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Got any advice for first-time visitors to the Netherlands?

With joy and gratitude, Anne and I will be traveling to the Netherlands next week by the invitation of generous friends who have given us tremendous encouragement.

Peter van Dijk and Bart Cusveller, both editors of www.cvfilm.nl, have had a hand in bringing Through a Screen Darkly into a new Dutch translation.

I first encountered Peter when he wrote to me about my review of There Will Be Blood just over a year ago, and then we met at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing. I heard from Bart soon after that (he sent me the picture of himself posted above), and met Bart during his visit to Trinity Western University in January.

These two have been working hard to cultivate exciting, progressive conversations about faith and filmmaking. I’m blessed to call them my friends, and I’m thrilled to be working with them during my upcoming visit. I’ll be offering several presentations there: speaking to film students; offering a presentation on Babette’s Feast and then leading a post-screening discussion; and addressing parents and teachers at an educator’s symposium.

If you’re interested in more information, you can find it here: www.cvkoers.nl.

There’s also information on www.eh.nl under ‘symposiums,’ and you’ll find more if you scroll down here.

If you’d like to read a translation of the announcement, keep on reading:

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Discovered at David Hudson’s IFC blog:

Joshua Land at Moving Image Source writes about The Passion of the Christ and The Last Temptation of Christ:

Considering the tremendous importance of Jesus to many millions, it’s understandable that supporters and opponents of [Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader's 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988) and Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' (2004)] were often more interested in what they wanted to see in these works than in what their makers actually accomplished. Still, it’s unfortunate that the controversy has made it impossible for many viewers to really see either film, because ‘The Passion of the Christ’ and ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ despite their flaws, are both deeply personal, conscientious, and – each in its own peculiar way – reverent films that deserve to exist as more than floating cultural signifiers and to be taken seriously by believers and nonbelievers alike.

I’m rather excited about this.

Anybody want to make a guess as to why I’ve watched this trailer several times?

We know that Godfather Al “Scarface” Pacino is in talks to play the power-mad King Herod for the film Mary, Mother of Christ.

Today, MTV’s MovieBlog reports that he’s about to play another heavy-handed leader (although in this case, that heavy hand will be held, um… “closer to the vest”)…
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Sam Phillips’ new song is being… uh… considered on NPR’s All Songs Considered right now.

My review of Eldorado, a bizarre comedy from Belgian filmmaker Bouli Lanners, is up at Filmwell.

Is there any better big screen actress working today than Juliette Binoche? I’d like to hear your idea of who you think has a better record of great performances… in great films.

Last year, she showed up in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Flight of the Red Balloon and astonished me again. This year, it’s Oliver Assayas’ Summer Hours, which a few friends have already highly recommended to me. I can’t wait.

Fans of the Dardennes Brothers should note: Jérémie Renier is in this film as well.

You can see it in HD here.

There’s such an easy beauty to the look of these clips that I find myself wanting to go there, recline on some lawn furniture, sip a glass of wine and relax.

If I say “documentaries,” most readers will probably stop reading and move on to something else.

But for those of us who who are enjoying a “golden age” of documentaries, finding that they are often more engaging and rewarding than other kinds of films (Was there a better suspense-thriller last year than Man on Wire?)… here’s a question:

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Jason Morehead enlightens us as to the meaning of “mono no aware”… his first feature at Filmwell today.

Lo and behold, I realize that I love a lot of movies that explore “mono no aware.”

He also surveys some memorable Japanese movies like The Twilight Samurai and After Life.

They’re all connected to the new movie called Ponyo on the Cliff.

MTV’s movieblog reports:

Noah Cyrus, Miley’s 9-year-old little sister, and Frankie Jonas, 8, better known as the Bonus Jonas, are voice actors in the animated flick, “Ponyo,” by “Spirited Away” director Hayao Miyazaki.

“I actually have a movie coming out call ‘Ponyo,’ ” Noah told the Press Association about the movie. “I play a goldfish in it, and I wanna be a human in it, and my best friend is a human, and I think that’s where I get it from, and then I turn into a human. The guy who plays my best friend in it is Frankie Jonas, the Jonas Brothers’ little brother.”

“Ponyo,” which was released as “Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea” in Japan last July, will be released stateside on August 14, according to Slashfilm.com.

Okay, that’s all very interesting. Now, to far more exciting details about Ponyo on the Cliff:

Miyazaki was intimately involved with the hand-drawn animation in Ponyo. He preferred to draw the sea and waves himself, and enjoyed experimenting with how to express this important part of the film.This level of detailed drawing resulted in an astonishing 170,000 separate images—a record for a Miyazaki film.