Noëlle, a film that saw limited theatrical release last December will be available on DVD tomorrow, November 11th.It's the story of Father Jonathan Keene, a Catholic priest whose job is to shut down unprofitable churches. He arrives at a small town in Maine near Christmas and gets much more than he bargained for in the quirky inhabitants of the town, including the current parish priest, who is an old friend, and the town librarian.
The script is well-structured, the characters have depth and sparkle with personality, the thematic elements and visuals are subtly woven into the story, the sub-text is powerful, and the humour delightful! The cinematography makes me miss the New England winters of my childhood (alright! I miss the first snow!). It's a joyful story that deals with sin, guilt, forgiveness, and redemption, yet never wallows in sentimentality or sappiness.
Noëlle was written by, produced by, directed by, and stars a Christian homeschooling family. They did a truly great job!
Noëlle is rated PG, as it deals with some grown-up themes and there is one scene with implied language (if you can read lips - although, it's not at all gratuitous) and another with one additional word you may not want your little ones imitating. For more information and to view the trailer, please visit the website.We'll be purchasing this as soon as we can and plan to make it a regular part of our Christmas seasons, along with It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and Miracle on 34th Street.
This has been on my horizon since it came out in the theaters. In our small Oregon town, we never see films outside the mainstream. But I've had it on my Netflix wait list for a long time and am excited to be able to see it soon.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your opinions about all sorts of stuff, Lynne, but when you write about films I'm just entranced. I would love to learn more about analyzing them. Any suggestions on how to learn? (besides going to film conferences, haha).
Thanks,
Carol
PS - I still remember your post on Mostly Martha.
Carol,
ReplyDeleteI actually became interested in film when I started learning more about literature. My first 'ah-ha' moment came while I was reading Reading Between the Lines and we watched The Bachelor. The visual at the end of the groom surrounded by a sea of brides sent shivers down my spine!
Then I read Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor and began to understand much more of the metaphors used in films, too. And, yes, the King's Meadow Film Festivals were also quite educational.
And I learned a lot about film structure as I studied how to write screenplays and make films (which lead to my teaching a film class here at home sometimes to local homeschoolers). I can give you a list of books I found helpful there if you really want to pursue it that far. (I've got three screenplays in various stages of completion, but none close yet to being ready to share with anyone.)
Thanks for your encouragement!