Forthcoming Lewis-Tolkien Documentary

A new documentary about C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien is set to be released sometime next year. For the trailer, see below:

Damsels in Distress

by Winston Elliott III

Writer/Director Whit Stillman's newest fim, Damsels in Distress, is soon to arrive in theaters. If you are a fan of Whit Stillman's movies (and you should be) it is very exciting to see Stillman's new film debut after a thirteen year hiatus.  Stillman's earlier films Metropolitan, The Last Days of Disco and Barcelona constitute a marvelous trilogy well addressed in the book Doomed Bourgeois In Love.

Shakespearean Masterpiece

by Joseph Sobran

April 12 is Shakespeare’s birthday. The real Shakespeare, I mean: Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. I thought a little celebrating was in order, so I watched one of the best Shakespeare films ever made: Roman Polanski’s 1971 Macbeth.

When I was a kid, that was one of my favorite plays. Still is. The language!

Bring forth men-children only,
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males.

I should have used that one to get dates, but I never seemed to be able to work it into a conversation with the girls in my class. Airheads.

Anyway, I got really hooked on Shakespeare when I saw a televised production with Maurice Evans as Macbeth and Judith Anderson as Lady Macbeth, the role she was most famous for. Talk about undaunted mettle!

ARN: The Knight Templar (2007)

by Mark Stilkenboom

If you want an antidote to the tired old clichés and superficial treatment of important events in European history, and the role faith played in it, by the mainstream film industry, then Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) might be a refreshing break from the usual Hollywood fare. A Swedish film that broke the record of the most expensive Scandinavian film ever can compete with any big Hollywood production with excellently executed battle scenes, costumes and on-location shooting.


The movie is based on the first two novels of Jan Guillo’s historical fiction Crusade trilogy, combining real historical events in twelfth century Sweden and in the Holy Land with fictional characters and occurrences. Arn Magnussen the main character is a deeply thoughtful and devout character whose journey of faith and love is made complicated by political intrigues between rival families fighting for control in the remerging Kingdom of Sweden and vindictive and proud crusaders in the Holy Land. Arn grows up in a monastery were his natural talent for swordsmanship is discovered and nurtured by a former crusader and Knight Templar. He is instructed in both the arts of war and scholarship and upon reaching majority decides to leave the monastery to rejoin his family and the world. His upbringing has made Arn into a model of the devout and chivalrous European knight who only kills when necessary and devotes his life to the defense of family, faith and the innocent.


Instead of making Arn into an ahistorical skeptic and cynic as movies like The Kingdom of Heaven do, Arn remains faithful to the end, recognizing honor even in his enemies (he becomes friends with archenemy Saladin) and malice in supposed friends. The medieval Church also gets a fair treatment. Contrary to the famous doubts of the returning crusader in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Arn remains a believer and sees the goodness of God in his own life. Arn is not a swashbuckling adventurer, one rather gets the impression that every kill he makes fills him with regret and that he longs for the cool forests of his and his beloved’s homeland, while fighting the Saracens in the dusty plains of Palestine.


The Knights Templar are not a secretive sect, fanatical in their “Islamophobic” hatred (modern understanding), but a devoted group of soldiers and clerics dedicated to defense of faith and honor. Neither the Templars nor the Church are immune to corruption and power struggles between families fighting for influence, and neither Arn nor his beloved, confined to a convent controlled by a vindictive mother superior, member of a rival family, blames the Church or God for their plight. Contrary to many moderns they are able to distinguish between the Church as a spiritual hospital for the soul and the corrupt and fallen nature of many in positions of leadership within it. This perhaps is the lesson we moderns can take from the excellent film, while still satisfying our taste for sword fights and romance.

Equilibrium: Watch this Movie

by Winston Elliott III

This is an excellent film. It is a combination of The Matrix, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Thank you Dr. Bradley J. Birzer for recommending it. Preserving culture, love, books, puppies and fighting Big Brother all while executing incredibly cool ninja/samurai fight moves. Need I say more?

Truth and the Demands of Loyalty: A Review of the Film "Nothing but the Truth"

By Glenn A. Davis

“I hate the idea of causes, and if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.” As Thomas Fleming points out in his book, The Morality of Everyday Life (2004), when E. M. Forster made this statement, he was defending rooted loyalties over abstract political doctrine.

Acts of betrayal and their concomitant demands of allegiance are at the center of the movie, Nothing but the Truth (2008), which is loosely based on the Valerie Plame affair from 2003. The story opens with a failed assassination attempt on the President of the United States, an attempt which appears to have been orchestrated from Venezuela. After a brief investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency, the President initiates a war against that South American nation. Unfortunately, one CIA investigator, Erica Van Doren (played by Vera Farmiga), has reached a different conclusion and has written a report that absolves Venezuela of any guilt. This report is ignored by the White House, but is soon discovered by our hero in the movie, Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale), a reporter for the Capital Sun-Times who uses her column to “out” Erica Van Doren as a spy intimately involved in the Venezuela affair.

As is wont to happen, upon the publication of the story, the proverbial stuff hits the fan, a special prosecutor is appointed (Patton Dubois played by Matt Dillon) and our journalist is hauled before a grand jury and ordered to give up her source. Refusing to do so, our Vassar and Columbia J School educated hero is cited for contempt of court and is thrown in jail where Judge Hall (played by real life attorney, Floyd Abrams) and the Supreme Court intend to keep her unless and until she reveals the name of the traitor.

Nothing But the Truth is a well played, honest effort to flesh out First Amendment issues in a dangerous world of often divided loyalties. What is most striking about the film, especially throughout the first half, is the sincerity and balance of the various factions who all have much at stake in this political and legal battle. Armstrong is a committed reporter, who, given this first big break, aggressively pursues this story and demonstrates the mental and physical toughness needed to report on a great government malefaction. Van Doren, unwillingly thrust into the spotlight, skillfully plays defense, dealing with the inherent distrust of her spooked colleagues, who are never convinced of her innocence, even though she has a blemish-free record and perfectly passes a lie-detector test. Patton Dubois comes across as an equally committed defender of justice who, with a feigned folksy demeanor, is fighting to maintain the integrity of national security. The only character who does not make a presentable and sympathetic case for himself is Armstrong’s attorney, the revered Albert Burnside (played by Alan Alda, who seemed more distinguished and dignified in Michael Moore’s spoof Canadian Bacon), to whom even Dubois genuflects, only to realize that Burnside is much more concerned with the tailoring of suits and the design of luxury wristwatches than with defending his client. While seeking a continuance in the initial hearing, Burnside proves woefully out maneuvered and Ms. Armstrong is immediately jailed.

Avatar: Encountering Non-Catholic Cultures

by Andrew Seeley

The box office records set by James Cameron’s movie, Avatar, tell me that I was not alone in finding the movie’s visual presentation breathtaking. The 3D screen immersed me in the beauty and variety and power of Cameron’s imagined nature and machine. Along with leading character, Jake Sully, I re-discovered the delight of walking and running and got a taste of the joy of jumping and swinging and flying.

Avatar also attempted to satisfy another fundamental urge, that of encountering, exploring, and even becoming a part of an alien culture. Through his avatar, Jake gets to live the life of the Na’vi, fierce people native to the planet Pandora. Having come to destroy their way of life, he is surprised to experience a nobility, a sense of community, and an awareness of the natural that he has never known.

Avatar’s appreciative presentation of a non-Christian culture is in many ways very Christian. At Pentecost, the inspired Apostles proclaimed the praises of God’s saving work to Jews and God-fearing Gentiles from around the known world. Though many of them understood Hebrew or Aramaic, the listeners marveled to hear the proclamation in each of their native languages. This was the beginning of the “Catholic” Church, a Church which incorporates the many peoples of the Earth into one great united Body of Christ.

The Pentecost story exemplifies the Church’s perennial attitude toward human cultures. Blessed John Henry Newman explained why the Church has welcomed into her liturgy and teaching much that she has found in the cultures which she has encountered through the ages:

…We prefer to say, and we think that Scripture bears us out in saying, that from the beginning the Moral Governor of the world has scattered the seeds of truth far and wide over its extent; that these have variously taken root, and grown as in the wilderness, wild plants indeed but living…The philosophies and religions of men have their life in certain true ideas, though they are not directly divine. [On the Development of Christian Doctrine]

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

By Julie Robison

Last Tuesday evening, I saw ‘Of Gods and Men’ at the only theater in Cincinnati showing the excellent French film, based on a 1995 true story. There were only three other people in the theater with me, and none of them cried like I did during the latter half of the movie. The monks’ triumphs over their own desires, and their overpowering love of God through darkness and desert, brought true grace to flow in a desperate situation.

"love is eternal hope" --five stars, see it.

‘Of Gods and Men’ is about a small group of Trappist monks who live in Algeria, serving a mostly Muslim village by providing health care and friendship. Their very familiarity with the people is what prompts more disruption in the community when radical Muslim terrorists begin inflicting terror and killing Croatians, Muslim women not wearing the burqa, and those who protested against their regime. The scene of Christmas night, the fateful night when the terrorists went to the monastery, showed the true caliber of the monks. In an effort to reach common ground, one monk referenced the Qu’ran to remind the leader that Christians and Muslims are brothers under one God, not enemies.

The monastery’s relationship with the government was significantly less cordial, and the “might makes right” attitude pervades the actions of the overly aggressive military force against the peaceful monks. When one monk prays over the body of one of the Muslim terrorists whom he is being forced to identify, the disrespect for the dead and human life is evident through the passive-aggressive anger of the government official. It cannot be surprising, then, that the monks’ lives were not respected either.

It is no coincidence, in my mind at least, that Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 1, 2011. In the Roman Catholic Church, May 1 was Divine Mercy Sunday—and who can be more in need of God’s divine mercy than the mastermind behind the ruthless attack on September 11, 2001, affecting thousands of souls? The celebrations of the man’s death prompted P. Fredrico Lombardi, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, to release this statement:

There Be Dragons: A film review

by Steve Klugewicz

First, let me say what There Be Dragons is not. It is not a biopic of Saint Josemaria Escriva. It is not a propaganda piece for Opus Dei (though it was largely funded by members of that organization). It is not one of those low-budget Catholic films starring devout Catholic actors with mediocre acting skills and featuring decidedly second-rate production values. Rather, There Be Dragons has the feel of a big-budget Hollywood movie. It boasts an Academy Award-nominated director, Roland Joffe (The Mission, The Killing Fields), up-and-coming “mainstream” actors Charlie Cox (Stardust, Stone of Destiny) and Wes Bentley (American Beauty, The Four Feathers) in starring roles, veteran English stage and film actor Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, The King’s Speech) in a bit part, and even a Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko, Quantum of Solace) in a supporting role. The acting is excellent across the board. In addition, sets, costumes, and props are lavish and wonderful.

“Inspired by true events,” the film tells the stories of Escriva (Cox) and a fictional friend, Manolo Torres (Bentley), whose lives take divergent paths during the Spanish Civil War. Both characters face the metaphorical “dragons” of life (the film’s title comes from the use on ancient maps of the phrase “Hic sunt Dracones” to designate unexplored areas of the globe), but each responds to personal tragedy in a different way. While still a boy, Escriva’s baby sister dies, and the young Josemaria becomes angry at God for this apparent act of unfeeling injustice. But thanks to the unwavering faith of his parents, Josemaria chooses to love God again, and love becomes the touchstone of his life. In contrast, when Manolo’s father suffers a fatal stroke during a strike by union workers at his factory, Manolo allows anger to become the motivator of his actions. Seeking revenge against the communists who inspired the labor unrest, Manolo becomes a spy for the fascist side in the Spanish Civil War. Anger leads to revenge, revenge to violence, and violence to regret.

Bad Art, Bad Ideas: A Plea to Avoid Seeing Atlas Shrugged

By John Creech

[The following is post from Friday, April 15th from the Center for the American Republic Blog] With today's release of the film of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, its appropriate to consider some of the reasons Bentley Hart gives us in his article "The Trouble with Ayn Rand" (found in the 2011 May edition of First Things) as to why we should avoid seeing this film.  It's especially important to consider these reasons given the recent attention Rand's work has received in conservative circles.  The trailer of the movie was not only unveiled at this year's CPAC convention, for example, but Rand's works are showing up at Tea Party rallies, and have been recommended by some "conservative" talk-show hosts, Glenn Beck, among them.  

Generally, Hart argues, we should avoid contributing to the potential success of this movie, not only because the novel, Atlas Shrugged, is bad art, but because its message has the potential for poisoning our souls and constitutes yet another nail in the coffin of Western civilization.  Besides, there's another movie, according to Hart, we should see instead, one that promises to be more artistically beautiful as well as philosophically profound.   

Following are some of Hart's criticisms of the art and philosophy of Atlas Shrugged:

As for Rand's artistic ability, Hart reviews a number of selections from her novels and concludes: For what really puts both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead in a class of their own is how sublimely awful they are.  I know one shouldn't expect much from a writer who thought Mickey Spillane a greater artist than Shakespeare.  Even so the cardboard characters, the ludicrous dialogue, the bloated perorations, the predictable plotting, the lunatic repetitiousness and banality, the shockingly syrupy romance -- it all goes to create a uniquely nauseating effect:  at once mephitic and cloying, at once sulfur and cotton candy.  [Visit the Center for the American Republic Blog to continue reading the article]. 

On the Road: With Rand & The Randroids

By Susanne Creamcheese, TIC’s Roving Pop-Culture Correspondent

Hackensack, NJ – American campuses are hot to trot for the new pop band, Rand and the Randroids, on tour promoting their first album, “Waterheads.” Guys, how did you come up with the concept for the album?

Rand: There’s, like, this dead chick named Rand. Just like me except she’s, you know, dead. And she wrote a book or maybe a blog entry called “Waterhead.” It might have been a book.

Joey Delvecchio (drummer): Isn’t it called “The Fountainhead?”

Rand: Whatever. We only learned that after the album-cover went to the printers. It’s about an architecture student who flunks out of school, so our audiences can relate to him. But he thinks he’s a genius and doesn’t need education and his buildings won’t fall down or anything. Way cool.

Ayn Rand Shrugged: Why Bother?

by Winston Elliott III

In comments on a post on The Imaginative Conservative (Whittaker Chambers and the Strenuously Sterile World of Atlas Shrugged) the question has been raised as to the value of discussing Ayn Rand and her teachings on a site dedicated to conservative thought. Below, in brief, is my thinking on why this discussion is worthwhile.
 
Ayn Rand's philosophy of selfishness, materialism and denial of the created nature of the human person continues its pernicious mischief fifty-four years after Whittaker Chambers' (1957, National Review) powerfully condemning review of Atlas Shrugged. So what is the conservative to do? To quote Sun Tzu: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete." Simply dismissing her is not enough.

In my youth I tried to follow her philosophy and it took me far from the True, the Good and the Beautiful for almost two decades. Fortunately, I knew just enough of Russell Kirk's books that the seeds were planted for a true conservatism. But, first the Rand weed had to be torn from my mind.

Rand has been dismissed as an inferior intellectual and literary talent yet her influence on young minds remains. These young people, often of conservative inclination, are seeking a muscular presentation of the purpose of human life. Nothing less than a bold conservatism anchored in the best of Western, dare I say, Christian tradition will suffice.

I recently had the opportunity to speak at a conservative Christian college to seventy or so of their brightest students. When I finished my talk of thirty minutes, which ranged from Russell Kirk to Will Durant, from ancient Rome to the dimming liberal arts tradition in today's academy, I took numerous questions from the students. More than half of the questions were regarding Ms. Rand. This even though my mention of my experience with her philosophy was less than five minutes of my lecture.

It seems that among these young people were "recovering Randians" who wanted to know what to read to further their recovery. A few had "Randian" friends that they wished to persuasively offer the Truth of Faith. Also, there were students who wanted to know why today's "conservative" talk show hosts keep recommending Rand's books when her philosophy is incompatible with conservative principles.

The new movie version of Atlas Shrugged will most likely bring an increased interest in her destructive "Objectivism." While I would rather discuss greater thinkers, it is worthy of our time to offer a principled conservative tradition, rooted in Christian faith, as an alternative to the "Virtue of Selfishness" Ms. Rand offers to another generation of young people. For they are really seeking understanding and Truth (even if they don't know it.)

I am grateful to the always brilliant Stephen Masty for his very clever comment on this topic:

We have all been exposed to the so-called Randroid Virus (identified by pathologists at The Mecosta Laboratory for Bacteriological and Viral Ideology as Libertariensis Boobus Objectivus, Type R). Then our conservative antibodies rejected it immediately, or (with G2 therapy, God's Grace) our culturo-philosophical auto-immune systems built up resistance over time. Either way, now we are safe. Not so for the young (apart from those souls fortunate enough to hear you live on campus tours). To ignore the peril would be, as you imply, to abandon America's youth to a particularly communicable and pernicious strain of ideo-pathogen and the metastasizing, psycho-cultural mutations that often follow infection. This much is simple science.

What is needed desperately is a vaccine such as Dr. Jonas Salk's 1952 polio treatment. Nowadays administered on a tasty sugar cube, a similarly pleasant and painless delivery system for any ideocide must be an integral part of pharma-cultural design if we wish to eradicate this or any ideo-endemic disease. Without going deep into the bio-chemistry, like any vaccine it must prime the recipient's conservative auto-immune system with an immunogen, an infectious agent that mimics (safely) the dangerous virus, so that the patient's own body can recognise and eliminate the targeted ideo-pathogen. So far, modern conservative science understands the religio-molecular structure of an optimal ideo-immunogen but not the ideal delivery system for which the most effective media may be media (print or broadcast: see Leubsdorfer, Die Biologisch Mechanismus der Ideologie, Leipzig, 2002). Meanwhile, many top researchers known to this website are working around the clock to generate a conservative, culturally-borne vaccine that can awaken a young patient's/reader's immature defenses against this potentially disabling disease. 

Cinema as a Form of Art

By Brad Birzer

In the 1920s and 1930s, the great historian and English man of letters Christopher Dawson lamented the rise of cinema, believing it to be nothing more than a secular liturgy, an ideological replacement of the Catholic mass, and a return to Plato’s Cave.  

By 1959, however, after having lived a year in Boston, Dawson admitted he had happily become addicted to westerns.