way. It is a virtual treasury of thoughts on iconography, politics, and religion.
- DirectorRobert DuvallStarsRobert DuvallTodd AllenPaul BaggetAfter his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.A frighteningly realistic portrayal of Pentecostal preaching and fellowship that embraces its ambiguous Southern Gothic take on fundamentalist Christianity.
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsStéphane AudranBodil KjerBirgitte FederspielDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.This acclaimed meditation on grace is an entrancing look at Lutheran piety, grace, and the sacrament of generosity.
- DirectorsMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.This film was way ahead of its time. Its psychological probing of a missional convent of Anglican nuns in the Himalayas captures in one technicolor stretch a shelf full of books on colonialism and religion.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsGraham FaulknerJudi BowkerLeigh LawsonDramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.This tricky biography of St. Francis of Assisi makes reference to American countercultural movements in the 1960s. The ideas it composes about how religion and social movements interact make for compelling conversation.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsRentarô MikuniShôji YasuiTatsuya MihashiA conscience-driven Japanese soldier traumatized by the events of WWII adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.This story about the unexpected conversion of a Japanese soldier at the end of WW II to monastic Buddhism is as wonderfully composed as it is enlightening. It is a fine film about trauma, death, and the way religion offers ritual structures for hope and healing.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsMaximilian SchellRod SteigerRobby BensonIn 1944, in Brooklyn, two Jewish kids become friends. One is from a very conservative family, and the other is more liberal. The issues of importance of tradition, parental expectations and the formation of Israel cause constant friction.This is one of the finest depictions of the nuances of Conservative and Orthodox Judaism during a time when Zionism threatened to redefine both. Its gentle evocation of Hasidism and Talmudic thinking in mid-century Brooklyn is timeless.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsHossain SabzianMohsen MakhmalbafAbolfazl AhankhahThe true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.This memorable glimpse of Islamic judicial practice in Iran is one of the great ethnographic documents produced by the Iranian New Wave. Its reflections on mercy and justice as navigated by this Iranian court of law provide an uncommon glimpse into the rationale of certain Muslim social polities.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsOrgyen TobgyalNeten ChoklingJamyang LodroIn northern India, in 1998. Palden and Nyima, two young Tibetans in exile, find refuge in Chokling Monastery, where they will soon receive their ordination.A charming look at Tibetan Buddhism and globalism that refers in detail to the particulars of Buddhist monasticism and their relevance to a media saturated world.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreSoumitra ChatterjeeChhabi BiswasA young woman is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.Ray’s acrobatic riff on Kali mythology and worship in Hinduism caused a bit of a stir, but to this day remains a classic study of the way we appropriate mythical narratives.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsClaude LayduNicole LadmiralJean RiveyreA young priest taking over the parish at Ambricourt tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.It is hard to pick just one Bresson film for such a list, but this look at asceticism, Catholic doctrine, and liturgy is an essential document of Christian piety.
- DirectorsMaya DerenCherel ItoTeiji ItôStarsJohn GenkeJoan PapeA documentary film about Haitian vodou.So, here is the one quasi-documentary exception to the list. But the contribution of Maya Deren to ethnographic cinema on religion can’t be overlooked. This is also a seminal look at religious ritual in Haiti.
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsRomain DurisLubna AzabalZouhir GacemTwo French lovers, Zano and Naima, decided to travel to the land of their parents: Algeria. Their road trip gradually becomes a spiritual quest.This film tracks the cultural and spiritual journey of two second generation French immigrants to Algeria. It ends with an explosion of Algerian Muslim ritual and custom that causes us to think about the role of religion in the increasingly diverse EU.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsAldo FabriziGianfranco BelliniPeparuoloA series of vignettes depicting the lives of the original Franciscan monks, including their leader and the bumbling Ginepro.There are a few films like the grand documentary Into Great Silence that manage to translate the simplicity of Catholic monastic piety to the screen. This episodic masterpiece fits the bill.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsBrid BrennanDes McAleerPaula HamiltonA Catholic and a Protestant couple in Northern Ireland have amazing parallels in their lives, despite being either side of the divide.One of the great theological legacies of the Troubles in cinema is the conversation Bobby Sands has with his Priest in Hunger. But Leigh’s film tracks the differences between Protestant and Catholic life in Northern Ireland with his characteristic offhand precision.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.There aren’t many bearable biopics of religious figures out there, but scattered about this compelling look at Gandhi’s life are rabbit trails on religion and state issues, Hindu/Islam relations, and the way religion and class co-exist.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsEnrique IrazoquiMargherita CarusoSusanna PasoliniThe life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Film shows Christ as a Marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew.It would be easy to pack this list with Jesus films, but this is among the most engaging interpretations of Jesus’ life and ministry.
- DirectorsEric ValliMichel DebatsStarsThilen LhondupGurgon KyapLhakpa TsamchoeAn aging chief's last stand, lessons for the new, and the education of a young chief-to-be played against harsh Nature in Nepal's Dolpo. When his son dies returning from Tibet's salt lakes, Tinle blames Karma, his son's friend, refuses to give Karma his blessing as the new chief, and organizes a rival caravan to take the salt to lower Nepal to trade for grain. He, a few old men, his son's widow, his grandson, and his second son, a monk, set out on the arduous journey. Fearing storms, Karma has led his caravan out of the village before the auspicious day ordained by the lamas. Tinle's group catches Karma's before the final pass; the two stubborn men lock wills with Tinle's grandson watching.Tibetan Lamaism. Sky burial rites. This nicely composed film shot with non-professional Tibetans works well as a glimpse of traditional Tibetan religious practice.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhFour Chinese women along with their mothers delve into their past and try to find answers. Slowly, this search helps them to understand the complex relationship they share with each other.This film ranges widely across immigrant narratives, forgotten rituals, and engaging historical vignettes. It is an effective meditation on the way religious identities are diffused across generations.
- DirectorAmos GitaiStarsYaël AbecassisYoram HattabMeital BerdahTwo sisters become victims of the patriarchal, ultra-orthodox society.This film offers a challenging glimpse into the structure of ultra-orthodox Jewish culture. Its commentary on gender, sectarianism, and what some refer to as Haredic Judaism makes The Chosen look sanguine.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.This film may be bit affected by what Donald Richie came to call “orientalism,” but it is the most even handed and eloquent of the Dalai Lama biopics regardless.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSidney PoitierLilia SkalaLisa MannA travelling handyman becomes the answer to the prayers of nuns who wish to build a chapel in the desert.This unexpectedly nuanced interplay between boot-strapping Baptist Protestantism and German nun Catholicism is a vivid document of religion, race, and society in America.
- StarsErika AlexanderMamadou DiouméGeorges CorrafaceJealousy and hatred is what separates the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Kauravas fear the Pandavas are after the throne of their father. Yudhishthira of the Pandavas gets told by the deity, Krishna, that he will become king. A war is inevitable.This lengthy presentation of a central sacred texts digs deep into the mythology and cosmology of Hinduism.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonAngela BassettDelroy LindoBiographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.A controversial film, to be sure, but it is also a good introduction to the Nation of Islam and its relationship to Islam in general.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsJuliette BinocheForest WhitakerMatthew ModineThe Virgin Mary delivers a message to an 11-year-old girl.This film is a great introduction to non-canonical Christian gospel texts, and the increasing influence early Gnostic thought has had on Western spirituality. Its meditation on the lingering impact of the Historical Jesus is unparalleled in world cinema.
