Two new appointments.

Meta Jackman: We congratulate Meta who has accepted the invitation to be on the inaugural MSC Safeguarding Commission of the General Council.

The other three members are Ms Christina Campbell (Glasgow), Fr James Espuerto MSC (Philippines Province) and Ms Mary Tallon (Ireland). Meta has done outstanding and tireless work as Director of Professional Standards and Safeguarding for the Australian Province. The first meeting will be via Zoom in early October.

Stephen Hackett MSC: The Pope will launch the global process next month in Rome, with dioceses to launch a months-long period of consultation on October 17, followed by national and regional consultation.

Trudy Dantis, the director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research, has been appointed to lead the Australian engagement with the Holy See. Other members of the national committee are Daniel Ang, director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation; Bishops Conference general secretary Fr Stephen Hackett MSC; Australian Catholic Council for Pastoral Research chair Professor Gabrielle McMullen; Diocese of Sale liturgy and pastoral ministry coordinator Sophy Morley; and Plenary Council facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins.The committee is being supported by staff from the National Centre for Pastoral Research.

Zooming in on the General Conference.

The General Conference is taking place this week.

One picture worth a thousand words.  In this picture there are 31 individual pictures, so with the main photo, here are the equivalent of 32,000 words! 

For your consideration!

New Director, Heart of Life Centre for Spiritual and Pastoral Formation, Clare Shearman.

Clare and her husband, Artie, with Brian Gallagher, Shoreham 2021

21 September 2021

Dear Friends of Heart of Life,

It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Clare Shearman as Director: Heart of Life Centre for Spiritual and Pastoral Formation, effective 1 January 2022. The selection process took place over several days, with a panel of five members chaired by Rev Fr Chris McPhee msc, the Provincial Superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Australian Province.

I am very grateful to the selection panel for their participation in the selection process, and for their wise and considered reflections which led to a unanimous decision to appoint Clare to the position of Director. Clare will work closely with me during November and December and will be ready to assume full responsibility of Heart of Life from 1 January next year. Clare will be the fifth person to occupy this position, following on from Brian Gallagher msc, Sue Richardson pbvm, Cheryl Bourke pbvm and myself.

I ask you to please join with me in congratulating Clare on her upcoming role as Director: Heart of Life Centre for Spiritual and Pastoral Formation and we look forward to the continued growth and development of Heart of Life under her direction.

Very best wishes.

Paul

Eulogy: Sr Patricia Mary Mawn fdnsc (9.5.1926 - 6.9.2021)

I want to say one word to you and this word is joy. Wherever consecrated people are, there is always joy! - Pope Francis

This simple statement is a beautiful summary of our dear Sr Patricia Mawn’s whole life: a rich life of 95 years, lived with Jesus and for Jesus. On September 6^th our dear Sister Patricia or Pat as she was known gently and peacefully breathed her last breath as she surrendered to her loving God whom she had served lovingly and faithfully as a Daughter of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for over seven decades.

To Pat’s relatives, especially her cousins, Margaret, Tom, Claire and Brian and their families, who loved her so much and are deeply saddened by her death, we offer our deep sympathy and love.  We also offer sympathy to those who join us from around the world, especially, our Sisters the Parishioners and our associates from Corinda.

It was on 21^st October, 1928 that Pat was baptised at St Francis Church, West End in Brisbane.  At this time, she was known as Dorothy Dashwood, being the daughter of Charles Dashwood and Isabella Callahan. Soon after this she was adopted by Francis and May Mawn and received the name Patricia Mary. She then became the much loved only child in a devout Catholic family who by their loving example and deep faith formed our dear Pat’s loving, generous heart.   She tells us that for years their house was open for the priests who came to say Mass and each of these would stay for the weekend. It is clear that Pat inherited her open welcoming heart from her parents.

Because her father was a policeman, she was influenced greatly by the  many moves around the city and outback Queensland. She was educated by the Sisters of St Joseph and the Good Samaritans in Brisbane, at a State school in North Queensland, and spent four years boarding at a school conducted by the Sisters of Mercy at Huberton. It was at these schools that she received her music lessons and her great and lifelong love of music.

After she left school she worked for some years as a telephonist in different country towns. For her like many others of her age the years of the second World War left a lasting effect on her.  She clearly remembered that during her time in North Queensland several divisions of the Army were stationed nearby. Then, in 1948 she joined the Novitiate of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Bowral. Her Parish Priest wrote a glowing report about her during the time he knew her from 1943.  He tells us that she was a good, pious, and exemplary Catholic girl who gave religious instruction to the children of the parish and prepared them for their first confession and Holy Communion and helped with turning the local hall at Landsborough into a church for the Sunday Mass. At times she also acted as the Altar Server. Pat was a capable young woman and when she saw a need she responded with enthusiasm and joy.

When she was professed in July, 1950, she began her life long ministry as a music teacher. She was a wonderful teacher, very gentle and caring of all her pupils. To become better equipped for her teaching in 1960 she gained her Association in Music, a diploma awarded to outstanding candidates in musical performance and theory. After this she taught music in OLSH Schools in many parts of Australia including Toowoomba, Daceyville, Alice Springs, Darwin, Mascot, Bowral, and Kensington. Her music teaching began and ended in her much loved Corinda. In community she is remembered as always being interested in others, full of fun and a pleasant person to be with who enjoyed her recreation time.

During her retirement in Corinda she kept up with her music by playing the organ in the church for many years and she so loved playing music that frequently at night she went into the back room of the convent where there was a piano and with her headphones on, so as to not disturb anyone, she would play the piano for quite a long time. She also played the guitar, which came to St Joseph’s with her and which she played whenever she could, until her fingers could no longer pluck the strings. Pat was a much-loved member of the Corinda Parish, She was especially loved by our OLSH Associates in Corinda for her graciousness, listening ear and sense of humour.

She kept busy with other interests too. Pat helped with Meals on Wheels and the people she worked with thought very highly of her.  She made good friends among those she worked with preparing the meals in the kitchen for the drivers to collect. She did this for many years each Friday after Mass at Canossa. Pat loved travel. She really loved going by train. Each year she would go on a train trip to Cairns; stay in a backpacker hostel there for a couple of nights; and then make her way back to Corinda by train.  Her last trip was just before she turned 90.  When she knew she could not manage it any more, she just said, “this was my last trip”, and she was very sad about it.  If Pat needed to go to Sydney, her preferred mode of transport was by train.  She couldn’t be persuaded to go by plane. Pat enjoyed family gatherings with her cousins Margaret and Tom and she loved her trips to Bilinga. Quite often she went on these trips with her cousins Claire and Brian, who remember these times with great fondness

Pat was a deeply spiritual woman. At Corinda she was known to sit in the Chapel for hours at a time just conversing with her God.  She loved these times and her life at this stage centred around these precious moments of prayer. She could say with Fr Jules Chevalier, “After so many signs of love, could we hesitate in giving him our boundless trust.”

Those who lived with Pat can say that their lives were greatly enriched from having known her, because in her own quiet, and determined way, she had so much to give and always gave graciously.

In 2019, as Pat’s health was failing, she joined the community of St Joseph’s at our aged care facility, where she was beautifully cared for until her death.

We thank God for the many gifts given to Sr Patricia, we thank the Mawn family for their gift of her to our religious family.  We know Pat loved her family greatly and held her cousins close to her heart.

We thank you Pat for your welcoming heart, your deep spirituality, graciousness, and warm smile. May your gentle soul rest in peace.

THE QUARRY

 

US, 2020, 98 minutes, Colour.

Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Bobby Soto, Bruno Bichir, Alvaro Martinez, Jimmy Gonzales.

Directed by Scott Teems.

 

The Quarry is a small but intriguing drama. It also has a religious theme, an escaped prisoner taking the identity of a pastor in and taking his place in the small Texas town. (Cinemagoers may remember the Polish film, Corpus Christie, where a young worker is mistaken for the parish priest and he assumes the role with quite an effect on the congregation.)

The film opens with the pastor driving to a new parish after his sexual relationship that led to his condemnation. He gives a lift to a man on the side of the road, feeds him, stops at the quarry, confesses to him, urging the stranger also to confess. Instead, the man, revealed as a former prisoner who has escaped, police and helicopter search for him, kills him.

There is quite some drama in the small town as the alleged pastor settles in, looked after by a Hispanic housekeeper, his luggage stolen from the van, discussions with the local sheriff, his taking up the ministry, speaking by way of translated to a small congregation, congregation gradually increasing, his having to conduct a baptism in the river by immersion, officiate at a funeral…

The film has a strong cast. It is a star vehicle for character actor, Shea Whigham, as the escaped convict. Michael Shannon as the sheriff. Catalina Sandino Moreno is the housekeeper, Bobby Soto is her cousin, a drug dealer who is accused of stealing the pastors goods, along with his younger brother, then of the murder of the pastor when his skeleton is discovered. He continues to protest his innocence and blames the new pastor.

The film is a psychological study – of all of the characters and their complexities in the small town. However, it is also a story about the need to confess, to be free of guilt, and even to atone.

 

1. The title? What happened in the quarry? The visuals of the quarry?

2. A story of West Texas, the open plains, the small town, streets, homes, police precincts, the church, the quarry and the river? The musical score?

3. The story of The Man, no name given, lying on the side of the road, saved by David Martin, in the truck, week, at the diner, the water, the food? David Martin and his ministry, travelling to the town? The Man in his response to the hints, the police helicopter, not telling his story? Martin telling his story, at the quarry, the confession, his misbehaviour, religious guilt, trying to persuade The Man to confess? The Man and his reaction, hitting Martin, his death? Dragging him, burying him?

4. The man taking Martin’s identity, going to the town, the church, the encounter with Poco, his band being robbed? The meeting with Celia? With John?

5. The Man and his decision to be the religious Minister, the Bible? Going to the church? The few people coming, not speaking English, the translation? His reading of the texts? The impact of hearing the texts? More people coming to the church? His saying he was a sinner? The response of the people? The woman wanting to be baptised, the ceremony on the river? The Man and his being able to sustain his role, the stole, the robe?

6. Poco and Ramon, stealing from the van, going through the clothes, the purple flowers, the bloodstained clothes? Ramon and his suspicions? The brothers and the flight, Ramon arrested, imprisoned, bashed, his confession? Three days in prison? His complaints about The Man?

7. John, memories of his father, the law, his associates, imprisonment of Ramon? Suspicions of drug deals – and Poco later with the marijuana plants? The pursuit of the brothers, imprisoning Ramon? Questions? The finding of the body, assumption of guilt, someone from across the border? John and his relationship with Celia, her being a cousin of Ramon?

8. Celia, coming to Texas as a child, staying, at the church, the various ministers coming and going? Her relationship with John? Her reaction to The Man, helping him, conversations, singing the hymn?

9. Ramon and the lawyer, his refusal? The judge and the travel, in court, The Man coming in his robe, the hesitation about his name, eventually saying David Martin? The proceedings, Ramon, the upset, Poco running?

10. The finding of the body, decomposed, the clue of the flowers? The Man and his conducting the ceremony?

11. Celia, leaving, back to Mexico, poco?

12. The Man, his feelings of guilt, flashbacks to David Martin? In the boat, Ramon in the boat, his complete confession to Ramon, the death of his wife and her lover, of David Martin? Ramon killing him?

13. Themes of sin, guilt, confession, atonement, forgiveness, retribution?

 MSC GENERAL ADMINISTRATION MEETINGS  

This week sees the next phase of the General Conference, all by Zoom. Chris Chaplin, third counsellor, consigliere terzo, offers a reflection on the functioning of the General MSC Administration.

_{Thrust into international leadership three years ago, the General Leadership Team has had a very steep learning curve in its first three years. Apart from the massive task of five strangers coming together from the four corners of the earth to build a cohesive team, was the mystery of learning how administrations operate at the General level. Bumping up against the edges of congregational structures, we gradually discovered how the boundaries define an administration, and how open or closed they were to its influence.}

_{Administrations are made up of people. Roles and responsibilities, functions and systems don’t actually exist separately to the individuals who shape them. So, one of the significant undertakings of the Leadership Team has been to work together with the permanent members of the General Administration to co-create a group who can relate well and function in service of the Society’s mission.}

_{Our constitutions use the term “collaborators” for the members of the General Administration that include the Secretariat, Bursar, Postulator, Procurator, Archivist and since 2018 a permanent position for Safeguarding. In the last six months there have been some significant changes of collaborators. Benny Laisina has taken Hans Ngala’s position as Bursar, Robertus Sumarwata finished as Archivist, and Hengki Ponamon will begin archive training programs this year, while Polce Pitoy acts in that role for the present time. Richard Suresh has joined the Secretariat as an Assistant to the Administration. As collaborators, all these people co-labour for the whole Society, but one might be mistaken in thinking that they are here to labour for the other group – the General Council.}

_{The vision of leadership that steers us is better imagined as a complete circle of equal parts having different functions. We have moved away from constitutional terminology such a collaborators and councils to a language which better describes the leadership paradigm out of which we aspire to work. We speak of the council as a leadership team and the collaborators as an administrative team, together forming the one General Administration.}

_{Calling on the wisdom of the group we have developed some organisational strategies to strengthen both teams and the administration as a whole. We have begun to have quarterly meetings of individual offices with the leadership team. The initial purpose of these meetings is to develop a common understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each member of the Administration. These are also opportunities to hear specific issues and to affirm individuals in the gifts they bring to their ministries.}

_{It has also been important to institute quarterly meetings of the whole administration so that everyone hears everyone, including those in an assistant role, one of whom is Ms. Sophia Amante, a laywoman whose exceptional contribution in our finance office and management of the domestic needs of the General House is gratefully acknowledged. Team leadership should encourage the voice of all the players no matter what their position. This builds ownership and trust. Equally everyone has the responsibility of listening in such a way that all feel heard. Indeed, empathic, and generative listening is at the heart of this vision of leadership. Everyone in the team is called to accept the leadership of their own role so that we develop a team of leaders who can together follow the common wisdom, rather than a leader with a team of followers following his wisdom.}

_{The sound of joy in a team says something about the quality of the relationships that exist between them. We have discussed how our Administration gatherings should not be business only, but also social opportunities, times of prayerful deep listening in communal wisdom, retreats in common, and supported group work with external facilitators who can help develop cohesiveness and effectiveness. All of this contributes to a happy working environment, which motivates our willingness to give ourselves fully in service of the wider community of members in our entities.}

_{I conclude with a word of gratitude to all the Administration for their willingness to embrace these processes so readily. Thank you.}

 

BREAKING NEWS IN YUBA COUNTY

US, 2021, 96 minutes, Colour.

Alison Janney, Mila Kunis, Regina Hall, Awkwafina, Wanda Sykes, Ellen Barkin, Matthew Modine, Jimmi Simpson, Keong Sun, Juliette Lewis, Clifton Collins Jr, Samira Wiley, Bridget Everett, T.C.Metherne, Dominic Burgess.

Directed by Tate Taylor.

How well do Americans take to satire and parody? Generally, American comedy tends to be fairly broad, obvious, pratfalls and slapstick, and, as the decades have gone on, a move from innuendo to straightforward and crass language and situations. This is not the case here. This one is far more similar to the ironic parody of Saturday Night Live.

The structure of the screenplay is clever. Initially, there is a focus on one character, Sue, the timid housewife, trying to reinforce herself-confidence with mantras about her being important and significant. (And part of the parody is that this character is played, very effectively and credibly, by the tall Alison Janney, so strong in performances in I, Tonya and The West Wing.) It is her birthday and she has to buy her own cake, work associates happily buying a cake for another worker and ignoring her, her husband (Matthew Modine) forgetting her birthday.

In fact, this will all lead to an extraordinary tangle involving her husband, a motel, a liaison, Sue surprising him, his heart attack – and, the police or not, and disposing of the body.

But, Sue doesn’t go to the police. What follows is an extraordinarily complex black comedy of errors, the discovery that the husband was laundering money at the bank, his delinquent brother, Pete (Jimi Simpson whose wife is now pregnant with twins) is entangled with two tough petty criminals (Awkwafina and Clifton Collins Jr), who have no scruple in killing, and standover tactics on behalf of a local businessman and the laundering of his cash. There is a large bag of cash buried with the body!

As if that isn’t enough, the brother is reforming, works for the hard-nosed, wisecracking proprietor of a store (Wanda Sykes in stand-up comedy mode) who has seen all the TV films about how gangsters work and wants to be in on the act, including robbing a jewellery store to pay for a ransom.

It all gets very complicated (as if it wasn’t complicated enough) when Sue’s half-sister, Mila Kunis, a minor TV personality, who wants to interview Sue. But, there is a more high-powered television interviewer on a more prominent channel, played unctuously by Juliette Lewis, and Sue would rather be on her program. Sue discovers that, while she might put herself down, media limelight is more than attractive.

Oh, yes. There are also the police, Sue reporting her husband missing, their staking out her house, bemused by her behaviour, tracking down the brother of the store…, the bumptious woman Sue’s husband was having the affair with.

But, this being a black comedy, the writer has no particular concern about characters being killed off. And, mostly they are! All kinds of surprise scenes, variations on the action thriller conventions, always some surprises. And, despite Sue almost exposed by the truth, she is able to sail through all the hazards, even to writing a book about her experiences, sharing them with the host on the TV show who was also written a book!

A very good example of how Americans can do satirical black comedy. If you would like another film in the same vein, a recommendation is Bad Times at the El Royale (also with a large and interesting complement of character actors and comics).

1. The nature of American comedy? Broad? Action? The contrast with satire and parody, irony?
2. The comic nature of the screenplay, characters, caricatures, situations, tangles and twists, satire, parody, moralising targets?
3. The town in Yuba County, homes, workplaces, banks, shops, businesses and money-laundering, police precincts, the television world, studios, local filming…? The musical score?
4. Sue’s story? Alison Janney and her presence and performance? Age, relationship with her husband, with her half-sister, self-image, repeating the mantras about her life being important? Buying the cake for her birthday, the wrong spelling, paying for it herself? At work, thinking the cake was for her, but for the fellow-worker? Her husband forgetting her birthday? Going to see him, going to the car, the bunch of flowers? Following him, getting the information at the motel, the confrontation, the shock, his heart attack and death? The girlfriend, hurrying away? Sue, the decision to bury her husband on the grounds, and burying the bag, not knowing what was in it?
5. The consequences, her going home, eating the cake, the temper tantrum, creating the mess in the house? Her going to the police, their being busy, the range of people being brought in? Harris, not taking enough notice of Sue? Visiting the house, asking the questions, her assistant? The inconsistencies? The talk of missing, of abduction? Stood down, her persevering, the interviews and discussions with Sue, observing Leah, tracking her down, at the motel, the surveillance camera?
6. Sue and her sister, television, agreeing to the interview, the programs from Gloria Michaels, the search for the missing child, audience attention? Sue and her interest in Gloria Michaels, the approach, the story, suggesting her husband knew who would kidnap the child? Arranging the interview with the parents, at her home, Leah and her arrival and disrupting the filming, the parents walking out – and the irony of the later solution that the little girl had run away?
7. The husband, work at the bank, his brother, Petey, a thief, jail? And his contact with Mina and Ray? The laundering of the money, changing banks? Mina and Ray going to the bank, the interview with the accountant, shooting him? The disappearance, the idea for the ransom, Petey supplying $20,000, Petey and Rita robbing the jewellery store, handing over the ransom money?
8. Petey, his past, relationship with Janelle, her reforming him, her pregnancy? Mina and Ray visiting her, terrorising her, her violent response?
9. Rita, the shop, wisecracking, her tough partner, Petey working there? The visit of Mina and Ray, Rita and her knowing all the conventions of gangster and crime films, wanting to be involved? The jewel robbery? Her being killed? And her partner?
10. Mina and her father, the money, his disappointment with his daughter? Her being killed? Ray being killed?
11. Sue, the confrontation with Leah, the affair, Sue and her threats of exposure, the issue of the money? The going to the motel, digging up the body, the money with in the bag? The shootings, Leah’s death, the father and his being shot? His shooting Harris?
12. The police response, Harris and her investigation, been struck down, Jones and his suspicions, going back to work with Harris? Their boss, reassuring Sue? The irony of Harris and Jones being shot at the graveside?
13. Sue, the revelation of the money, taking it? The year passing, her writing the book, on television with Gloria Michaels, Gloria saying she had written a book?
14. An enjoyably tangled and complex black comedy thriller?

 

 

 

BOYCOTT

US, 2001, 118 minutes, Colour.

Steven Wright, Terrence Howard, Carmen Ejogo, CCH Pounder, Reg E.Cathy,

Directed by Clark Johnson.

An impressive screen experience. It is one of the number of HBO films for theatrical release and television made during the 1990s and the first years of the 2000s. Other films include The Second Civil War, Path to War.

This is a story of the boycott in Montgomery Alabama in 1955-1956, following the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger in the bus (dramatised interestingly with Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek in The Long Walk Home). Leaders in Montgomery, many of them church ministers, decide on the strategy of a day’s boycott where African- American passengers will walk instead of riding the bus. Audiences may be familiar with this episode, the boycott extended, lasting over a year, the African- American population of Montgomery banding together, persevering, people helping with cars – but the authorities in the city finding always of clamping down, raising taxi fares, arrests for exceeding police speed limits, taking leaders into custody….

The episode was important historically and is considered a significant step towards the Civil Rights movement and success in the 1960s. Martin Luther King was present in Montgomery, with his wife Coretta, from Atlanta and teamed with the Rev Ralph Abernathy, both of them so important in the 1960s. Here Martin Luther King is played by Steven Wright, an impressive performance, especially in the delivery of King’s speeches. Terrence Howard plays Ralph Abernathy, Carmen Ejogo plays Coretta (and was to play her 14 years later in Selma).

A number of African- American character actors appear, especially as leaders in Montgomery, CCH Pounder, Reg E.Cathy. The film is directed by Clark Johnson, African- American actor and activist.

A way of looking back and understanding the races of the South, of the times, bigotry about races intermingling, the presence of the Ku Klux Klan, an atmosphere of injustice – with a 1956 ruling in favour of the African- American leaders from the Supreme Court.

1. The clear and direct title? The Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1955-1956? Race relations, segregation and prejudice, the role of Martin Luther King? The emphasis on the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement?
2. Audience knowledge of the situation, segregation in the south, prejudice, racism, Ku Klux Klan, hangings? The bus situation and the boycott? The leadership in the boycott? Going finally to the Supreme Court? Consequences?
3. The use of archival footage inserted into the film? Recreation of Montgomery, 1955, the city, workplaces, black neighbourhoods, authorities and the city, bus and transport, the visualising of the African- Americans paying at the front and then walking to the back of the bus, the separated areas, expectations of giving up a seat to white passengers? The bus situation becoming a symbol?
4. The community in Montgomery, the visualising of the black neighbourhoods, workplaces, the consequences of not travelling by bus, walking, the old lady walking up to 12 miles, boycott for one day, continuing, for over 300 days, drivers and shared travel, the police giving travel tickets, taxis and the city imposing higher fees?
5. The locals, the churches, the meetings, Martin Luther King being in Montgomery rather in Atlanta, the presence of Correta, his daughter, Ralph Abernathy in Montgomery? The going to the meeting, the nomination of King, the forming of the local group? King, at home, Corretta support, writing his speech, giving it, the oratory, staring people, the applause? King and his leadership? Increasing in stature, the verbatims of his speeches – and the audience knowing what would happen in the 1960s, Washington, Selma, his assassination? In Montgomery at age 26?
6. Ralph Abernathy, friend of King, supporter, continuing into the 1960s?
7. The various members of the committee, men and women, forming the office, the phone calls for arranging drivers, money collection, the donation from Mobile, the landlord, the realisation that they would be locked out and documents impounded? People getting out in time?
8. The city authorities, the meetings, the racist stances, the presuppositions about race, no commingling of the races…? The meetings, the discussions, the stances? King and his allies, sometimes antagonistic, challenging, the conditions about the buses, the drivers? The continued meetings, hopes thwarted?
9. King’s father, coming from Atlanta, the impact of the bombing of his house, In deciding to stay, Corretta the same? Later meeting with his father in Atlanta, not following his advice?
10. The range of meetings, the churches, the ministers, Nixon and his initial hostility, changing his mind? The different personalities, speeches, contributions?
11. The visualising of Rosa Parks, not giving her seat in the bus, escorted from the bus, charged? Her participation in the boycott?
12. The effect of the experience on Martin Luther King, at his age, experience, his talent for speeches, his rhetoric, staring people, leadership? The impact of the bombing? Threatening phone calls? His philosophy of non-violence, quoting Scriptures, loving enemies rather than an eye for an eye? The effect of non-violence on opponents?
13. The presence of Bayard Rustin, reputation, self-confidence, journals, Corretta King remembering his lectures, the community respect for him? His philosophy of non-violence? The revelation about his past, Communist, former Communist, gay man? His presence in the groups, contribution, philosophising, lecturing them? The threat, the authorities finding out about him, his being smuggled out in the boot of the car?
14. King and Abernathy, the lawyers, suggestions, tactics? The authorities in the city, adding racist members to the board? Demonstrations of the Ku Klux Klan? Bombings, fires?
15. The decision to go to the Supreme Court? Time passing? Warrants for all the members of the committee? The man wanting to give himself up? The decision that they all would, all marching together, King offering his hands for handcuffing? The going into the building?
16. The decision of the Supreme Court, the long time passing, the end of the boycott, the overturning of Montgomery legislation? The final scene of people going on the bus, Abernathy inviting King, his remaining outside, walking amongst the ordinary people – to his future mission for Civil Rights?

 

 

WORTH

US, 2020, 118 minutes, Colour.

Michael Keaton, Amy Ryan, Stanley Tucci, Tate Donovan, Shunori Ramanathan, Talia balsam, Laura Benanti, Chris Tardio, Ato Blankson- Wood.

Directed by Sarah Colangelo.

Worth is a good word, a solid word. It takes us into the realm of values. In fact, the original title for this film is What Is Life Worth. In fact, as we watch the film and its exploration of characters, we are continually being asked “What is a life worth?”. And how is this question to be answered? In monetary terms, a financial figure? Or beyond that?

The question was asked in the United States after 9/11 and this film is receiving its release, at the Sundance Film Festival and, then, on Netflix, on the 20^th anniversary of those planes crashing into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. At the time, the world was preoccupied with the immediate loss of life, the consequences, grief, amazement, continuing health problems, as well as the broader aspects of what became the war on terror and the invasion of Afghanistan (sadly and ironically coming to a close on the 20^th anniversary).

But, there were financial questions asked, issues of insurance, the air companies lobby, compensation by the American government, issues in Congress. With Worth, we are taken into this particular aspect of 9/11, a process from 2001 to 2003, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, with prominent legal mediator, Kenneth Feinberg, accepting the role.

Soon into watching the film, it seemed a good idea to go to Wikipedia and find out something about Kenneth Feinberg, his background, his legal history, his role with the Compensation Fund, as principles. This exercise was enabling, for watching the film and appreciating what Feinberg hoped for, what he did, the challenges, his achievement (and, rather jaw-dropping, the final credits listing of situations in American history in the last 20 years, disasters, compensations, Catholic Church abuse cases… That he and his colleague, Camille Biros have been asked to mediate).

Michael Keaton, a wonderful comedian in the past, has been taking on more and more serious roles, men of integrity. Amy Ryan gives solid support as Camille. And a range of character actors takes on supporting roles convincingly. But, as the film progresses, there are numerous interview sequences, survivors telling their stories, some angry, some still grieving, some bewildered. These are so convincing – and, one hopes, that the short segments serve as audition material for future roles by these character actors.

The other chief character in the film is Charles Wolf, played by Stanley Tucci, an actual character, who lost his wife in the World Trade Centre collapse. Wolf was highly critical of Feinberg’s model for the fund, starting a counter-movement “Fix the Fund”, offering advice, offering a different perspective on contact with survivors and their relatives, meeting with Feinberg and his associates, influencing Feinberg and his approach, ultimately with the declaration, “The Fund is Fixed”, finally ensuring that the Victim Compensation Fund requirements for registration were filled in time for the project to go into action.

For those of a Jungian frame of mind, this is a powerfully dramatised presentation of objective structures for funding compensation relying on the letter of the law, accuracy and precision, setting limits, eschewing exceptions. Charles Wolf’s approach and, was highly personal, much more subjective in respect of and respect for those who grieved and suffered, listening to stories, realising that categories could be constricting and that there were interpretations to be made. Two particular stories come to the fore to illustrate this, a fireman killed and his loyal wife’s discovery that he had another family who are in financial need, a gay man who lost his partner (whose parents deny his sexual orientation),

It is rather saddening to read some bloggers dismissing the film as boring. Others declared that they were engrossed, moved, sharing an experience of realising what a life is worth. Yes.

1. The title? What is life worth? What is a life worth? In general, in the context of 9/11? The Victim Compensation Fund?
2. The period, 9/11, the impact, the event, tragedy, personal grief, issues of compensation?
3. Washington, legal offices, the compensation fund offices, Ken Feinberg and his home, the travelling by train? The feel of the period? The musical score?
4. The character of Kenneth Feinberg, legal experience, his age, public service-minded, his work with Camille over the years? His home life, with his wife, her support, a sounding board? The issue of the fund, the discussions with the attorney general, his accepting the task, his motivations? Camille and her agreeing? His lectures, students, the choice of Pryia and Daryl for the staff?
5. The setting up of the office, the discussions with the attorney general, the implications for legislation, for Congress, compensation, justice, issues of suing, the airline lobby? The role of Lee Quinn? The face of legislation, the face of deals? The many interactions between Ken and Lee? Differences, hostilities? The issue of coaching witnesses for interviews?
6. The setting up of the parameters for the fund, legal, letter of the law, no exceptions? The deadlines, the number of submissions required? 80%? The meetings, Ken and his manner of addressing the crowd, the hostility, questions, anger? In felicitous phrasing? Advice from Camille?
7. Charles Wolf, his background, local concerns, his explaining the history of campaigning for the retaining of the bridge, two years, his failure, his wife reminding him that he was not the bridge itself, he was still there? Her death? His different perceptions for the fund, his slogan that the Fund was a Fix? His meetings, drawing the relatives of the survivors? His going to see Ken Feinberg, courteous, the meeting, coming people down, yet the different perspective? The comment on the typos, criticism of the whole fund framework?
8. The effect of the interviews? The range of characters for the film? Only some minutes of performance yet their creating instant, strong characters, grief, reactions to 911? Each of the interviewers? Ken not interviewing, starting to listen in, his being challenged? Staying back over time to listen to Mrs Donato, previously meeting her brother-in-law? The film’s focus on Karen Donato, her devotion to her husband, her image of him, not wanting the money? Frank and his meetings with Ken? The later revelation about her husband’s double life, alternate family, Ken and his confrontation with Frank, Karen overhearing, her reaction, later coming to see him, wanting the other family to have some compensation? The gay man, the discussions, legislation about partnerships, going to see the partner’s parents, their denial?
9. The discussions with Charles Wolf, Priya going to see him, the discussions? His visit to Ken, an alternate approach to dealing with people? The shift from the objective and deviations to more subjective, personalised, exceptions? A new framework?
10. The change of heart, people becoming more confident, telling their stories, the deadlines coming, the percentages going up?
11. The discussion with Charles Wolf, his accepting the changes, that the Fund was Fixed? His urging his followers to go to Ken?
12. The deadlines, Lee Quinn and the compensation cases? The discussions with the attorney general? Congress issues?
13. The final rush, getting up to 95% at the time of the deadline?
14. The achievement for such a compensation fund with such a national tragedy? In the final information about can Feinberg, Camille, the vast number of cases they have taken up and mediated?

JULIETA

Spain, 2016, 99 minutes, Colour.
Emma Suarez, Adriana Ugarte, Michelle Jenner, Rossy de Palma, Inma Cuesta, Daniel Grao, Dario Grandinetti.
Directed by Pedro Almodovar.

This is a quietly interesting portrait of women from Spain.

For over 30 years, Pedro Almodovar has been at the head of the Spanish film revival after the Franco era. Beginning with slighter, more comic films, he moved into more serious explorations of Spanish society, winning Catholic awards for All About My Mother, Oscar awards for Talk To Her, challenging the Catholic Church and the sexual abuse crisis in Mal Educacion. He has been pr on aised for his films exploring the characters and psyche of women.

Julieta is a middle-aged woman, living in Madrid, planning to move with her partner to Portugal, eager for the move, engaged in packing. By chance, in the street, she encounters a young woman she used to know as a girl who gives her information about her daughter who has been missing from Spain for 13 years. This has profound repercussions for Juliata, sending her back into her memories, sending her back to her regrets, and breaking the plan to move from Madrid.

What occupies her then is writing to her daughter, without real hope of being able to send it, explaining herself, her life, her relationship with her daughter’s father, her growing up and the tragedy that struck them.

This means that the central part of the film is told in flashback. Almodovar has chosen two actresses for the younger Julieta, Adriana Ugarte, and for the older, Emma Suarez, very similar in looks and manner which makes the character most credible.

Because we see Julieta disturbed by the news about her daughter, she initially appears very serious so that we are quite surprised at the beginning of the flashback when Julieta, a temporary classics teacher, engages a class with stories of mythology and the sea with great vivacity. She has a mysterious experience on a train, a passenger near her disappearing, the train unexpectedly stopping, and the finding of his body – and she is moved to blame herself for not responding to him in the train carriage.

But she does encounter a man on the train, goes to visit him in his seaside house, is pregnant and gives birth to their daughter.

While there are some scenes of the daughter as a little girl, there is more focus on her as a teenager, going to a youth camp, becoming friends with the young girl from Madrid, going to stay with her – at the very time the tragedy strikes.

It is meant as a compliment to say that the film and the narrative are not sensationalist, not for hope and stated. Here is the story of a woman, younger and older, a wife, mother who suffers for years at the disappearance of her daughter.

The final scene, again understated, when Julieta is seen driving to Portugal with her partner, is one of hope.

1. The films of Pedro Almodovar? His insights into Spain? Into women?

2. The title, the focus on Julieta, a woman’s story, the older Julieta and her memories, her relationships, the regrets about her daughter, her writing the story for her daughter?

3. Madrid, the Spanish countryside, the country towns, the seaside town in Galicia, the waters of the storm? Her father’s farm in Andalusia? The interiors of the homes? The musical score?

4. The introduction, Julieta packing, ready to leave Madrid, her love for Lorenzo, a year in preparation for the move? The chance meeting Beatriz in the street? News of her daughter? The revelation and its effect? Keeping it a secret from Lorenzo? The decision to stay, her moving apartment, moving in?

5. Lorenzo, his character, the puzzle, his hopes, meeting Julieta in the past, his friendship with Ava, the book, their meeting again, developing the relationship? Ava in the hospital? Ava bequeathing Lorenzo to Julieta? His understanding, following Julieta, bringing her the memento – and the letter?

6. The young Julieta, teaching, exhilaration, Ulysses, the myths of Calypso, the different meanings of the sea? On the train, the man in the compartment, the train stopping, hitting the man, seeing his body brought back, her sense of guilt for not responding to him? Her talking to Xaon, the sexual encounter, the bond between them, her becoming pregnant? Finishing her teaching, the message to visit him, the encounters with Marian, intending to go, staying, the time together, remaining? On the boat and the sea? Her pregnancy? The birth of the daughter, the effect on her?

7. Xaon, character, his love for Julieta, his liaison with Ava while she was away, the secret of the years, the discovery of the truth, the impact on Julieta, her anger, Xaon going out, on the boat, the storm, his drowning? The news on the television?

8. Her daughter, her birth, childhood, with her grandparents? The years passing, the happy childhood, with her father, fishing? Her not wanting to go to the youth camp? Being persuaded to go, the phone calls, the friendship with Beatriz, Beatriz’s mother inviting her to stay? The holiday? Julieta and the experience of her husband’s death, going to Madrid to explain the situation? The decision to stay in Madrid – and the daughter going to sell the house, the discussions with Marian, discovering the truth about her father’s death?

9. Ava, her at work, the making of the figures, Julieta packing the figure at the beginning, Lorenzo and his gift of the figure?

10. Julieta, her background in the country, her mother being ill, love for her, sharing the room with her? Her father, his giving up teaching, farming? His relationship with the young woman, her work, care for Julieta’s mother, the sexual relationship? Her dressing her mother up to sit in the garden? Her mother’s death, her father’s behaviour?

11. The daughter, her decision to go on a retreat in the mountains, the three months? Julieta arriving to pick her up, her daughter gone, the counsellor’s explanations, the destination a secret, Julieta upset, the passing of the years?

12. Encounter with Beatriz, the later conversation, Beatriz of the friendship with the daughter, the daughter misinterpreting it, the pressure on Beatriz, going to New York, her job? Information that the daughter was married and had children?

13. Marian, her dislike of Julieta, her poisoning her daughter’s mind?

14. The daughter’s letter, the news, having children, one of the children dying – and Lorenzo pointing out that there was a return address?

15. The final scene of Lorenzo and Julieta driving from Madrid into the countryside and to…?