Guest Post: Have a Blue Christmas, A Mr. Blue Christmas, That is!

as published in American Spectator, www.spectator.org, Dec. 19, 2018

by James M. Thunder

I could not let this year go by without remarking that 2018 marks the 90th anniversary of the publication of a short novel, about 120 pages, that a young man published in 1928, and has seldom been out of print since: Myles Connolly’s debut novel, Mr. Blue. It is appropriate to do so at Christmas because, first, the protagonist, J. Blue, was in awe of the Incarnation and, secondly, because Connolly was an adviser to film director Frank Capra for what has become a Christmas-time favorite, the 1946 It’s a Wonderful Life.

It is said that many high schools and colleges, presumably Catholic, made Mr. Blue required reading at one time. It was not required in my Catholic high school in the late1960’s. Maybe it wasn’t necessary. It was one of two books that I recall my classmates made so much buzz about that I read them to keep up with what my peers were reading. (The other was James Michener’s Bridge at Andau (1957) about the Hungarian anti-Communist uprising.)

RIP, Gilbert Blythe...

...in real life - actor Jonathan Crombie. Only 48, he died April 15th of a brain hemorrhage. Anne of Green Gables fans will miss him, me included. Anne and the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice are my favorite films ever.

So many of the actors who made Anne so memorable are gone: Colleen Dewhurst so perfectly cast as the somewhat crusty Marilla Cuthbert; Richard Farnsworth as her brother Matthew, shy and sweet and absolutely smitten with a talkative little girl; Charmiion King as the rich and bossy Aunt Josephine. Ah...what joy these creative souls continue to bring to those who love Anne and her life on Prince Edward Island.

Just saw Gravity...Beautiful!

If you like those gorgeous pictures of earth taken from space, don't miss Gravity. The movie is gorgeous, the special effects of weightlessness are incredible, the spiritual element is subtle and inspiring, and there isn't a single moment of God's name being taken in vain or any gratuitous violence or sex. The explosion and fire scenes are amazing! The only down side was the movie was so intense I felt exhausted when it was over. On a few occasions I felt like my daughter (when she was little). We were watching a movie where a farmer was stalking a raccoon he thought was eating his chickens' eggs. As things got more and more intense she suddenly shouted, "I need a commercial." I felt that way a few times. And if you tend toward motion sickness you may want to take a Dramamine before you go. Spinning out of control in space is disconcerting.

Sandra Bullock is amazing. What a feat to be able to sustain a film almost single-handedly for about an hour of the ninety minutes. I've always liked her acting, but this was amazing. Astronauts who've seen the film say it has the right feel even though some things aren't quite right. My physics-trained brother quibbled with a few things. But on the whole it was great! Movies like this make you realize how good Hollywood could be if they lived up to their potential.

For the Child at Heart, A Delightful Movie

A few days ago I saw the Dreamworks' animated movie, Rise of the Guardians. I also happen to be doing a side-by-side read of Manalive by G.K. Chesterton and Mr. Blue by Miles Connolly. What a combination and a celebration of child-likeness. And the fact is that it was just happenstance that led my husband and me to choose the film. We wanted to take my stroke-incapacitated brother out to a movie and dinner. All the other films were too long and too late, so we shrugged and went for the kid flick. I'm so glad we did!

The theme of the movie is the battle between good and evil, in this case for the hearts and minds of the children. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman are lined up defending the children's faith in their existence against the evil anti-here "Pitch" (for Pitch dark) who wants to turn all their faith and hope to fear and fill their dreams with nightmares. The good guys face a tough situation and need help and the Man in the Moon has chosen Jack Frost, a flighty, fun-loving Peter Pan type, as the new guardian to bolster the group.

The guardians are anything but conventional. Santa is no ho-ho jolly elf, but a gruff Russian who reminds me of Peter's grandfather, oboe tones and all. I could imagine him appearing to a child saying, "Do not fear, little Mary. I bring you good tidings of great joy." The Easter Bunny is no honey bun either, but a  large jackrabbit with an Australian accent and a no-nonsense style. He has no time for Jack Frost's antics. The tooth fairy is sweet and her little helpers are like busy bees collecting and storing teeth in her castle "hive" to preserve all the children's memories of childhood which are preserved within. Sandman, whose power against the evil Pitch is significant, is a mute golden star who fills the heavens with twinkling ropes of golden sand like sparklers shimmering and glowing in the night sky. Jack Frost, around whom the plot revolves, wants to know who he is and longs to know his real purpose in life. Basically, he has an identity crisis. In joining the guardians, he begins to explore what he's really made of and why the Man in the Moon has chosen him.

Pitch reminded me of the androgynous demon in The Passion of the Christ. He is the bogieman of childhood and his minions are fierce black stallions that look like the ringwraiths in Lord of the Rings. He is eager to temp Jack to join him and "become somebody" creating a frozen nightmare world where every loses all hope and succumbs to fear.

The director has borrowed ideas from all over the place and put them together in such a novel way he has created something entirely new. Santa carries a snow globe that allows him to go from the North Pole at warp speed anywhere on the planet like the spaceships in Star Wars. Among Santa's elves are furry monsters (yetis) that could be related to wookies. Jack takes the children on some exciting sleigh rides dodging cars and trucks like adventure movie chase scenes and some of his creations remind me of the winter scenes in Fantasia. The entire movie is a continuous changing palette of dancing color.

I think Chesterton and Connolly would have been charmed by this movie that is so filled with the joy of life. We all came out smiling. My sister called the next day to ask what we did with my brother; he was cheerful and chatty and upbeat after a difficult Christmas season. All I can say is, "Heck if I know, but we sure had a good time as well." Take your kids and grandkids to Rise of the Guardians before it leaves theaters. I'm going again, that's for sure!

I Can't Get the Hunger Games Out of my Head

Ever since I saw The Hunger Games last week the movie keeps keeps intruding on my thoughts. No matter what I'm doing the tap-tap-tap on my memory chips continues. So maybe if I write about it, I can move on to other things. Spoiler alert - read at your own risk.

First of all, I had no plans to see the movie. The premise sounded too violent and I hate gory films. (I've never been able to watch Braveheart a second time because of the scene where Wallace's bride has her throat slit). We were actually going to see The Avengers (sold out) which is a little hilarious in retrospect. My sister said it was funny but my brother and sister-in-law told me later it is nonstop violence. My sister-in-law left mid movie.

But I digress. The Hunger Games is frightening - not so much because of the characters stalking and killing each other (mostly non-graphically), but because the movie so accurately depicts America here and now.

The 13th Day: the Story of Fatima

I watched The 13th Day last night with DH (shorthand for "dear husband" for the uninitiated). It's a 2009 film about the miracle of Fatima and I think it is superb. I've read Lucia's memoirs and the movie is true to the events. Choosing to shoot primarily in black and white and sepia tones, with color saved for the vision of hell and the miracle of the sun, the cinematographers made a good choice. It gives a sense of the historical period when things happened. Since the newsreel shots of World War I are also in black and white it also provides a consistency that was effective. The technical aspects of the film are fine and well done although the nighttime sky with the moon and stars looks fake as does some of the rain in the miracle sequence. Those are small criticisms in an overwhelmingly effective presentation which was shot mainly on location in Portugal.

One of the things I especially appreciated about the film was the screenplay. Often anachronisms creep into modern films about older events (Check out the ridiculous dialogue in the Richard Burton/Liz Taylor extravaganza Anthony and Cleopatra), but these writers avoided that. All the conversations are stamped with the historical time without being stilted.

The opening scene shows Lucia as an adult and now a nun writing her memoirs at the direction of her superior. She sits at a desk by candlelight telling the story as she writes. Occasionally, she appears again as a third person narrator. The switch between present and past is effectively done.

The children are wonderfully portrayed by the little actors as are the parents, especially Lucia's mother played by Jane Lesley. In her book about the events, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, Lucia describes how severe her mother was. You see that throughout, but without the woman becoming a stereotyped "mommie dearest." Her mother's gradual softening culminates in a tender scene near the end when Momma tells Lucia she will attend the October 13th apparition and "die" with her. Jacinta and Francisco's father was also well-portrayed. He never doubted the children and the exchange with Lucia's dad about "acting like a father" was played in an understated, not macho, way. I found it touching. In a culture where fatherhood has been so denigrated, it is refreshing to see a man played with quiet strength and dignity. He made me think of St. Joseph.

The only jarring note I found in the film was the scene when the children are taken by the mayor of Ourem and put in the jail cell with the male prisoners. One of the men, the most menacing in fact, dances with Jacinta. I couldn't help thinking about the child sex abuse scandals as he picked her up and held her in his arms. But that is putting a modern interpretation on a past event, one that really happened. Here's how Lucia described it in her first memoir:

Among the prisoners, there was one who played the concertina. To divert our attention, he bgan to play and they all started singing. They asked us if we know how to dance. We said we knew the [fandango] and the [vira]. Jacinta's partner was a poor thief who, finding her so tiny, picked her up and went on dancing with her in his arms! We only hope that Our Lady has had pity on his soul and converted him!

As I watched the film there were several times I noticed a resemblance between my grandson Ryan, who is sweet and tender-hearted, and Francisco, the little shepherd boy. It made me smile and reminded me how similar children can be even separated by generations and an entire way of life.

I reread a portion of Lucia's memoirs after seeing the movie and found lines that were directly incorporated into the script. Obviously, Ian and Dominic Higgins the producers, directors, and scriptwriters for the film, as well as the main catalyst for everything else, had great respect for the story and wanted to portray it accurately. In an interview on The 13th Day website, Ian pointed this out saying:

The 13th Day is a dramatization of actual events and most of the characters that appear in the film actually existed, so research was crucial from that point of view and from day one, everyone on the team was committed to realizing this film in such a way that it kept as true to the actual events as possible. As filmmakers we’re also very big believers in the value of research as inspiration too. We’ve found so many great ideas for a scene, hiding away in the pages of an old book while researching the script. It’s like digging for gold, there are so many fantastic nuggets of information buried away, just waiting to be re-discovered, it’s a really exciting part of the process.

If you have wondered about Fatima and what happened there, you don't want to miss this movie. It would make a great addition to any Catholic familiy's film library giving a glimpse into extraordinary events that occasionally happen to ordinary people. I found it an inspiration to the soul and satisfying proof that it doesn't take big bucks to tell a great story. This was the first feature-length film from this talented pair which gives one great hope for the future. Hollywood no longer has a stranglehold on the industry, praise God. I highly recommend The 13th Day!