For this blog’s one-year anniversary, two films about growing up and overcoming.
The Karate Kid (1984; Netflix, DirecTV, or your library)
A teenager from New Jersey finds himself caught between a pretty girl and a motorcycle gang until a mysterious Japanese American custodian shows him more than meets the eye. Everything about this movie is top-notch. The script is compelling. The characters are developed richly, and their care for each other is palpable. The music is sweet and creative. Even the cinematography is more than just a bunch of close-ups: long takes that give the characters space to have dialogue, crane shots that establish the crowd scenes… This is a true classic. From the director of Rocky, something just as impressive but five times better.
It also feels very empowering. The actor who plays the “kid” first heard the title and thought it sounded like some cheesy after-school special. But it’s not. It touches the whole person with true wisdom from a true mentor: self-discipline directed through the heart. As Mister Miyagi says, “Karate here (touches head); karate here (touches heart); karate never here (touches gut).” This is exactly the rich balance of mind and heart that the Mind and Heart Movie Blog you are reading is all about.
For sensitive viewers: Moderate swear words—apparently family movies in the 1980s weren’t all that filtered? Also some altercations and wounds, as it is a karate movie about facing bullies.
Stars in My Crown (1950; free on YouTube or Roku Movie Vault)
A preacher (Joel McCrea), together with his wife and son (Dean Stockwell), successfully engages the rough terrain of a post-Civil-War town. This movie feels timeless. When could a story like this present religion in a positive, socially engaged way, able to speak constructively to postwar resentment, secular healthcare, and racial prejudice? Regarding the latter, this is To Kill a Mockingbird over a decade earlier, with a pastor rather than a lawyer. And while I love Mockingbird (especially the book), I daresay this film is a lot more palatable or family-friendly that that rough classic. It’s more uplifting without sacrificing its powerful story against racism. And unlike Mockingbird, the racism is not the central storyline. This is true in both our movies this week: more subtle, everyday racism that must be encountered and overcome slowly and honestly.
As a movie, you can’t do better. Director Jacques Tourneur is only now getting the attention he deserves. He had a long career of impressive movies made on low budgets. From the opening shots of the town, you can tell in this movie that it has a unique richness to its tone. Add to that an all-star cast, including Alan Hale (Gilligan’s Skipper’s dad!), Ed Begley, and those who would later go on to play Miss Kitty and Marshall Dillon in Gunsmoke, and you have a family Western that is also a great film that is also a treat for the soul.
How I Named This Blog
My first idea for the name of this blog was “Films for the Soul.” That sounded too much like chicken soup.
I had just finished reading Howard Thurman’s autobiography With Head and Heart (1979). Howard Thurman was a black theologian and activist pastor of the Civil Rights Era, and his balanced worldview resonated with me. I liked the title: head and heart. We always need both. A good movie is full of both, too.
“Head and Heart” was a good alliteration, but there were too many things online with that title. Then “Mind” came to mind, which alliterates well with “Movie.” “Mind and Heart Movie Blog.”
I’ve always been a hybrid. The first two films I saw in the movie theater were Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie and The Fellowship of the Ring. Family and adult, animated musical and live-action drama, serious and fun… I value both. And this blog is a hybrid: an old movie and a new movie, so that if you don’t like one, the other still may interest you. Here’s to another year of great films good for the mind and heart—and the soul! Thank you all for reading!!
(Thank you, Uncle Jim and Aunt Steph, for this old Birthday Card! I saw it the other day and felt it fit this year of the movie blog well.)
