The Seven Go To the Movies — Part 1

Dear St Andrew’s,

The school holidays are almost here. For some, that means travelling; for others, entertaining children or grandchildren; and for still others, enjoying the slightly quieter roads while everybody else does the travelling and entertaining.

It may also mean time for a movie. So, for the next two weeks, I thought I would offer some holiday viewing inspired by our sermon series, The Seven: From Vice to Virtue. This week, here are four films corresponding to the first four pairings we have considered.

Pride to Humility – The Greatest Showman (2017; Rotten Tomatoes 56%)

This musical is very loosely based on the life of P. T. Barnum—“very loosely” being the sort of phrase historians employ while quietly reaching for a cold compress.

From humble beginnings, Barnum builds a spectacularly successful show. But his desire to prove himself gradually becomes a hunger for recognition, respectability and applause. In pursuit of a larger audience, he neglects both the people who helped him succeed and the family who already loves him.

Only when his ambition has cost him his reputation, his theatre and almost his family does he begin to see clearly. Barnum’s story illustrates the false promise of pride: that we can create our own identity and secure our worth through other people’s admiration. Humility begins when we receive our worth rather than continually trying to perform for it.

Envy to Kindness – Amadeus (1984; Rotten Tomatoes 90%)

Set in eighteenth-century Vienna, Amadeus tells the fictionalised story of the relationship between court composer Antonio Salieri and his extraordinarily gifted rival, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Salieri has devoted himself to music and longs to be great. Then Mozart appears—immature, irritating and effortlessly brilliant. Salieri cannot rejoice in Mozart’s gift because Mozart’s success feels like his own failure. He becomes consumed by envy of Mozart and anger towards God.

It is a powerful depiction of envy’s peculiar misery. Envy does not merely want what another person possesses; it resents them for possessing it. Rather than enjoying beautiful music, Salieri is tortured by it. Kindness takes the opposite path: receiving another person’s gifts as something to celebrate rather than a threat to ourselves.

Sloth to Diligence – Groundhog Day (1993; Rotten Tomatoes 93%)

Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman, is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebrations. He then finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving 2 February again and again and again—which may sound rather like the first week of entertaining children during the holidays.

Initially, Phil uses his predicament for pleasure and manipulation. Later, he sinks into despair and spends his days doing nothing. Eventually, however, he begins to change. He learns new skills, helps those around him and becomes attentive to the needs of others. Little by little, day by day, repeated actions reshape his character.

That makes Groundhog Day an unusually good picture of the journey from sloth to diligence. Phil is not transformed by one grand gesture, but through the patient practice of doing good.

Anger to Patience and Gentleness – The Mission (1986; Rotten Tomatoes 63%)

This magnificent but much more serious film is set among the Guaraní people of eighteenth-century South America.

Rodrigo Mendoza is a slave trader who, in a fit of jealous rage, kills his brother. Overcome by remorse, he undertakes a painful penance and eventually joins the Jesuit mission he once threatened. Yet when the mission itself comes under attack, his old instinct towards violence returns.

The film explores the difference between destructive anger and righteous anger, and between retaliatory violence and patient, gentle love. Father Gabriel’s gentleness is not weakness or indifference to injustice. He courageously resists evil, but refuses to become like the evil he opposes. The film does not offer easy answers, but it gives us much to discuss about anger, justice, repentance and the way of Christ.

At the time of writing, The Greatest Showman is on Disney+; the Director’s Cut of Amadeus is available free with advertisements on Tubi; Groundhog Day is on SBS On Demand and Tubi; and The Mission is on Prime Video. Streaming catalogues can change, so it may be worth checking before settling down with the popcorn.

These are four very different films: a musical, a costume drama, a comedy and a historical epic. They also vary in maturity and intensity, so parents may want to check their suitability before announcing a family movie night.

Whichever film you choose, you might discuss three questions afterwards: What good thing is the character seeking? How has that desire become disordered? And what begins to lead them towards something better?

Next week: greed, indulgence and lust—which sounds less like a movie list and more like a particularly eventful holiday!

God bless,

James