|
Lord
of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings is a movie which in following the
book well enough, addresses many issues
pertaining to emotions, faith, hope, pity, call,
confronting evil, discernment, and many many more themes. This movie is
rich to bursting with possibilities, as it follows the book which
was written around a mythical and religious
basis. (Michael K. Doran)
- Frodo the hobbit receives a "call" to destroy the evil
"one ring" before its power is able to corrupt and destroy all of Middle
Earth. This call involves a long and extremely dangerous journey, and the
likelihood that Frodo will not return alive. In one scene, Frodo expresses
his fear and his wish that the ring had never come to him. Gandalf the
wizard tells Frodo, "We cannot choose the time we live in. We can only
choose what we do with the time we are given." (Pat
Raube-Wilson, Auburn/Union Theological Seminary)
|
| Keeping the Faith
(2000)
- Edward Norton talks about how even as young children,
he and his friend (the old Catholic priest and the Rabbi line) knew that
they were called to their ministries. (Jenn. Stiles Williams Jax, Fl)
|
| Mission Impossible 2
(2000)
- At the beginning of the movie, Ethan Hunt is climbing a
mountain. At one point, he hangs facing out from the cliff face, arms
spread as though he were being crucified. He makes it to the top of the
mountain, and stands looking out in a moment of exhilaration. Almost
immediately, he is presented with the latest impossible mission, which
will send him out to potential rejection and death -- "the
secretary will disavow all knowledge..." (FUMC, Natchitoches, LA)
|
|
The Patriot
(2000)
- Halfway through the movie, the son walks into a church
to recruit for the militia. Very moving as the
plea is initially rejected, then a girl speaks
up. Men begin standing, the music builds, a basic tear jerker.
(Erin Baggett)
|
| The Green Mile
(1999)
- Tom Hanks' character is "called" from his
accepted (and societally acceptable) role as head honcho for Death Row
to the cause of grace in the unlikely person of his enormous black
inmate at the time of his being grasped through the bars by the
compassion of his prisoner and healed of his terrible urinary tract
infection, of all things. He is, as are we all when touched by the hand
of God, irrevocably called and committed to a cause, a person, well
beyond the pale of his previous existence. (Katherine
Merrell Glenn, Alamosa Colorado)
|
| The Confession (1999)
- Bleakie is influenced toward morality and relationship
with God through the lives of Fertig and Mel as much as through
their words/preaching.
|
| Galaxy Quest (1999)
- The aliens come to the Galaxy Quest
convention and then to Jason's house, asking him to accompany them.
- Jason collects his cast-mates to show
them the Real Thing.
- Brandon is called (literally!) to assist
the Galaxy Quest cast in their attempt to save the ship.
|
| The Matrix
(1999)
- Neo receives a "call"
literally, by cell phone no less. (Mike Clark, Hamilton
Canada)
-
"Discovering your Destiny"/"Dealing with
Fatalistic Thinking" - Matrix-
Neo is struggling to come to terms with his
destiny. Morpheus asking him if he believes in fate- he doesn't because
he likes to be in control of his own life. His visit with the Oracle
reinforces this- she comments that he seems to be waiting for something
instead of moving forward and that he doesn't believe in "all that fate
crap". He finally comes to terms with who he
could be at the end of the movie- great action stuff.
(Mike Simpson)
|
| Dogma
(1999)
- The angel appears to Bethany - a non-practicing
Catholic who runs an abortion clinic. (see review at Hollywood
Jesus)
|
| Cider House Rules (1999) |
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of
Arc (1999)
- Joan is driven by what she is convinced is the voice of
God to lead her people in revolt against English aggression. (Dennis L.
Zimmerman)
|
| The
Phantom Menace (1999)
- Anakin is called to the Jedi Council, called to become
a Jedi.
- The cute little boy is called [by the Emperor] to become Darth Vader!
(Bill Mosley, Frelsburg TX)
- is he ignoring his true call as he turns to the
Dark Side?
|
| Simon Birch (1998) |
| Patch Adams
(1998)
- nothing will deter him from his heterodox practice of
medicine and his love interest in the move is killed simply because she
chooses to live with the new idea of medicine. (Amy
Wharton)
- responds to the urge within him to treat the whole
person rather than the disease, in spite of the cost of this
professionally? (Marie Loewen)
|
| Dark City (1998)
- John answers a phone call at the beginning of the
movie. The call is from
|
| The Mask of Zorro
(1998)
- Diego calls a thief to take his place and save the peasants from
oppression, by being transformed. (Bill Mosley, Frelsburg
TX)
- In any Zorro - Diego's father calls him home because there is trouble,
but how is he to fight it? By being transformed! (Bill
Mosley, Frelsburg TX)
|
| Contact
(1997)
- Ellie's call to study and then to
experience the alternate reality.
|
| The Apostle (1997)
- Pentecostal pastor Eulis "Sonny" Dewey, using
the name The Apostle E.F., enlists three people to help him start an
interracial church in a Southern small town. First he goes to a retired
African American pastor, asking to use an abandoned church building.
Then he convinces a radio station owner to give him air time, as long as
he doesn't speak in tongues. Lastly, he recruits a young mechanic to
help fix up the church building. They become the core of the new church.
(David K. Miller)
|
| Men in Black
(1997)
- More an audition than a call!
|
| Sling Blade
(1996)
- Karl's call to give up his freedom and his soul in order to help
Frank and his mother.
|
| The Spitfire
Grill (1996) |
|
Big Night (1996)
- Two Italian brothers who own a good but
struggling restaurant are supposedly helped by the owner of the hopping
Italian restaurant in town. His help is that he is going to send Louis
Prima and his entourage to this struggling restaurant. The formal
publicity and "the buzz" created by Prima's presence will be the spark
needed to get the restaurant going. The film becomes about all the
preparation, excitement and anticipation of this visit. They plan a huge
party for him, but he never arrives. The successful restate fabricated
the whole story. Yet in the midst of disappointment, they rejoice and
understand that in the preparation, excitement and anticipation, they
created wonderful night. I think of this story
as I consider Luke 10 and the 70 who proclaimed the Gospel without
immediate results. (Alfred Bakewell)
|
| Dolores Claiborne
(1995) |
| Legends of the Fall
(1994) |
| The Stand (1994)
- Mother Abigail's prayer (DVD pt 2, ch 7) (she is
reluctant to follow)
- Mother Abigail ("good") and Randall Flagg
("evil") each call their own chosen ones through dreams.
|
| The Pelican
Brief (1993) |
| The Sandlot (1993)
- Scotty finally goes into the junkyard after the ball.
|
| Buffy the Vampire
Slayer (1992)
- Clip begins in the locker room after school, where
buffy is about to go to practice. Merrill appears, and admonishes
her for not having met him. Following is a wonderful dialogue
about being gifted, called and chosen. PERFECT LINE:
"Don't you get it? I don't WANT to be chosen!"
After Merrill throws a knife at Buffy to prove to her that she is the
chosen (apparently those with this gift have the capacity to catch
knifes thrown at them!) she punches him in the nose. stunned at
her own behavior, she says, "I've never hit anyone before."
With hand over face, Merrill says, "Well, you did it very
well!" Scene ends with Buffy saying, "And I didn't even
break a nail!" (Paul Wiberg)
|
| A River Runs Through
It (1992) |
| My Cousin
Vinny (1992) |
| Hero (1992)
- Bernie tries to walk away from airplane crash and is
called back to rescue other passengers.
|
| Red Rock West
(1992)
- Michael tries to escape with the money
he's taken while pretending to be the hit-man hired to kill Suzanne. No
matter what he tries to do to get away from town, he continues to be
drawn back by one fate or another until he confronts Suzanne and the
real hit man.
|
| The Fisher King
(1991)
- This excellent movie is an exploration
of the way in which the central character , a shock-jock radio host,
seeks for forgiveness , having unwittingly incited a man to commit a
massacre in a restaurant. He meets someone who has suffered a breakdown
as a result of witnessing the massacre and tries in all sorts of ways to
free himself of his own sense of guilt. The man he has met (played by
Robin Williams) is convinced that the DJ has been sent to bring him a
silver cup ( actually a sporting trophy ) which he thinks is the Holy
Grail. The Robn Williams character repeatedly calls him to this
task, but he dismisses it as ridiculous . Finally, though , when
Robin Williams falls into a catatonic state, he realises that , simply
because he needs the 'grail' to get better he will retrieve it. It
strikes me as relevant to the theme of 'call' because of the way in
which it is circumstance which compels him, eventually, to do something
only he can do. The act he is called to is ridiculous, but it is the
doing of it which is really important. In fullfilling his 'call' , by
doing something out of simple love, he not only heals someone else,
but finds the freedom he has been seeking for himself.
|
| The
Silence of the Lambs
(1991)
- Clarice's summons from Jack Crawford -
the "call" from her dead father to follow in his footsteps.
|
| City Slickers (1991)
- When "Curly" and the character played by
Billy Crystal are riding alone to round up some stray cattle. Curly then
explains that all the rest of the stuff in life "don't mean
nothing" if you know the one thing that is the meaning of life. The
Billy Crystal character asks what that one thing is. Curly tells him he
has to find that out for himself. I used this in a service that asked
the question, "What is it that is the basic focus of our
lives?" The one thing (person) we need is Jesus Christ and all the
rest of our life falls into place. (Vern Gauthier, Summit
Hill, PA)
|
|
Glory (1989)
- Glory was the true story of first Black combat
regiment, the 54th Massachusetts, to fight in the Civil War. The commander
(by law the officers had to be white) was the young, Harvard-educated, son
of wealthy Boston abolitionists, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, played by Matthew
Broderick. In addition to Broderick, the cast
included Denzel Washington (who won an Oscar for best supporting actor),
Morgan Freeman, and Cary Elwes. It definitely
touches on themes of call and courage - Shaw knows what he has to do, and
ultimately that it will cost him his life. It also speaks well of race
relations (in that time). This is a great film.
(Richard S. Hong)
|
| Field of
Dreams (1989)
- An Iowa farmer hears a mysterious voice
borne on the wind blowing through his corn field, "If you build it,
he will come!" The voice becomes more insistent, until he
gives in and builds a baseball diamond, complete with lights for night
games and bleachers for spectators. A host of long-dead ball
players come out of the night fog of the corn to play on the ball field,
one asking, "Is this heaven?" To which, the farmer
responds, "It's Iowa." But the real "He" who
was to come is the farmer's long estranged and now dead father. In
a simple game of "catch" on the field they have a chance to
talk, see life from the other's point of view, and experience
forgiveness and a restored relationship. (Mark D. Johns,
Instructor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa)
|
| Jesus of
Montreal (1989)
- The decision to do the
play and the summons of each of the actors.
|
| Dead
Poets Society (1989)
- Todd, Neil and the other students are
"called" by Prof Keating to "seize the day" and they
reform the Dead Poets Society.
|
| Journey to Spirit
Island (1988)
- Maria, a young member of the Makah Indian Tribe, living
in the Pacific Northwest, is caught in a struggle on her reservation
between tradition and enculturation into the dominant culture. Maria and
her brother host two white visitors from the city and find themselves in
the midst of a marvelous adventure. Maria experiences call in her dreams
and visions. Excellent. I have used this for several years in
Confirmation Classes when talking about calls to ministry and service. (Sharee
Kelly)
|
| Midnight Run
(1988) |
| Last Temptation of
Christ (1988)
- Jesus experiences the call of God as a big headache
until he accepts the call and feels free.
|
| Babbette's
Feast (1987)
- inviting the town to the
meal - the varied responses.
|
| Forrest Gump
(1987)
- Forrest runs across US "for no
particular reason". He gains many followers. Start cue: on verandah
and starts to run. End cue: "I think I?ll go home now, I?m
tired." (Luke Whiteside, Youth
Alpha Australia)
|
| I've
Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)
- The very last scene of "I've Heard the Mermaids
Singing". "Come and See" I can't even begin to describe
the event, it has to be seen. (I confess that this is one of those
movies that men and women see VERY differently. For many women it is an
emotional, almost religious experience. many men finish the movie
saying, "What the hell was that?") (Gayle
Bach-Watson)
|
| The
Mission (1986) |
| Excalibur
(1981)
- There's a terrific development of call in Excalibur.
First the sword in the stone bit, then the sealing of the call after
Arthur's first battle. He has subdued his enemy, a
nobleman, and they are standing together in a moat. People shout to have
Arthur made king, but the noble (is he played by Patrick Stewart?) he
can't be king--he's not even a knight. So Arthur gives the disarmed
knight his own sword and, kneeling and offering his head and neck, says,
"Then knight me." Great scene. (Michael Hudson,
Cullowhee NC)
|
| The
Blues Brothers (1980)
- scene where Jake & Elroy visit the Black church,
and see the light. End cue: Elroy" The
Band!....." (Luke Whiteside)
- the "call" of various members of the band
|
| The Shining
(1980)
- Hallorann is called from
his vacation in Florida, to drive to the Overlook, despite his
premonition that he will be killed there.
|
| Star Wars
(1977)
- Luke is called to trust the force. (submitted by Bill
Mosley, Frelsburg TX)
|
| Close Encounters of the Third
Kind (1977)
- For Call Scenes... or possibly the theme of election, I
remember toward the end of Close Encounters, a group of astronauts has
been prepared and are ready to go off in the alien spacecraft. However,
when the little aliens appear, the astronauts are ignored in favor of
Roy who has been "struggling with his sense of call," if you
will. The astronauts are left behind as the rejected one (Roy,
previously thwarted by the government) is taken aboard the ship. (Jim Gooch)
|
| Oh, God! (1977)
- The link is with Jeremiah's call, Jer 1:4-10 - the
hero, Jerry, a supermarket assistant manager, is entirely unequal to the
task God puts on him (unfortunately, so's God). (Leslie Lewis)
|
| Brother Sun, Sister Moon
(1973)
- The call of St. Francis
of Assisi
|
| The Exorcist
(1973)
- Father Merrin and Father Karras are
called to what they both seem to know will be their deaths in order to
confront the demon.
- Father Karras' call/immediate decision
to sacrifice himself in order to keep the demon from killing Regan.
|
| The Poseidon Adventure
(1972)
- The young priest calls the others to follow him.
"I found it! I've been too the engine room, and we're going to go
there! This Way!"
|
| Fiddler on the Roof
(1971)
- "I know. I know. We are your chosen people. But,
once in awhile, can't you choose someone else?" (Tevye)
|
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid (1969)
- "Who are those guys?" (About the men
who are tracking them.) Leap off the cliff into water. (May be an
expletive here!)
|
| Mission Impossible (television,
1966-1973)
- A call/mission was always presented, and
then the famous words, "should you choose to accept it!" .
|
| A Man for All
Seasons (1966) |
| Becket (1964) |
| To Kill a
Mockingbird (1962) |
| The
Night of the Hunter (1955)
- "Rev Harry Powell" uses
religious language and the disguise of a preacher to describe his
"call" to find another woman to rob and murder. (Not all
"call" are genuine, either those perceived or those
expressed.)
|
| The Wizard of
Oz (1939)
- Dorothy gathers disciples for the Wizard (Bill Mosley, Frelsburg TX)
|