I'm pretty mixed on Spotlight myself. On the one hand, the film as a film is unobjectionable. I actually thought it was very restrained in its portrayal of the scandal, as Christopher said showing that the whole Boston community was complicit in this scandal, consciously or unconsciously. If we "read" the film divorced from context, I actually think there's some good spiritual and historical reflection Catholics can take from it.
On the other hand, it was clearly green-lit and won so many awards precisely because the scandalous institution in question was the Catholic Church. The same movie but about journalists investigating abuse cover-ups in public schools would never have been made, much less won Oscars. Can the intent behind a film be divorced from it's objective qualities? That's a question I wrestle with.
Strong evidence for your second paragraph: Documentary director Amy Berg made a film called Deliver Us from Evil (2006) about the Catholic abuse crisis by investigating one Irish priest who lived in California and the many people he hurt. It was critically acclaimed (100% at Rotten Tomatoes with 71 reviews) and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. You can easily buy that film on disc or stream it. I have a couple of issues with the movie but overall, it is incredibly effective and unforgettable.
Years later, Amy Berg made a film called An Open Secret (2014) about how minors get sexually exploited in Hollywood. It was well-received but mostly ignored (89% at Rotten Tomatoes with only 18 reviews). No Oscar nomination. I have looked several times, but I can't find it on disc or available for streaming anywhere. I haven't seen it yet but I want to.
Absolutely. Our appreciation of things is totally contextual, even if the piece of art itself is objectively good. I think Spotlight is objectively a good film, but I can't fully get on board with it because of the context in which it was made, feted, and marketed.
Seems a lot of people like it as a condemnation of clerical abuse rather than an overall condemnation of the Church. I've never seen it, so I can't really comment on its prevalence here. A lot of people voted for it though.
Have you actually seen Spotlight? I picked it as my #3 movie. I didn't see it as anti-Catholic and many others didn't either. It doesn't just show the leaders of the Church being complicit and complacent about clergy sex abuse; the community at large and even the newspaper itself are called out too. Here's an article about the Catholic response to this film: https://decentfilms.com/articles/catholic-response-to-spotlight
Kenneth Branagh’s _Cinderella_ in the top 5 is a pleasant surprise! It’s easily the best of the Disney live-action remakes (maybe even the only good one), and Lily James and Cate Blanchett were superb.
Great list as usual! I actually thought it was going to be 25 films. In the last list, my #1 was #1 and in this list, my #2 was #2. Ha! I'm glad to see Cinderella so high up, even though I didn't vote for it. I would have put it in my top 10 though.
Happy to see my top 5 all in the top 10! 2015 is a really special year for me.
I love the polls! Please keep them up
Spotlight? The Anti-Catholic hit piece?
I'm pretty mixed on Spotlight myself. On the one hand, the film as a film is unobjectionable. I actually thought it was very restrained in its portrayal of the scandal, as Christopher said showing that the whole Boston community was complicit in this scandal, consciously or unconsciously. If we "read" the film divorced from context, I actually think there's some good spiritual and historical reflection Catholics can take from it.
On the other hand, it was clearly green-lit and won so many awards precisely because the scandalous institution in question was the Catholic Church. The same movie but about journalists investigating abuse cover-ups in public schools would never have been made, much less won Oscars. Can the intent behind a film be divorced from it's objective qualities? That's a question I wrestle with.
Strong evidence for your second paragraph: Documentary director Amy Berg made a film called Deliver Us from Evil (2006) about the Catholic abuse crisis by investigating one Irish priest who lived in California and the many people he hurt. It was critically acclaimed (100% at Rotten Tomatoes with 71 reviews) and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. You can easily buy that film on disc or stream it. I have a couple of issues with the movie but overall, it is incredibly effective and unforgettable.
Years later, Amy Berg made a film called An Open Secret (2014) about how minors get sexually exploited in Hollywood. It was well-received but mostly ignored (89% at Rotten Tomatoes with only 18 reviews). No Oscar nomination. I have looked several times, but I can't find it on disc or available for streaming anywhere. I haven't seen it yet but I want to.
Do you see what I mean?
Absolutely. Our appreciation of things is totally contextual, even if the piece of art itself is objectively good. I think Spotlight is objectively a good film, but I can't fully get on board with it because of the context in which it was made, feted, and marketed.
Seems a lot of people like it as a condemnation of clerical abuse rather than an overall condemnation of the Church. I've never seen it, so I can't really comment on its prevalence here. A lot of people voted for it though.
Have you actually seen Spotlight? I picked it as my #3 movie. I didn't see it as anti-Catholic and many others didn't either. It doesn't just show the leaders of the Church being complicit and complacent about clergy sex abuse; the community at large and even the newspaper itself are called out too. Here's an article about the Catholic response to this film: https://decentfilms.com/articles/catholic-response-to-spotlight
Kenneth Branagh’s _Cinderella_ in the top 5 is a pleasant surprise! It’s easily the best of the Disney live-action remakes (maybe even the only good one), and Lily James and Cate Blanchett were superb.
Great list as usual! I actually thought it was going to be 25 films. In the last list, my #1 was #1 and in this list, my #2 was #2. Ha! I'm glad to see Cinderella so high up, even though I didn't vote for it. I would have put it in my top 10 though.