Barabbas is an unusual specimen of the midcentury Hollywood Biblical epic, more spiritually searching (and edgier) than its peers. Starring Anthony Quinn as the criminal released by Pilate in place of Christ, Barabbas is based on a 1950 novel by Nobel winner Pär Lagerkvist (recently listed by Anthony Esolen among the greatest religious novels of the 20th century). It follows Barabbas through a long life in the shadow of the Cross, haunted and struggling to comprehend the meaning of having had his life exchanged for Christ’s. He becomes almost an archetype of human resistance to grace – but in the end, does he nonetheless surrender himself to what he doesn’t understand?

Br. Joshua Vargas, Cong.Orat., returns to the show to discuss this intriguing film.

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James and Thomas discuss a minor classic of religious cinema, the spiritually edifying (and humorous!) Russian film The Island, about a fictional Orthodox monk and “holy fool” who has special spiritual gifts, but remains racked with guilt over a terrible crime he committed in his youth.

The Island can be viewed on YouTube (the subtitles are a different translation from the ones on Amazon): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-vegualMg&ab_channel=SergeyKorsakov

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The Criteria crew continues its series on the films of Terrence Malick, jumping ahead to the experimental documentary Voyage of Time, which was co-produced by the Knights of Columbus! Voyage of Time portrays the history of the cosmos, the Earth, and the living creatures on it from the beginning of the universe to its end. The main point of the film is simply to evoke wonder at creation with its gorgeous photography, sound design and music.

The film exists in two versions: a 45-minute version narrated by Brad Pitt (Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience), and a 90-minute version narrated by Cate Blanchett (Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey). James, Thomas, and Nathan Douglas all agree that the long version is generally superior. However, they debate over the content of the narration (which, in both films, is of an existential rather than scientific nature). Thomas contends that the narration in the long version, rather than inspiring the viewer to seek the truth about the meaning of the universe, seems to leave us swimming in a muddled and uninspiring metaphysical soup. James defends the narration as a “phenomenological” portrayal of primitive man’s varying interpretations of the cosmos, rather than a set of consistent truth propositions.

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Poet and philosopher James Matthew Wilson joins the podcast to discuss two films by the Marx Brothers (Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera). Wilson also reads one of his poems featuring allusions to the Marx Brothers, and talks about the letters written between Groucho Marx and T.S. Eliot.

James Matthew Wilson, The Strangeness of the Good https://angelicopress.com/products/the-strangeness-of-the-good

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On the latest episode of Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast, Andrew Petiprin joins James and Thomas to discuss the late David Lynch's most uplifting film, The Elephant Man. The film is based on the real Victorian-era life of Joseph Merrick, a man who suffered terrible abuse because of his extreme deformities, yet whose human dignity was ultimately recognized and allowed to flourish by those who rescued him and cared for him with Christian compassion.

Panel on film at Notre Dame with Thomas Mirus, Andrew Petiprin, and Nathan Douglas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7oE8d6RcCw&ab_channel=deNicolaCenterforEthicsandCulture

Andrew's book Popcorn with the Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/popcorn-with-the-pope

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James and Thomas discuss Nicholas Ray's thrilling 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place. In an outstanding, nuanced performance, Humphrey Bogart plays quick-tempered screenwriter Dixon Steele, who enters into a fast-moving relationship with Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) just as he is under suspicion for the murder of another young woman. The investigation puts a strain on their romance, revealing the problems of relationships without the requisite mutual trust.

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Oscar-nominated writer and director Timothy Reckart rejoins the podcast to discuss a movie that has a marked resonance with the Nativity story, Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliantly crafted dystopian thriller Children of Men. Set in 2027, it depicts a world that has fallen into despair and chaos because of a worldwide infertility crisis: no one has been able to have a baby in eighteen years. The film, made in 2006, depicts a future England looks in many ways like today’s: childlessness, terrorism, and state-provided euthanasia. In the midst of all this, jaded protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) is given the task of secretly escorting a young refugee woman to the coast - and then discovers that she is pregnant.

Sycamore Studios https://sycamorestudios.com/

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The Tree of Life may well be the greatest movie ever made. Heavily inspired by the book of Job and St. Augustine's Confessions (and even including some lines about nature and grace seemingly derived from The Imitation of Christ), director Terrence Malick gives profound spiritual and cosmic scope to the story of an ordinary family in 1950s Texas.

The film begins with the death of a son, detours to the creation of the universe, and then flashes back to a richly observed sequence of childhood in all its beauty along with the tragic effects of sin - seen through the memory of a present-day narrator seeking the traces of God in his past.

The greatness of The Tree of Life lies in its unmatched poetic power. Unless you've seen another Terrence Malick film, it will be unlike anything you've seen before. Though it has a story, it is less focused on plot development than on an archetypal yet vivid picture of family life and how we gain, lose, and recover our awareness of "love smiling through all things".

The film does not follow typical rules of chronological or visual continuity (one could say it is almost entirely montage), but its improvisational freedom and fluidity in acting, cinematography, and editing make for a kinetic and exhilarating viewing experience. The portrayal of childhood is surely the most beautiful ever put on screen.

Nathan Douglas joins as guest host in this continuation of our series covering Malick's filmography.

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