I
puzzled for a couple of days over the "favorite movie" box
on my Blogger profile. Thinking of the hundreds of films my husband
and I watched on Netflix over the years, nothing stood out in my
mind. In fact, there were times when halfway through a movie I
realized we'd seen it before––not exactly memorable films. I
wanted to dismiss the favorite movie question as frivolous.
Then it came to me. A movie series that I never passed up, a family saga that compels me to to keep watching whenever I discover it on TV, even at one in the morning, even though I own the DVD boxed set.
Then it came to me. A movie series that I never passed up, a family saga that compels me to to keep watching whenever I discover it on TV, even at one in the morning, even though I own the DVD boxed set.
My
all time favorite movie is, Francis Ford Coppola's The
Godfather. I
know...so violent, and I hate violent movies. Yet I can watch The
Godfather
series over and over. I love the earthy quality of the characters,
their Italian names, their hearty meals with red wine, their
celebration of marriage and children as a serious matter, but it's
their strong family ties that keep me watching. And in spite of
whatever evil the Corleones might do, how far adrift they go, they
are anchored by the Catholic Church. The Church is their only
lifeline to goodness, and they know it.
I
wasn't channeling Mario Puzo as I wrote The
Last Lord of Paradise
series. It is nothing like The
Godfather.
Yet I realize now these two stories have many of the same underlying
ideas––food and drink, marriage and children are the future, and
generations of families all anchored by their Catholic faith.