My Favourite Film of 1953.

Film Just because I'm don't follow a particular religion doesn't mean I'm not someone who doesn't have faith.  At the risk of plunging headlong into a Thought for the Day and in order to swerve from smacking headfirst into a sketch from The Fast Show, it's important to note this isn't faith in God or some other mono or polytheistic supernatural being.  I've said in the past that creative endeavours have filled the gap where religion would be and that's still probably true, Shakespeare, the Time Lord franchise and films in general probably have that function.

As Steve Martin says in Grand Canyon, everything you need to know about life is in the movies including it seems, if you're using Grand Canyon as a source  of the information that everything you need to know about life is in the movies.

Here's an example.

In early February, I finally saw Ken Branagh's Cinderella whose central "message" is to "Be kind, have courage and all will be well."  The younger, more cynical version of me might have scoffed at that, but the person typing these words now thinks, "Well ... that's not a bad way to go about things" reminding me as it does of how we'd probably all be better off if we conducted ourselves in a similar way to Cary Grant in North-By-Northwest, genial and good-natured even in the face of aggression and surprising events.  That does work by the way; if a stranger bawls at you, they have nowhere to go if you don't bawl back which is my point about these filmic life lessons, they always have a grain of truth.  Plus it helps if they're the courageous and kind type themselves.

The other moment I often think of is in The War of the Worlds.

The Martians are on the brink of winning.  Everything is near destroyed and then a Pastor realises that no one has bothered to try speaking to the aliens. He says, "I think we should try to make them understand we mean them no harm. They are living creatures out there" and after some justification in relation to God having perhaps created this aliens as well as humanity, steps forward into their path, bible pressed forward and begins quoting. It's Psalm 23. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. [...] Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever."

Now it doesn't go too well and the Martians vaporizer him anyway. God doesn't help him much.

But there's something about his bravery in the face of obvious annihilation, his absolutely belief that he has to at least try.

Who would have thought Cinderella would reinforce the message of War of the Worlds?

Which is why I always try to be be kind, have courage and hope all will be well.