Author: Joe Bendel

By Joe Bendel. They are part of the corps, but they answer to a higher power. Chaplains necessarily navigate tricky positions in the institutional sphere, but their efforts inspire trust. As a result, their inspirational work is often inspiring—even to non-believers. Martin Doblmeier surveys the breadth of contemporary chaplaincy in the two-part, two-hour documentary Chaplains, which premieres this Monday on PBS WORLD.

When you hear “chaplains,” most people think military, prisons, and hospitals. Doblmeier has them covered, but he also includes a wider range of chaplains, including the relatively new but growing corporate chaplaincy. However, he starts with the classic military chaplain service, focusing on Rev. Paul Hurley, the senior chaplain serving in the Afghanistan theater of operations. A Catholic priest and U.S. Army colonel, Hurley oversees the rest of the chaplains attached to the U.S. military. It is dangerous duty, because they face the possibility of suicide bombers and other hazards, just like the soldiers they minister to. Of course, military chaplains have their own unique moral challenges, but Rev. Hurley has no trouble explaining how the Afghanistan conflict conforms to the Catholic Just War theory. However, he hastens to add it is not for him to decide whether it is worth fighting from a political-strategic perspective.

Frankly, the military segment is probably the high point of Chaplains, but there is still plenty of informative material to come, such as the extent of Tyson’s Foods’ commitment to corporate chaplaincy. At the time of filming, they had one hundred and twenty full and part-time chaplains on staff. You can save the jokes about giving all those chickens their last rites, because the Tyson chaplains address that issue head-on. They admit the realities of the poultry business can be difficult, which is something they try to help employees deal with.

The hospital segment captures the nobility of faith in action, but it largely fits our positive preconceptions of what chaplaincy is all about. Likewise, the prison segment is certainly well intentioned, but the sight of a prison Wiccan service could bring out a fit of rightwing snark even from Michael Moore.

On the other hand, the sequences following Billy Mauldin and the Motor Racing Outreach as the minister to the drivers, pit crews, and fans following the NASCAR circuit are a fascinating and respectful exploration of that large and growing subculture. Yet, probably the most charismatic chaplain is Rabbi Arthur Rosenberg of the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s retirement home and health services, but he ought to be, considering he was once an actor himself. (He was Kevin Bacon’s uncle in Footloose, so he is only six degrees removed from everyone else in Hollywood).

There is a lot more to chaplaincy than most viewers probably realized, but there is also the selfless commitment you would hope for, as well as considerable professional training in many cases. Although Doblmeier starts to repeat himself late in the second half, most mainstream audiences will find it highly rewarding. It is also represents unusually faith-friendly programming from PBS, which should be encouraged. Insightful and sometimes quite moving, Chaplains airs this Monday (12/7) on PBS WORLD.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on December 4th, 2015 at 10:51am.

By Joe Bendel. Academics have long debated just how many children Lady Macbeth had and lost, because they don’t hand out tenure for nothing. Justin Kurzel’s new cinematic take on the Scottish Play is willing to go on record positing one child, whose tragic death will psychologically torment her and her noble husband unremittingly. Kurzel also more fully embraces the blood and carnage of battle than politely prestigious productions past in his vivid adaptation of Macbeth, which opens this Friday in New York.

You might not recognize the scene of Macbeth, Thane of Glamis and Lady Macbeth burning their young child on a funeral pyre, but from there on, it is business as usual. However, Kurzel does not skimp on hack-and-slash action when Macbeth and his faithful comrade Banquo vanquish the forces of the treasonous Macdonwald. Just as the three witches promise, Macbeth is promoted to Thane Cawdor following the traitor’s execution. That gives Lady Macbeth ideas about the rest of the witches’ prophesy, particularly the part about Macbeth becoming King of Scotland. However, they had an addendum hailing Banquo as the forefather of future kings that somewhat vexes the childless Macbeth.

Although Lady Macbeth does indeed prompt her husband to commit murder, Kurzel’s conception of the Scottish Play is remarkably forgiving of this often vilified noble woman. Again, the explicit grief for her child humanizes her subsequent sins to a considerable extent. On the other hand, Malcolm the heir apparent is portrayed in unusually shallow and cowardly terms.

Casting Michael Fassbender as Macbeth is so logically self-evident, it seems strange nobody tried to do it sooner. He does not disappoint, completely committing to Kurzel’s highly physical conception of the Thane. One look from him can make the heather on the hills wilt. In contrast, Marion Cotillard’s Lady Macbeth is unusually sensitive and guilt-ridden. Unlike memorably ferocious Lady Macbeths (Rosanne Ma in the Pan Asian Rep’s Shogun Macbeth is still a favorite), she is almost delicate, which makes the contrast between her and Macbeth all the more dramatic. Paddy Considine and Sean Harris also add considerable grit and heft as Banquo and Macduff, respectively.

Visually, cinematographer Adam Arkapaw work is just as bold, deliberately evoking blood and fire with his vivid color palette, while (brother) Jed Kurzel’s minimalist score gives the film a contemporary vibe. Kurzel somewhat overindulges in symbolic imagery with his over the top closing sequence, but that is a minor misstep. In general, his fearlessness pays dividends.

Frankly, all the best Shakespearean films take some liberties with their source material. Arguably, Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood remains the greatest cinematic Macbeth, with its completely original but utterly iconic death scene. Kurzel’s Macbeth is a worthy follower in its tradition. Like Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus, Kurzel is very much in touch with the manly, action-driven side of Shakespeare, while also ruthlessly plumbing the dark psychological depths of his flawed characters. Highly recommended, Macbeth opens this Friday (12/4) in New York, at the Landmark Sunshine.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on December 2nd, 2015 at 10:50am.

By Joe Bendel. Estonian fought Estonian, but it was not a civil war. Fifty-five thousand men from the small Baltic nation were shanghaied into service with the Red Army during the first Soviet occupation. When fortunes on the Eastern Front temporarily tilted Germany’s way, another 72,000 Estonians were drafted, primarily by the Waffen-SS, because the Wehrmacht maintained a strict German national identity. The Estonian wartime experience becomes the stuff of high dramatic tragedy in Elmo Nüganen’s 1944, Estonia’s official foreign language Oscar submission, which screens as part of the AFI’s 2015 EU Film Showcase.

Like most of his Estonian comrades, Karl Tammik has little hope of living through the war. Although he has no love for the National Socialists, he is resigned to his service in their army, in part because he holds such a grudge against the Soviets. Tammik also bitterly blames himself for not moving quicker to prevent his family’s exile to Siberia. He is particularly haunted by the memory of his baby sister. Under his leadership, the ragtag Estonian unit will temporarily help hold the Tannenberg Line.

When momentum swings back to the Soviets, Nüganen and screenwriter Leo Kunnas shift their focus to an Estonian Red Army platoon. In a twist of fate worthy of Sophocles, Tammik will face Jüri Jõgi in the heat of battle. It was Jõgi’s collaborator father who denounced Tammik’s family to the Communists. However, the son has none of his father’s ideological zeal, at least not anymore. Yet, since he has the right sort of family background, the ruthless political officer is determined to recruit him as an informer against his unusually competent commander.

Nüganen stages some of the best trench warfare scenes ever filmed. He also convincingly portrays the confusion and arbitrariness of warfighting without letting the film descend into random bedlam. Basically, viewers can tell exactly how doomed the characters are, in ferociously realistic terms. Yet, there is also a sweeping irony that somehow seems to flow naturally out of the fundamental absurdity of the Estonians’ situation. Kunnas structures the film with almost perfect symmetry, escalating the grief and sorrow with each reprise.

As Tammik, Kaspar Velberg broods like a man possessed, despite his natural Baltic reserve. Likewise, Kristjan Üksküla’s Jõgi quietly wears his angst and guilt on his sleeve like badge of dishonor, until he finally explodes (by Baltic standards). Peeter Tammearu is also profoundly loathsome as Kreml the political officer. Not surprisingly, there are not many roles for women in 1944, but Maken Schmidt makes the most of her screen time as Tammik’s sister Aino. It is a heartbreaking but complex performance that will knock the wind out of you.

Nüganen’s battle scenes can hang with anything Hollywood has produced in recent years, but it is the massive micro and macro ironies that make 1944 such a powerhouse. Based on its graphic depictions of the Red Army’s brutal tactics, the Russians are sure to have Nüganen and Kunnas’s names on a list if they ever invade Estonia again—and if you find that scenario highly unlikely then you really need to see 1944. Very highly recommended, 1944 screens this Saturday (12/5) as part of the AFI’s EU Film Showcase.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on December 2nd, 2015 at 10:49am.