I have been thinking a lot about films recently, how the skill of the film director can get inside us and bring out thoughts often deep within us. A recent trip to to see ‘Marley and Me’ brought this home as everyone in the cinema left in tears, and that was supposed to be a comedy film. Later this year I hope to begin a film ministry in the Ellesmere Port, a time when people watch a film and have sometime to discuss it. Below you will see my review of the film the ‘The Bucket list’ if you have seen the film I would be really pleased to receive your views and hopefully we can get a bit of discussion going. If you have seen another  film recently which spoke to you in a particular way I would love to hear about it.

Trevor

 

Film Review.  The Bucket List-

 Starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, ‘The Buckett List’ was released in 2007. Set in America it’s two central characters find themselves thrown together in a shared hospital room with a diagnosis of terminal cancer. The one man owns the hospital and in order to maximise profit has become wedded to the financial maxim of shared rooms, he is fulfilled by money and power. The other played by Morgan Freeman has worked as a car mechanic, has a brilliant mind for facts and has lived a largely unfilled life. His wife and family however are unable to understand this side of him. One man has no faith, the other has a quiet assured hope for something beyond death.

Thrown together by circumstances the two becomes friends. Intrigued by his friends bucket list (all the things he would like to do before he dies),  he persuades him that they should forget their responsibilities and fulfil this list. The one has the necessary money and the other the imagination to bring this about. What follows is a sometimes funny, always poignant, yet never predictable fulfilling of this list.

Amidst the genuine sadness of these two friends eventually having to face the reality of their dying the film manages to raise as many questions about how we live as it does about how we die. There is a beautiful re-engagement of love between  Carter (Morgan freeman) and his wife before his death.

I have shown this film to two small groups, on both occasions whilst it provoked tears and sadness the film also has the capacity to engender hope, whilst challenging the foolishness of wealth for its own sake or of allowing those closest to us to live largely unfilled lives. Despite its simple plot one of its great strengths is that the film is able to work on several levels.

For me there is something of the Kingdom about this film, the first time I watched the film I had just finished reading ‘Surprised by hope’ by Tom Wright. In this book he makes the point that the central truth of Easter is not just that death has been defeated but rather that heaven has in some way come to earth and that the perceived gap between the two is in part challenged by the Easter story. Everything about this film echo’s those sentiments breaking down in some respect our understanding of life, dying and hope beyond death. We are challenged to live each day to the full not because there is no hope beyond this life, but precisely because that’s how we are meant to live our lives.