SPIRITUALITY & PRACTICE: The Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2010

Submitted by spinetingles on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 21:13
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  • "One of the key premises of spiritual literacy is that the whole world is charged with sacred meaning. We go to the theatre and sit in the dark to experience a close encounter with our own lives and the lives of others. We step into the story and look at both the small details and the bigger picture. We are attentive to what the film says to the masculine and feminine sides of ourselves. We listen to our inner child and the wild one inside us. We are always on the alert for epiphanies. We do not turn away from the shadow in films. And, given the long time and immense collaborative effort put into the creation of what we are seeing on the screen, we make it a rule not to trivialize the filmmakers art by making a quick or glib assessment. We always recommend that you let a film simmer in your soul for a while.
  • That's what we've been doing this year as we have contemplated our choices for the Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2010. Although there is no blockbuster standout like last year's Avatar, the variety of 2010 releases has impressed us immensely. During hard times, movies are more important than ever as they edify and inspire us with portraits of those who are animated by love, kindness, hospitality, compassion, openness, reverence, yearning, and much more. Welcome to our tour of the very best spiritual movies of 2010."



  • The Ten Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2010
  • Please Give (COMPASSION)
  • Please Give (Sony Pictures Classics) is a cinematic meditation on what happens when an ordinary person feels the pull of compassion; it is also one of the best movies ever made about guilt as the guardian of our goodness.



  • Made in Dagenham (JUSTICE)
  • Made in Dagenham (Sony Pictures Classics) is the funny and inspiring true story of women fighting for equal pay in a Ford Motor Company in 1968 England.



  • Hachi: A Dog's Tale (LOVE)
  • Hachi: A Dog's Tale (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) is an immensely appealing drama about the extraordinary love and devotion of a dog for his beloved human companion.



  • The Kids Are All Right (LOVE)
  • The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features) is a remarkable family drama with five endearing characters whose struggles and foibles are both genuine and touching.



  • The Company Men (MEANING)
  • The Company Men (The Weinstein Co.) is a hard-hitting and creative examination of the scourge of unemployment, how it destroys dreams, brings untold pain and loss, and destabilizes families.



  • Mother and Child (NURTURING)
  • Mother and Child (Sony Pictures Classics) is an extraordinary film about adoption and three very different women on separate quests for love, nurturing, and personal fulfillment.



  • Black Swan (SHADOW)
  • Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) is a mesmerizing film about the self-destructive and dark dimensions of perfectionism and unbridled ambition.



  • The Social Network (SHADOW)
  • The Social Network (Columbia Pictures) is an astonishing morality tale about the shadow side of creativity, the loneliness of pioneers, and the ways that anger can fuel ambition and power in a world ruled by technology.



  • The King's Speech (TRANSFORMATION)
  • The King's Speech (The Weinstein Co.) is an enthralling and heart-stirring biodrama about an unusual friendship that transforms the life and soul of King George VI of England.



  • Hereafter (YEARNING)
  • Hereafter (Warner Bros.) is a poignant, meditative, and meaningful movie about the human desire to know more about the afterlife and to communicate with the dead.



  • The Ten Most Spiritually Literate Foreign Language Films of 2010
  • Letters to Father Jacob (FAITH)
  • Letters to Father Jacob (Olive Films) is a lean and intensely focused spiritual drama about faith, the dark night of the soul, and the redemptive power of love.



  • Secret Sunshine (FORGIVENESS)
  • Secret Sunshine (Cinema Service) is a compelling and poignant Korean film about a besieged widow's journey into the far country of forgiveness.



  • Welcome (HOSPITALITY)
  • Welcome (Film Movement) is an astonishing film about the struggle of a Kurdish immigrant to get from Calais to England and the assistance he obtains from a middle-aged Frenchman who empathizes with his dreams.



  • Nora's Will (LOVE)
  • Nora's Will (Menemsha Films) is a spiritually rich Mexican drama about a Jewish woman's death and the responses of her inner circle of family and friends.



  • The Secret in Their Eyes (LOVE)
  • The Secret in Their Eyes (Sony Pictures) is a combination psychological thriller and love story that offers an engrossing look at memory, yearning, and the toxins of revenge; it was the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.



  • White Wedding (LOVE)
  • White Wedding (Stepping Stone Pictures) is an incredible South African road movie and comedy about love, friendship, honesty, and the common ground that can unite former enemies.



  • Mid-August Lunch (NURTURING)
  • Mid-August Lunch (Zeitgeist Films) is a thoroughly delightful Italian film about a nurturing man who finds his caregiving responsibilities greatly expanded during a summer holiday.



  • The Father of My Children (SHADOW)
  • (IFC Films) is an intelligent and beautifully acted French film about work, death, grief, and finding one's way back to life.



  • Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (VISION)
  • Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (Zeitgeist Films) is a soulful and spirit-filled German film about an extraordinary twelfth-century abbess, writer, teacher, composer, herbalist, prophet, and visionary.



  • Mademoiselle Chambon (YEARNING)
  • Mademoiselle Chambon (Lorber Company) is an exquisite and well-acted French film about an extramarital romance which opens two lovers to fresh territory inside themselves they have never explored.



  • The Five Most Spiritually Literate Animated Films of 2010
  • The Secret of Kells (IMAGINATION)
  • The Secret of Kells (New Video Group) is a stunningly beautiful animated feature from Ireland centered around The Book of Kells that reveals the fire power of faith when it is wedded to imagination.



  • Despicable Me (LOVE)
  • Despicable Me (Universal Pictures) is a spunky 3D animated feature that shows how a supervillain can follow his heart and be transformed from within.



  • My Dog Tulip (LOVE)
  • My Dog Tulip (New Yorker Films) is a funny, charming, and witty animated feature based on J. R. Ackerley's masterful memoir about his loving relationship with his dog.



  • Tangled (LOVE)
  • Tangled (Walt Disney Pictures) is a wonderful animated feature that salutes the power of healing, the spirit-lifting importance of light, and the transformative marvels of affection in our relationship with animals.



  • Toy Story 3 (PLAY)
  • Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney Studios Production) is a fine family film with an edifying tale, endearing and funny characters, and an appealing emotional undertow.



  • The Ten Most Spiritually Literate Documentaries of 2010
  • Waste Land (BEAUTY)
  • Waste Land (Arthouse Films) is an astonishing documentary about an art project that celebrates the pickers who work in the world's largest garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro.



  • Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie (COMPASSION)
  • Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie (Ripple Effects Films) is a remarkable and rowdy documentary about a holy fool and saint who walks his talk about love, compassion, peace, and transformation.



  • Last Train Home (JUSTICE)
  • Last Train Home (Zeitgeist Films) is a poignant documentary that puts a human face on the plight of 130 million migrant workers in China who are pawns in the global marketplace.



  • Rachel (JUSTICE)
  • Rachel (Women Make Movies Release) is a poignant documentary about the death of an American idealist working for the liberation of the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle-East.



  • Breath Made Visible (MEANING)
  • Breath Made Visible (Zas Films) is an exquisite and engrossing documentary on the profound and playful life and work of dance legend Anna Halprin.



  • Budrus (PEACE)
  • Budrus (Just Vision) is a brave and illuminating documentary about a landmark 2003 nonviolent protest movement in a small Palestinian town against Israel's Separation Barrier.



  • Babies (PLAY)
  • Babies (Focus Features) is a delightful and thoroughly appealing documentary that charts the adventures of four babies from the U.S, Japan, Mongolia, and Namibia.



  • Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (REVERENCE)
  • Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (Argot Pictures) is a fascinating documentary about the high regard for insects in Japan and the cultural and spiritual reasons behind this phenomenon.



  • Waiting for Superman (TRANSFORMATION)
  • Waiting for Superman (Paramount Vantage) is a serious and sobering documentary on the necessity to reform American education with charter schools, where excellence is heralded and love of learning a given.



  • The Legend of Pale Male (YOU)
  • The Legend of Pale Male (Balcony Releasing) is a crowd-pleasing documentary about the adventures of a wild red-tailed hawk and the people who love him in New York City.



  • Ten More Spiritually Literate Films of 2010
  • Get Low (FORGIVENESS)
  • Get Low (Sony Pictures Classics) is a telling and moving depiction of the difficulty of forgiving ourselves.



  • Agora (HOSPITALITY)
  • Agora (Lions Gate) transports us to a place we've never been before and impresses us with the importance of hospitality and openness to the other.



  • Conviction (LOVE)
  • Conviction (Fox Searchlight) is the incredible true story of a crusading sister and the love that animates her 18-year fight to free her brother from prison.



  • Cyrus (LOVE)
  • Cyrus (Fox Searchlight) is a darkly comic drama that honors the mysteries surrounding human nature, the complexity of intimate relationships, and the bounties of friendship.



  • Jack Goes Boating (LOVE)
  • Jack Goes Boating (Overture Films) is the story of two sad, lonely, and frightened individuals seeking love.



  • Another Year (LOVE)
  • Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics) is a down-to-earth anatomy of loneliness and its effect upon those who suffer from it and those around them.



  • Eat, Pray, Love (QUESTING)
  • Eat, Pray, Love (Sony Pictures) is a sensuous and emotionally cathartic adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's spiritual journey to personal transformation and love.



  • Secretariat (QUESTING)
  • Secretariat (Sony Pictures) is a thrilling family film about the greatest race horse who ever lived and his feisty, tough, and creative owner.



  • 127 Hours (YOU)
  • 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) is a riveting and creative wilderness story about a loner's courage and perseverance in the face of hopelessness.



  • The Fighter (YOU)
  • The Fighter (Paramount Pictures) is a combination biopicture and dramedy that has us rooting for a working-class hero as he struggles to find his style in the ring and outside the ring within his dysfunctional family.



Author Comments: 

SPIRITUALITY & PRACTICE annually presents a list of what they consider to be the most spiritually literate films and documentaries of the year. I try to see as many of the films they list, though these usually turn out to be on DVD's and not full screen films I prefer. I will bold the films I saw, and italicize notes on when and where I saw them, and a few sentences of review.

WriterWill3701/11/2011

Thanks for posting this, I have several to check out now.