Part 9
Religion

The movies on this list are well-suited to watching as a group to stimulate political discussions, and may be especially pertinent in the wake of the Seattle WTO demonstrations. Most can be found on video at the Seattle Public Library, or independent video stores.

*highly recommended
**a "must see"

A DOOR TO THE SKY Farid Benlyazid 1989 A westernized Moroccan woman rediscovers her roots and spirituality after her father's death.

*A PLACE IN THE WORLD Adolfo Aristarain 1992 Multinational company moves into an Argentinian town, promising wealth to the poor farmers.

THE BIBLE AND THE GUN from the series AFRICA: A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY WITH BASIL DAVIDSON.

DAENS Stijn Coninx 1992 Depicts the 19th century Church's complicity in the oppression of the people.

ELMER GANTRY The story of a revivalist preacher which depicts some of the forces behind evangelism.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW Pier Pasolini If one looks closely, one sees a revolutionary message in the life of Christ.

THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS Pier Pasolini 1965 Two simple people caught between God and Marx.

INTOLERANCE DW Griffith 1916 Epic film showing clearcut cases of injustice, although racism is accepted.

THE JEW Jom Tob Azulay 1996 Documents the work of the Portugese Inquisition, which was active into the 1820's.

*THE JUDO SAGA (SANSHIRO SUGATA) Akira Kurosawa 1943 A headstrong but talented judo student follows the road to spiritual enlightenment.

LA REGENTA Gonzalo Suarez 1974 Hypocrisy of priest ruins life of a woman oppressed by Victorian double-standards for men and women.

*LAS MADRES: THE MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO (Argentina) 1977 Documentary of 14 women whose children were killed by U.S.-backed gov't, and then began a movement protesting in front of the presidential palace. (See also THE OFFICIAL STORY).

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST Martin Scorcese 1988

*THE MESSIAH Roberto Rossellinni 1975 Christ's radical history directly from the pages of the bible.

NAZARIN Luis Bunuel 1958 Cutting satire, beautifully filmed, showing the impossibility of spiritual purity in a corrupt world.

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER Charles Laughton 1955 A hell-fire and brimstone preacher carries out what he believes are the Lord's wishes.

**THE OFFICIAL STORY Luis Puenzo (Argentina) 1985 The life of a prominent family sometime after a US supported coup. (See also LAS MADRES).

**QUE VIVA MEXICO! Sergio Eisentstein 1931 Re-released in 1979.

THE RAZOR'S EDGE 1984 A former soldier works hard to find meaning in life after seeing friends die in war. Bill Murray.

THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK Jerry London 1983 Mediocre acting but based on true story of a priest who risks his life to rescue Nazi targets.

THE SEVENTH SEAL Ingmar Bergman 1957 Knight returning from the crusades witnesses the plague and religious fanatacism sweeping the land.

VIRIDIANA Luis Bunuel Biting satire of young woman about to take her holy vows.

**WEDDING IN GALILEE (Hebrew/Arabic) Michel Khleifi 1987 Young Palestinian couple gets married despite tensions with Israeli occupying forces. Through this we see how Israel today uses the same techniques against Palestinians that the British used against the Israelis during the British colonial oppression of the same region. The movie HAMSIN also documents Israeli imperialism. The film EXODUS documents British imperialism.