The workings of the Internet are mysterious. Periodically a particular entry on my list here will go berserk: suddenly dozens and dozens of people will seek out information about a particular film, and find their way to this website. I don’t know anything about them, only that they found their way here, usually via Google, and they click on the name of a film.
What do they want to know? I have no idea. Most of them leave no messages, and I have no way of knowing if arriving at this site was a happy surprise or merely a confusing pit-stop. When I am looking for information on the web, I accept that it will be a little like the experience of the library card-catalog in “ancient times” before the computer: I will find a lot of stuff that is totally beside the point, and a few gems I didn’t expect. I imagine it’s the same for most people.
Currently there’s a run on Annie Hall. I can find nothing in the news about the film, but ever since Feb 2, it has been the most popular entry on this site. I’m very curious about this: what prompted your search? What are you looking for? Did you find it? Or was a rabbinic commentary on the film merely puzzling? Did you agree? Disagree? I invite you to speak up in the comments on that entry!
Chariots of Fire has been a constant favorite of the seekers; probably it has drawn more random visitors to this site than any other film. My guess is that it has to do with the film’s multiple religious heritages. It’s the story of two athletes whose difficulties with the British establishment were rooted in religion.
I confess to a very soft spot for Chariots, myself. One of my professors in graduate school, Langdon Gilkey, was a prisoner in Weihsien Internment Camp in China along with Eric Liddell, the Scottish runner who died there. Mr. Gilkey wrote an account of that experience, Shantung Compound, in which he disguised all identities because many of the very respectable Christians in the camp behaved in less than admirable ways; he did not write to rebuke but to examine his experience. When I studied Christian Theology with Mr. Gilkey in 1980 he asked us to read the book, urging us to ask ourselves if our personal theologies stood up to the tests of experience. His own theology, particularly his ideas about evil, had been profoundly changed by his experiences in the camp. He spoke warmly of Mr. Liddell, saying that of all the Protestants in the camp, he was the one whose name did not really need disguise, since he had been an almost saintly figure throughout the entire ordeal. I was delighted, then, when the film came out, because it was an opportunity to learn a little more about Mr. Liddell. The film did not disappoint, although of course it was only a film and I could not know what was and was not accurate in the portrayal.
So what draws all these Net pilgrims to this film? Is it the Academy Award? Eric Liddell’s life and death? The Olympic story? The running story? Harold Abrahams‘ Olympic legacy? The soundtrack, which does have a tendency to get stuck in one’s head? I would love to know! Please feel free to leave a comment on the film’s entry, even if you don’t think your interest is “on topic” for this project!
I don’t know what film will be chosen for the next stampede. I enjoy knowing that a lot of people are curious about the entries here, and I hope that some of them find it useful, or find I offer a new perspective on film. I am not a “film reviewer” (as is painfully obvious to any real reviewers who have wandered in here) but I thought it might be useful to have a rabbinic view on the films. Which reminds me: if any colleagues visit here, comments are welcome! I value machlochet [disagreement, argument] as an opportunity to learn.
Happy film watching!
