Memorable film scenes

I've just come up with my list of my top ten film scenes. There is no paticular pattern and the scenes are in no particulalr order. What are your favourites?

1. Out of Africa: A solitary steam train is set against the vastness of the African veldt. The steam train was the symbol of western technological excellence, yet against the vastness of the veldt and the harshness of the African light the train becomes insignificant.

2. Blues Brothers: Jake and Elwood Blues are on a mission from God and the trumpet player they need is a working in a high class restaurant. So they head along for a bit of not so fine dining. Classic line – “how much for your women?”

3. Blues Brothers: Why park normally when you can do a perfect 180 degree handbrake parking manoeuvre between two parked cars.

4. Shadowlands: Jack and Joyce are taking a picturesque car ride and walk through the country side. While sheltering from the rain Joyce reminds Jack that she is going to die. Classic line – “The pain then is part of the happiness now”

5. Singing in the Rain: The classic song and dance scene from the classic movie. Gene Kelly gets soaked doing what he does best.

6. Commando: Arnie returns to his partner after dropping one of the baddies over a cliff. His partner asks where the said baddie is, to which Arnie replies “I had to let him go”

7. Star Wars: The opening scene where the rebels wait for the doors to open. With a flash the doors open and storm troopers and rebels fire back and forth. Into the madness and carnage walks Darth Vader, resplendent in black with his husky deep breathing telling to everyone in the universe “I am your worst nightmare come true”.

8. When Harry Met Sally. Meg Ryan “faking it” in a restaurant while Billy Crystal looks on in bemused confusion. Not very CC (Christian Correct) but it is a classic piece of comic brilliance.

9. Damnation Alley: The nuclear nightmare has become a reality and mutant cockroaches scuttle around seeking those whom they might devour to which Keegan kindly obliges by getting himself eaten. I’ve had a phobia about cockroaches since high school. In the biology lab they had this glass box where all these cockroaches bred and crawled over each other. So seeing these mutant cockroaches made want scream and runaway. Maybe I should sue my school?

10. Goodbye Pork Pie: The yellow mini weaves in and out along one of the platforms at Wellington Train Station. A classic piece of anarchic kiwiana directed by Geoff Murphy.

Just

Is it possible? That was the question underlying the film "When Harry Met Sally". Harry said it was not possible, for sex always got in the way. Sally believed it was possible.

Friendship. Romance. Is it possible that males and females can approach and form a friendship without the complications of romantic love? Is it possible to be "just friends"?

Even using the term "just friends" assumes that such a relationship is, at the very least an inferior form of relationship; a form of unrequited romance where one or the other party settles for second best.

But is it second best or a different form of relationship? If I had restricted all my relationships with members of the opposite sex to potentially romantic relationships then my life would have been much poorer. Over the years I have had, and still have many friendships which were rich, deep, full of love, but were not romantic in any way or form. And I did not consider them to be inferior due to the lack of romantic attachment.

This is not to say that such friendships are not without their own set of challenges and potential for misunderstanding. Nor does it say that, if the opportunity presented itself, I would avoid the entering into a romantic relationship. But given where my life has taken me, the chances of such a relationship is remote in the extreme. And even if I never find this kind of love I know that my life has been, is, and hopefully will continue to be full of love and friendship. And for that I am grateful.

Reefer Madness

Today I watched the second worst movie of all time. Like the infamous and critically recognised worst movie of all time, Plan Nine From Outer Space, Reefer Madness has reached cult status. The acting was terrible the dialogue worse, and the plot totally implausible.

Reefer Madness was suppose to warn the youth against the vile evils of Marijuana. But its impact on the use of this drug was zilch. If the film was even partially good, or even merely mediocre it would have been forgotten. But no, it is so bad it makes you cringe. And so it has a cult status which means it will forever be part of the pantheon of the wierd, the wacky, and the downright terrible. So here's to Reefer Madness - coming to a DVD store near you!

And they all lived happily everafter

I've just watched the DVD of Iris. For those who have never seen or heard of Iris, it is the story of a brilliant novelist and intellectual who is struck down by Alzheimer’s disease, a slow degenerative disease of the brain. It is not a movie for light entertainment. Serves me right for my random approach to DVD selection whenever I go to the DVD store.

Iris is the exact opposite of standard Hollywood fare where good overcomes evil and the little guy wins against impossible odds. There was no happy ever after as Iris slowly deteriorated and became lost in her own little world. The older Iris was brilliantly played by Judi Dench. And having worked on dementia wards her portrayal of the lost soul who once was Iris was painfully accurate.

If only the happy ever afters of Hollywood was the way the world worked. But they aren't. They are escapism from the harsh realities of life. The recent twin tragedies of Myanmar and the Chinese earthquake remind us of that.

As always the question for believers is where is God when tragedies, large and small strike. The banal Christian response is that God is somehow in the midst of them. The banal Christian quote is that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without God knowing about it. To which my response is that the sparrow still fell to the ground. The writer of Ecclesiastes had a better response when he wrote "time and chance happen to them all".

Lonely People

I was waiting the other day to have hair cut. To pass the time I was reading a North & South magazine. One of the articles caught my attention. It was on loneliness. Despite being more connected than ever before due to mobile phones, internet chat rooms and email, we seem to be lonelier than ever before. The old networks, relationships, and communities have broken down, and the new technologies seem incapable of replacing face to face contact.

I am sure that we all get lonely from time. One of the paradoxes of loneliness is that we can be in a room full of people and feel lonely. At other times we can be alone yet not feel lonely at all.

During my lonely periods I can generally identify the cause. My family is spread throughout NZ and Australia, so contact is difficult, especially with my brother in Perth. In the past five years I have only seen him once at a wedding. His kids, my nieces and nephew, have grown up without me seeing them grow up. I miss not being there for my nieces and nephews. Even though it has been many years I still feel the ache of the loss of my twin. Sometimes it is worse than others, generally around anniversaries. I have many friends but they live busy lives, so trying to catch up is difficult.

Others I know have their own challenges. Some with chronic illness leaving them isolated and incapable of doing everything that they want to do. Caring for young children or a new born can also be isolating for the primary caregiver.

These feelings make me appreciate the times I spend with my friends even more. I have one friend who gives me the most awesome hugs. No matter how the week has gone, her hugs tell me I am loved and appreciated. And I think that is what we all need. So thanks Sarah for your hugs. You are a blessing.

This is for all the lonely people
Thinkin' that life has passed them by
Don't give up untill you drink from the silver cup
Riding that highway in the sky

(Jars of Clay, Lonely People from Who We Are Instead)

Call the little fire engine

It was the usual afternoon routine at work. One of the clients was cooking tea assisted by a staff member. I was in the office checking on a couple of things and the other clients were relaxing in the lounge. Then it happened. The peace and tranquillity was pierced by the screeching sounds of a fire alarm. Rapidly, we all vacated the building. The emergency number was called and staff came running from the other units. Within a few minutes a fire truck arrived and out jumped three firemen dressed and ready for battle. After a short inspection the culprit was found. The oven. A bit of cooking smoke had wafted upwards detected by the smoke alarm. The all clear was given and we all returned to what we were doing. And while this was happening the song from a children's story narrated most Sunday mornings on Children's Requests reverberated round my brain.

I'm a little fire engine
Flick is my name
They wouldn't let me put out fires,
Isn't that a shame
When I grow to be big and strong
I'll fight every flame
When there's a fire in town
Quick
Call the litlle fire engine
Call the little fire engine
Call the little fire engine
Flick

Plausible Deniability

As I write this I have just received the news that my cousins marriage has just disintegrated. It is sad but somehow unexpected. But now she is left to somehow care for a baby not yet twelve months while coming to terms with a relationship that promised so much but fell apart. Her story is not unique. Even among Christians the divorce rate is staggeringly high.

This was brought home to me a few years back while attending a Christian Singles camp (just think Youth camps on Valium and you’ll get the picture) in the Marlborough Sounds. The number of divorced and separated men and women surprised me. Some had been through multiple marriages; each relationship started with hope yet ultimately failed. And with each failure these was a wrenching of the soul

No wonder God hates divorce. But even those who have not been through a major divorce have had there share of grief, pain and disappointment, myself included. Why is this so? That is a question I’ve asked so many times.

The answer that camps and seminars like the one I attended in the Marlborough Sounds give to those going through such experiences tend to be based on the idea of “purposeful singleness”. While this idea has some merit in terms of finding meaning and purpose where we are currently at and surrendering our plans to God, it also seems to teach a doctrine of denial; that in surrendering our plans to God we must somehow then deny our own desires. This is not Christianity, it is Buddhism. It resulted in a game of plausible deniability where everyone tries their best to wear a veneer of hyper-spirituality. It also resulted in a game of looking while trying your best to appear like you are not looking. All denied that they were playing this game, but it was a game everyone played.

Such games do not deal with the source of the pain. They demand that I lie to myself, to others, and to God. Even the culture of the local church reinforces the need to play such games. I must continue to deny who I am, what I feel, and what I hope for. I must place on the veneer of contented spirituality accepting where God has placed me. Is such fatalism Christianity? Is it healthy?

It is strange that my non-Christian friends are the ones that I’ve been able to most open with. There is no need to play the Christian game. When they tell me their stories about their heartbreaks, their relationship breakdowns, the abortions they’ve had, I can listen, but I feel unable to say to them that Jesus is the answer. Is this because deep down I don’t believe that Jesus is the answer? I don’t think so. But I struggle with the pretence of a Christianity that emphasises form over substance. And I’ve been burnt too many times by those who claimed to be Christian who could only respond with spiritualised clichés.