The evenings are long, cold and dark in these northern parts of Europe during this time of year. Time for books and movies!
Books are sometimes stories that can offer comfort. You may recognize yourself in a story, a character, and suddenly know you’re not alone. You can certainly feel the same way with movies. You start to relate to the film you’re watching and the personalities it reveals.
Recommendation:
Read the book you’re watching
a movie about.
Sometimes the movie
takes on a life of its own.
Whether that’s a good or bad thing
is up for discussion.
“BANG! That’s it!” This past year, I went through a very rough period. And suddenly, there was that scene from The Lord of the Rings that I completely identified with: Frodo climbs the mountain with Samwise. Gollum disrupts their relationship by sowing discord over the pieces of elven bread. He crumbles it and lets the precious bread roll down the mountain. Gollum sows discord, confusion, and recrimination.
This is such an absolutely horrific scene in the film. The two (Frodo and Samwise) desperately need to be united in their efforts because they are on their way to something greater: the return of the Ring. These obstacles on the way are evil in its ultimate form.
Oddly enough, it’s comforting
to recognize a situation in an old story.
It lifts you above your own situation.
Without further ado, here’s a list of our family’s favorite movies. You’re responsible for what you watch and what you don’t. Some movies are for little ones, others not at all. We don’t watch a lot ourselves, but a wonderful movie night once a week is a habit we’ve maintained for years. Now that the girls are leaving the nest, it’s taking on a different form again.
For convenience, I’ll divide it a bit into categories:
During the Christmas holidays, we have been watching for over twelve years now: The Lord of the Rings, the extended version. The Hobbit is part of this. It precedes it and is actually just as good an introduction to Middle Earth. And don’t forget to read Tolkien’s books and scroll through his Wikipedia page. (Don’t you love his lovestory?)
All Terrance Malic movies: The Tree of Life,(I even wrote an extensive blog about this.) This is the film that touched us the most of all the movies, so I’m putting it pretty much at the top.
Must-see movies for kids: Wind in the Willows (1983) Bob the Builder, Postman Pat (1981). We prefer the older ones. We seem to avoid Hollywood and the big guys quite a bit.
English costume dramas and romantic films: (Oh how wonderful with three daughters)
- Pride and Prejudice There’s a later version with Keira Knightley, but we prefer the calmer 1995 version, which also shows the character change (about misunderstandings and stubborn characters).
- Far from the Madding Crowd (about a stubborn woman in leadership).
- North & South (cultural differences in England, injustice for workers).
- Little Women (which of the little women do you identify with the most?)
- Sense & Sensibility (Do you use your head or your heart? Or both? A big theme here)
- Potato Peel Pie Society. (War in Ireland and yet stubbornly continuing to seek beauty in literature and coming together. What strength! A young woman writer and so much pain and sorrow. The fact that one of the main actors bears the surname Huisman is a nice detail, of course)
- The Crown; the episode that moved me the most is the Aberfan episode. A piece of history completely unknown to me came to life.
You’ll probably notice:
Our film landscape is
lush and diverse.
With all sorts of scenes.
Don’t expect cohesion here,
but rather a bouquet of movies.
For the character development of your children, we believe: Amazing Grace is an important film. It’s about William Wilberforce, who played a key role in the abolition of slavery. John Newton also appears in this film. Amazing! “There’s work to be done, Wilber, just do it!” (a line we use regularly here to encourage each other to finish something that we hesitate to complete).
This film about Dido Elizabeth Belle also falls into this category. It also has a nice romantic storyline. Lord Mansfield likes to keep his work and personal life separate. But that preference is seriously challenged this time! The book Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle holds a different line. It is an informative book that picks out about ten important figures from that period and highlights them briefly. Very informative! Quite different from the movie, indeed. I love the book too! Make sure you read and watch them both.
Jane Austen wrote Mansfield Park in roughly the same time period. I love watching different stories and films from certain time periods, which really brings them to life in the mind’s eye.
War:
Sarajevo We stood on that corner there in Sarajevo as a family (in 2019, just before our move back to the Netherlands, as we decided to make one final trip in the wider area.) Exactly where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking the First World War. A movie comes even more alive in that way.
Ida: An intense film set in the aftermath of World War II. Young Ida’s decision to join the nunnery and how she arrives at that decision are beautifully depicted. (Not for children.) Eastern European vibe from the early fifties…Oh my!
A few classics:
- The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980!) and Babette’s Feast Both are classics. See for yourself and be surprised. The first is about intercultural differences and the awkwardness thereof. The second is about subcultures, hospitality, and doing good in a small community.
- The Sound of Music. Who’s Mary in our family? The unfit nun?
- Beauty & the Beast; fun to watch in a different language. I am slowly, slowly learning German, and this is a fun way to do that.
We love, love murder mysteries:
- Father Brown; We’ve seen them all, really. It’s wonderful how the local priest always outsmarts the police because he has insight into the dark side of the human soul.
- Sherlock Holmes, It’s sometimes pretty violent, so I go back to the kitchen to make tea. I’m still running away from violent scenes but it’s fun!
- Merlock Mysteries is set in Toronto, and that, of course, appeals to our imagination because we lived there from 2010–2012.
Call the Midwife; about the lives of midwives in London in the 1950s. I even crocheted two blankets while watching it: the “Call the Midwife” blanket. “
We love watching Chocolate during lent, just with a wink to humanity. Gypsies wandering along the river and an angry priest losing control. Sounds fun, eh?
If you like to practise your Dutch and see how the Netherlands was in the eighties, this is a fun one: No subtitles. 😉De“zevensprong” A time travel to the time that Jelle and I were children.
We love Greenwood Tree. Simply delightfully romantic. A rich man, the preacher, and the hardworking farm boy from the village all chase after the charming schoolteacher. Who will be the lucky one? Family-proof for sure and, to be honest, a bit less intense than The Lord of the Rings. A sweet treat between hearty meals, so to speak.
Cooking and blogging: Julie & Julia. Delightful!!
Cooking, cultural differences and a little romance: The One Hundred-Foot Journey. Oh, joy!
One day, when you are really bored and want to time-travel to 1936: Windbag the Sailor. Math depends on your perspective: “One cookie for you, one cookie for you and one, two, three for me.”
In one scene in the King’s Speech, you see Leroy (the king’s private therapist) reciting quotes to his sons. The game is for them to guess who wrote the quote. In our family, we can play the same game with movie quotes.
A few American movies:
- The Great Debaters. About the art of telling your story well and thereby really making a difference.
- The Last Station. About dying in peace. Leo Tolstoy chooses to die at a tiny station in the middle of nowhere. It’s about passionate women, community, radical ideas, and ordinary, everyday Russian life.
- Lincoln. About the life of Abraham Lincoln. About true servant leadership. I was recently told by American friends that the actor playing Lincoln spent weeks living the way he does in the film, immersing himself in every detail. I think you’ll feel that when you see it. Fantastic! Pretty much family-friendly.
- The Terminal. About how you can also live in an airport. Hilarious. Cultural differences and different perspectives on the world and life in general.
Films by Robin Williams (not always kid-proof)
Our fourteen-year-old son Laurens loves Godfather and says it is a must see. But our oldest daughter Maria regrets that she mentioned this one to him. Laurens says: It is a masterpiece, just the storyline. It is daddy and son time, because all that violence is, just like Maria says: “not my cup of tea”.
I wrap this list up with Silence: do read the book. That is a masterpiece indeed, if you ask me.
Which movie do you find a “must see“?
I can’t wait to hear it!