Movies/Scenes
Representing
Eucharist/Communion
- The Matrix
(1999)
- Neo is taken to the Oracle who meets (and feeds) people in her kitchen. She gives Neo a cookie and commissions Neo, though he does not learn the truth about his identity.
- Smoke Signals (1998)
- "A great feast scene with eucharistic overtones."
- Soul Food (1997)
- Men in Black
(1997)
- The final scene from "Men In Black" was helpful in a communion sermon on remembering and forgetting. Sometimes a "neurolizer" would be very helpful as we seek to put painful memories behind us so we can move on in life in healthy ways. (Holly Boardman)
- Sling Blade
(1996)
- Karl [as Christ figure] accepts an invitation to dine at the home of Vaughan, along with Vaughan?s companion and a mentally handicapped woman from the dollar store. The parallels with the Lukan portrait of Jesus are obvious. In Luke?s Gospel, Jesus is always sitting down at a meal, going to, or coming from a meal. In first century Palestine, the Pharisees are often portrayed as declining to dine at the table with certain people, using this as the ultimate insult in their culture. Social and religious ostracism were part of the conventional wisdom of the day. By contrast, Karl, like Jesus, dines with people whom conventional religious wisdom would label "sinners." ("The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical Epic," Matthew McEver, Journal of Religion and Film, 1998.)
- Phenomenon
(1996)
- In our Contemporary Worship Service we knew there were some who would need to be taught about Communion and we used the scene from "Phenomenom" where John Travolta shares the apple with the youngsters, explaining how once you eat the apple it becomes a part of you. One child takes a bite, but the other is reluctant, and then dives in. (submitted by Buzz Trexler, Knoxville TN)
- Eat Drink Man Woman (Yinshi nan nu) (1994)
- Alive (1993)
- There is a scene in the movie "Alive" in which plane crash survivors reluctantly resort to eating bits of flesh from victims in order to live. Not for the squeamish, but still tastefully done (no pun intended). The first to cross this taboo does so almost prayerfully. In fact, the whole movie is full of spiritual references. (S. Doyal)
- Like Water for Chocolat (Como agua para chocolate) (1992)
- Jesus of Montreal
(1989)
- A brief scene where the actors cut up a pizza and share some wine. (submitted by Kurt Hansen)
- Empire of
the Sun (1987)
- When Jim is finally rescued by soldiers he holds up a can of condensed milk in a reverent pose, as if it were a chalice. (submitted by Michael Clark, Hamilton, Canada)
- Babbette's
Feast
(1987)
- pastor's memorial banquet seats 12, creates reconciled relationships among community.
- Places in the Heart
(1984)
- Final Eucharist scene - reconciliation and interconnectedness between characters in the story.
- Papillon (1973)
- Coconuts as symbol of liberation, integrity, friendship, Sabbath. Shared with Papillon by Degas and by others.
- M*A*S*H (1970)
- M*A*S*H (film version) stages a last supper a la DaVinci before the psuedo-suicide of the dentist. (submitted by Darrel Manson)
- Cool Hand Luke
(1967)
- I don't have a one to one relationship for this analogy, but the scene after Luke comes out of the box for a week, and his stomach is shrunk so that he can't eat his rice, when prisoner after prisoner takes a scoop of his rice so that he won't have to be punished anymore gives me a strong feeling of the communal aspect of the Lord's Supper. Take and eat, this is my body... (Tim Ihssen)
