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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soul food for movielovers,
This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints inCulturally Significant Films (Paperback)
If you've ever emerged awed and blinking from a film with a feeling that life is not quite the same as when you went in, you'll love this book. In a hyperactive world, argues Belfast-based writer Gareth Higgins, going to the flicks is one of the few contemplative rituals we have left.Contrary to a couple of somewhat clenched reviews on this site, it makes no claim to be a definitive guide to the spiritual content to films. This is not "God's Favourite Movies: Ten Vetted Film Nuggets to Save You From Doubt". Instead Higgins offers us his own subjective and bracingly candid meander through themes such as death, community, fear, conspiracy, power and love, drawing on diverse cinematic offerings ranging from "Amores Perros" to "The Wizard of Oz". Written in witty, conversational style but without sacrificing intellectual rigour, it also has a beguiling vulnerability. Higgins shares his life as well as his love of movies, and the result is often as moving as it is illuminating. Evidently a man who has been bruised as much as blessed by his Christian religious heritage and unafraid to say so, he refuses to be thrown off the scent of the great Director at work in the universe. The result is part filmography, part memoir, part meditation - an engaging and uplifting meander through one man's love affair with life both on and off the silver screen. Borrowing a habit from Woody Allen in "Manhattan", Higgins ends the book with a list of the everyday miracles that make him grateful to be alive: Randalstown forest on a crisp morning; coffee with friends; tigers; Singin' in the Rain; the inside of Krakow Cathedral; and the feeling when the lights go down in the cinema... You're left with the same brimming fullness you experience after a stunningly good movie: a sense of life's luminous beauty and pain, a renewed vision of the good, or God, that so often goes unnoticed... and of course a determination to see more films. More than a cinematic guide, this is a spontaneous act of generosity. Enjoy.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!,
By
This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints inCulturally Significant Films (Paperback)
Gareth Higgins’ How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films does much more than review popular movies. If you are looking for a “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” type of resource you may want to look elsewhere. Instead, this book does a great job of training the readers how to find these spiritual fingerprints in films for themselves. Like other titles from Relevant Books, there is no attempt to push a spiritual agenda into an area where one does not really exist. It simply illuminates that these “fingerprints” are everywhere. Gareth shows us that one of the best places available to find these sacraments is in the cinema. Each chapter in the book is structured around a theme, such as “war”, “brokenness” or “quest”. Its open-ended style reads like a conversation that begs for your interaction. I found myself thinking of films I would want to include in each section. While I appreciated Gareth’s observations of the films he reviews I think his insights into the human conditions he addressed in each chapter were the real strength of this book. Instinctively I know that there is more to a film than what I see on the screen but Gareth made me conscious of new depths, even in movies I thought I understood. He explores some transcendent themes with immanence perhaps only movies can allow for. The author’s great sense of humor is reflected throughout and makes this book that much more enjoyable to read. With the medium of film being discussed, I would have liked to have seen some pictures from some of the films Gareth mentions. That is a minor complaint, but the only one I can find with this book. This would be a great book to give as a gift to anyone who goes to the movies. After reading it you will find yourself watching films in a new way. I recommend it highly.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cool Book!,
This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints inCulturally Significant Films (Paperback)
Lately I’ve noticed I’m annoyed with the movie industry and dread going to see a film, knowing that it will have a cheap Hollywood happy ending, signature stars in the same old roles, or a lack of serious moral content. After reading “How Movies Helped Save My Soul,” by Gareth Higgins, I was ready to head to the video store with a list a mile long. His book impressively covers several “spiritual” topics, with each chapter describing movies that embody those themes. His writing style is rather witty and very stream of consciousness, which makes it a fun, light read, but can get monotonous at times. The final chapter is dedicated to “The Matrix,” the only such chapter dedicated to an entire film.The most remarkable thing about the book is Higgins’ vast knowledge of film, from every era in film history. Each chapter notes both vintage and recent films that have influenced his life from a different spiritual perspective. I was taken aback at how many of the films in which I had completely missed their spiritual themes, or had dismissed them before viewing because I didn’t find them “morally acceptable.” His insight is remarkable, and his Christian background only complements, never hinders, how he describes the films. I was worried this book would bash the films that contained nudity, strong language, or violence, and praise the Disney genre filled with nice feel-good story lines. Instead, Higgins brings an objective view to the table, encouraging people to watch the films for the underlying message, no matter how hard it may be to watch. Such films he described that surprised me were Eyes Wide Shut, American Beauty, Fight Club, and Monster’s Ball. (All of which I would guess most Christian pastors would recommend us not seeing.) This book brought to my senses all that is of this world that Christians discount, especially in pop culture. Higgins’ book suggests that if they would just break out of their comfort zone and experience what is out there in film and elsewhere, they may be pleasantly surprised, and learn a bit about what God has to say in the meantime.
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