Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1953 film I Confess, a young priest in Quebec City is suspected of murder because of his unwillingness to break the seal of confession. A major theme of the film is the incomprehension with which the world sees the priesthood, such that people project their own sins onto the priest, resulting in a kind of white martyrdom. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio  Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission.

The new exorcism film The Ritual, starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, is based on the famous 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt, which also partially inspired The Exorcist. The Ritual is touted as more realistic and meticulously researched than most exorcism films, and it does seem to portray the rite of exorcism accurately (as the title indicates, most of the film is focused on the ritual itself). The film avoids many of the worst pitfalls of exorcism movies, such as fascination with the glamor of evil, sadism, etc. It is a Catholic-approvable treatment of the subject in that it avoids theological error, the liturgy is accurate, and God is clearly shown to be more powerful than demons. However, the film is still sensationalistic, not because its extraordinary demonic manifestations are fabricated, but because they are excessively centered at the expense of more interesting and edifying aspects of the real-life case. Those details which would have made the treatment unique and thought-provoking are too often filed down to fit the genre’s cliches or to avoid alienating a non-Catholic audience. The Ritual will be in theaters starting June 6. Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

00:00 Introduction 12:44 Form 1:04:15 Themes 1:28:17 Moral problems 1:52:00 Favorite sequences After the artistic triumph of his magnum opus The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick had an unwontedly prolific period, releasing To the Wonder (2012), Knight of Cups (2015), and Song to Song (2017). In these films, known informally as the "Weightless Trilogy", Malick took his previous formal experimentation even further, relying heavily on improvisation stitched together with a stream-of-consciousness editing style evoking the fragments of memory. The results are undeniably aesthetically exciting, but also critically divisive, as many viewers find the latter two films particularly to lack narrative substance. The films have been of special interest to many Christians because of their explicit allusions to faith and their depiction of the emptiness of worldly pleasures as the characters search for something more. To the Wonder in particular is noteworthy for its priest character played by Javier Bardem, and because it deals with the issue of contraception and how being closed off to children destroys a relationship (the importance of children being a theme in all three films). Across the trilogy, Malick deals with the topic of sexuality in a way seen nowhere else in modern Hollywood, consistently showing the breakdown of sexuality in excess, deviance, and using others as destructive and even sinful. In that and in other respects, the films are profoundly countercultural. However, this is dangerous material to handle in any medium, cinema above all. Malick is not always successful in threading the needle with moral purity in execution, however praiseworthy his thematic intentions. This makes it impossible to recommend these films for a wide viewership, or to anyone without caveats. Nonetheless, a discussion of these films, with all their strengths and weaknesses, is essential in considering the direction of religious cinema today - and in this episode Thomas Mirus, James Majewski, and Nathan Douglas do just that.  Note: YouTube has censored versions (TV-14, blurred nudity and bleeped profanity) of Knight of Cups and Song to Song, for free with ads. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Barabbas is an unusual specimen of the midcentury Hollywood Biblical epic, more spiritually searching (and edgier) than its peers. Starring Anthony Quinn as the criminal released by Pilate in place of Christ, Barabbas is based on a 1950 novel by Nobel winner Pär Lagerkvist (recently listed by Anthony Esolen among the greatest religious novels of the 20th century). It follows Barabbas through a long life in the shadow of the Cross, haunted and struggling to comprehend the meaning of having had his life exchanged for Christ’s. He becomes almost an archetype of human resistance to grace – but in the end, does he nonetheless surrender himself to what he doesn’t understand? Br. Joshua Vargas, Cong.Orat., returns to the show to discuss this intriguing film. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

James and Thomas discuss a minor classic of religious cinema, the spiritually edifying (and humorous!) Russian film The Island, about a fictional Orthodox monk and “holy fool” who has special spiritual gifts, but remains racked with guilt over a terrible crime he committed in his youth. The Island can be viewed on YouTube (the subtitles are a different translation from the ones on Amazon): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-vegualMg&ab_channel=SergeyKorsakov SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Guest Nathan Douglas, a film aficionado and co-host, joins the discussion on Terrence Malick's visually stunning 'Voyage of Time,' co-produced by the Knights of Columbus. They explore the film's two versions, featuring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as narrators, debating the existential themes and the clarity of the narration. The conversation highlights Malick's innovative approach to capturing cosmic beauty and the role of voiceover narration in evoking emotional responses. Douglas and the hosts reflect on the philosophical depth and artistry that mark Malick's work.

James Matthew Wilson, a poet and philosopher with a creative writing program at the University of St. Thomas, dives deep into the world of the Marx Brothers. He discusses their iconic films, 'Duck Soup' and 'A Night at the Opera,' highlighting their revolutionary impact on comedy. Listeners are treated to a poem featuring Marx Brothers’ allusions and insights into Groucho's correspondence with T.S. Eliot. Wilson reflects on the interplay of humor, heart, and absurdity, emphasizing the relevance of their unique style in contemporary culture and personal experiences.

On the latest episode of Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast, Andrew Petiprin joins James and Thomas to discuss the late David Lynch's most uplifting film, The Elephant Man. The film is based on the real Victorian-era life of Joseph Merrick, a man who suffered terrible abuse because of his extreme deformities, yet whose human dignity was ultimately recognized and allowed to flourish by those who rescued him and cared for him with Christian compassion. Panel on film at Notre Dame with Thomas Mirus, Andrew Petiprin, and Nathan Douglas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7oE8d6RcCw&ab_channel=deNicolaCenterforEthicsandCulture Andrew's book Popcorn with the Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/popcorn-with-the-pope DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters  Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

James and Thomas discuss Nicholas Ray's thrilling 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place. In an outstanding, nuanced performance, Humphrey Bogart plays quick-tempered screenwriter Dixon Steele, who enters into a fast-moving relationship with Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) just as he is under suspicion for the murder of another young woman. The investigation puts a strain on their romance, revealing the problems of relationships without the requisite mutual trust. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Oscar-nominated writer and director Timothy Reckart rejoins the podcast to discuss a movie that has a marked resonance with the Nativity story, Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliantly crafted dystopian thriller Children of Men. Set in 2027, it depicts a world that has fallen into despair and chaos because of a worldwide infertility crisis: no one has been able to have a baby in eighteen years. The film, made in 2006, depicts a future England looks in many ways like today’s: childlessness, terrorism, and state-provided euthanasia. In the midst of all this, jaded protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) is given the task of secretly escorting a young refugee woman to the coast - and then discovers that she is pregnant. Sycamore Studios https://sycamorestudios.com/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com