Best this month
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Unfinished song
In this delightful English drama directed by Paul Andrew Williams, Arthur (Terence Stamp) is a grumpy pensioner who is looking after his cancer- stricken wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave). She doesn’t have long to live and is determined to squeeze as much pleasure out of her remaining days as she can. So she joins a choir of elders led by Eliz-
abeth (Gemma Arterton), an enthusiastic grade school music teacher. When Marion sings “True Colors,” her son James and his daughter are there to witness the emotional event. Even Arthur is moved but exits immediately afterward. Following Marion’s death, Arthur descends into a hole of grief and keeps to himself. Feeling that he needs a friend, Elizabeth reaches out to him and dis- covers that he has a talent for singing. Together they rehearse Billy Joel’s “Goodnight, My Angel.” What’s the message of this sweet film? Sing to express your joy and to share your love with the world (Starz/Anchor Bay, PG-13—some sexual references, rude gestures). Now on DVD.
How Roland Rolls
This children’s picture book was written by Jim Carrey, the popular star of film comedies and family classics. Roland is a wave born deep in the ocean. He and fellow wave Shimmer are roll- ing along until he learns some dis-
tressing news: waves end when they reach the beach. To this point the story is one
The Brussats pub- lish the website www. SpiritualityandPractice. com where you can find more information about the items reviewed in this column.
that many young people will identify with: finding a special friend and the fear of being alone. But this story doesn’t leave things there. It takes a mystical turn as Roland discovers after breaking on the beach that he belongs to something much bigger—the ocean. He is interconnected with all the water at the poles, in the rivers, and the streams and the pools and the sinks. This book, with its rhym- ing verses and gorgeously creative illustrations by Rob Nason, is for the child and the mystic in you (Some Kind of Garden Media, www.
howrolandrolls.com).
64 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition
In this stellar meditation on the biblical practice of almsgiving, Gary A. Anderson, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) and author of Sin: A History, presents some helpful ways to think about charity to the poor. For many Jews and Chris- tians, it’s a natural thing to see this act of giving to the needy as “an expression of faith in God.” Anderson would also have us open our hearts to beg- gars looking for hand- outs as opportunities to meet God in the face of the poor.
He also suggests
that giving alms is a loan to God. The spiri-
tual path lies in taking a leap into the dark by trust- ing that good will come out of giving to the poor. Other sections cover the links between prayer, fasting and almsgiving; sacrificial giving; and alms as a memorial (Yale University Press, www.
yalebooks.com).
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