Movie retreat

The movie retreat I attended on Saturday was really meaningful. We watched two movies. First was the film Billy Elliot. Set in a British coal mining town in 1984, it depicts the life of young eleven year old Billy. His father and older brother are miners on strike, a tense situation at that time, with the strikers facing off with police in several scenes. Billy finds that he just cannot take up boxing (his father's wish, and a family tradition) and instead tries out ballet. The teacher sees his potential and encourages him to continue. He does so well that she tells him to apply for a place at the Royal Ballet School in London. Of course when Billy's father comes to know of his secret passion, he is furious and forbids his son to dance (one of his closed myths is "Boys who dance are sissies"). Billy finds a way to continue; his teacher offers to teach him in private. Finally, Billy's father comes to terms with his passion to dance, recognizes his gift, tries to raise money for the trip to London by crossing picket lines, and takes him for the audition. Billy makes a great impression on the selection committee. They recognize that when he dances - he is totally and fully 'one with the dance', and in Billy's own words, "I disappear".

We were told to notice what touched us in the movie and given time to prayerfully consider. Each person would be touched in a different way, by different aspects of the movie because that story touches our personal stories in unique ways. And as we shared in groups later we found that indeed, people were moved in different ways, and in the listening to others, we were blessed.

The second movie was a short half hour foreign Czech film called "Most" (The Bridge). A man, seemingly a single parent loves his five year old son very much. We are given an inside look into a father's love for his child. One day, at his son's request he takes him to the railway bridge where he works. There a dreadful accident happens. His son falls into the machinery when the bridge is open Yet a train is approaching, and the man has to make a painful decision. Lowering the bridge means his sons' death. Not lowering the bridge means the train will crash. It was a terrible choice - and at the last moment he pulls the lever for the bridge to be lowered. The train is spared, but not his son. He runs out of the control room in anguish. We are shown how a young woman on the passing train sees his anguished look - just when she is about to inject herself with drugs, and in that moment, his look stops her from further harming herself. She turns from the living death of drug addiction to choosing life. The man is shown later holding his son's dead body.....for him it is death.....

Several years later, the man, still grieving his loss, is shown walking along when he sees the young woman whose life has been changed. She does not know who he is, or what happened - yet she is holding her young child. The child looks at the man, smiles at him.....and in that moment the man finds himself able to give a shout of joy again. He too has passed from death to new life.

This short movie touched everyone, in many ways. The title 'Bridge' gives us a hint of the invitation in life to 'cross over', to make the choice for life, and perhaps to allow God to lead us in that choice. It reminded me that what is 'lost' may never return in the same form, but that there are many, many crossings in our lives, if we ask for the grace to see, and attend.