– By Sam Hendrian – *Contains spoilers Waves is one of the most powerful movies I have seen in a long time. It is complicatedly simple, heartbreakingly inspiring, and many other perplexing paradoxes. While tough to watch at times, it had me spontaneously praying, “Oh God, this is beautiful!” on multiple occasions, and if that …
Controlling Happiness in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
– By Sam Hendrian – “Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel.” These relatable words spoken by Charlie Brown to Linus at the beginning of the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas perfectly capture the numbness that the commercialization of Christmas has brought over time. …
Conversational Commitment and Unconditional Love in ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’
– By Sam Hendrian – “Do you know what the most important thing is to me right now? Talking to Lloyd Vogel.” The renowned children’s television host Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) speaks these words to the emotionally-wounded journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) in an early scene of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a new, …
The Immortality of the Soul and a Call to Virtue in ‘Doctor Sleep’
– By Sam Hendrian – “We’re all dying. The world’s just a hospice with fresh air.” This philosophical observation made by Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) midway through the cinematic Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep is rather bleak, but it is also undeniably true. Like the memento mori that monks sometimes keep on their desks, horror …
The Dangers of Idealizing Love in Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Trilogy’
– By Sam Hendrian – “The concept is absurd. The idea that we can only be complete with another person is evil. Right?” This fascinating question proposed by Celine (Julie Delpy) to Jesse (Ethan Hawke) in the second film of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy succinctly captures the central theme at play in all three films. …
Up Close and Personal: Cinema as a Vehicle for Empathy
– By Sam Hendrian – “Sometimes, you have to look hard at a person and remember he’s doing the best he can. He’s just trying to find his way, that’s all. Just like you.” This touching advice given by Ethel Thayer (Katherine Hepburn) to Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda) in the 1981 classic movie On Golden …
What ‘Taxi Driver’ Has to Say About Finding Purpose in the Wrong Places
– By Sam Hendrian – This article is part of our Classic Film Throwback Series “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to ME?” These words have been parodied so many times in films over the years that it is easy to forget where they originated from: Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver. Controversial for its graphically …
Spiritual Blindness and the Sanctity of Life in Disney’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’
– By Sam Hendrian – This article is part of our Classic Film Throwback Series “I ask for nothing/I can get by/But I know so many/Less lucky than I” -Esmeralda, “God Help the Outcasts” This haunting prayer uttered by the gypsy Esmeralda partway through Disney’s animated classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame succinctly captures the beautifully …