Cinema Therapy: Coffee Hour Edition

Posted August 16, 2020 by eecvoices

Half past eleven on Sunday mornings, Emmanuel continues to gather for coffee hour like clockwork. Instead of small groups catching up with one another in the parish hall, we gather as one on Zoom. Regulars, newcomers, couples, singles, Boomers, Gen-X, a few Millennials, and even a sprinkling of little ones from Gen-Z. No matter what beverage is in folks’ “coffee cups”, the conversations have been heartfelt, lively and fun. In the past few weeks we’ve explored our family roots, shared favorite books, learned about Light in the Valley (Shrine Mont’s Camp in a Box), and pondered both the dark clouds and silver linings that the pandemic has unearthed.

This morning, August 16th, the theme was “Moving Movies & Favorite Films.” Like the book session a few weeks ago, participants came prepared and enthusiastically shared a bounty of titles. Just about every genre was represented: history, bio-pics, classics, art house, fantasy, suspense, drama, comedy, musicals, sci-fi, animated, silent films, action films, and more.

And even more fun was hearing “the reviewers” talk about why these particular films are so meaningful to them. How they shared an old favorite with a new generation. How they have watched their favorite film from middle school hundreds of times. How musicals have provided a much needed escape. How drama helps to explore the darker side of our present dilemmas. How both biography and history inspire; and how mystery takes us out of ourselves.

A few of “the reviewers” had even toured the sets, sights and locations where there favorite movies were filmed. And Bonnie Fairbank, of all the reviewers, takes the cake. She was named for a character in “Gone With The Wind”, was a “stand-in” for Rita Hayworth in “Show Boat”, and has been cast as an “extra” in more movies than she could remember!

This is cinema therapy! With no further ado and in no particular order, here are the thirty-nine films that made the list. Each is tagged with “the reviewer” and is linked to IMDB with info on directors, the casts, the history of productions, and how and where you can watch.

Also, “JustWatch” is an app for your smartphone, to help you track down any title to find where it is available.