Immigration Reform and "The Undocumented"

 Clemencia holds up a photo of her husband, Josefat. He disappeared in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. 

photo courtesy of www.theundocumented.com

It's a safe bet that as the United States Senate considers a bipartisan bill this week to reform the nation's immigration laws, a Mexican national will die in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona in an effort to walk into the United States.

According to the human rights group, No More Deaths/No Mas Muertas, 179 migrants' remains were found last year in Arizona's border counties. These are men, women and children who risked everything for the American Dream, including their lives. While fewer Mexicans are attempting to enter the United States, the number of people perishing in the desert while trying is on the rise.

Seven Quick Takes For Friday

1. In the past week two disabled combat veterans of my acquaintance died. Last Friday, a 90-year-old World War II survivor died. He was burned badly in a kamikaze attack in the Pacific. He was the father of a colleague of my husband's.  The second death happened Monday, when the brother of a former student died. He was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who lost both his legs when he stepped on two improvised explosives. These deaths have moved me deeply. I am going to write more, much more, about these men, their legacies, and the human cost of war. Rest in peace, valiant soldiers.

Five Favorites

Linking up with Hallie Lord, who is very ready to give birth to her latest baby! Patience, peace and a quick labor to her.... This week I am going to share five videos I have been looking at. Not all of them are happy or cute, but they all made a big impression on me.

"The Amazing Spiderman:" Entertaining Lessons for Us All

It was a good thing for our 12-year-old son that he and I were the only ones in the audience at the 10 a.m. showing of "The Amazing Spider-Man"  this morning. That's because I cried twice while watching this movie, which tells Peter Parker's origin story and how he developed from an awkward high schooler into a superhero.

"The Pianist:" Brutality and Beauty

Until several of my freshman students began talking to me about it, I'd forgotten all about the movie "The Pianist," which was released in 2002 and won the Palme D'Or.  My students had seen the parts of this movie in eighth grade, during a quarter-long study of the Holocaust and were deeply moved by it. I'd never seen the movie and wanted to be able to talk with them about it.

This is a brutal, magnificent movie. It speaks of the human spirit and its struggle to survive. Based largely on the true story of classical pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, it gives witness to the life of  gifted Polish pianist, a Jew, who managed to survive in Warsaw during World War II while hundreds of thousands of Jews were exterminated in death camps. Szpilman is portrayed by actor Adrien Brody, then 29, who won an Academy Award for his work.

"Red Tails:" Action-Packed History

This snowy winter afternoon, while our sons were spending time with friends, my husband and I went to see "Red Tails," the movie inspired by the heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American pilots who fought in World War II as a segregated unit in the U.S. Air Force.

The movie, produced by George Lucas, is getting mixed reviews, with one film critic calling it "middling" and another saying that the real-life Tuskegee Airmen deserve better.  My husband and I, however, found the film fun, poignant and action-packed. It tells an important chapter of American history. Too many of us don't know enough history or about the history of African Americans in particular. This film will entertain you, inspire you and educate you.  I cried when it was over.

"A Year of The Quiet Sun:" Happiness in Suffering

Last night I sat on our sofa, watching this luminous, haunting film on my MacBook via NetFlix streaming. Occasionally, I would pause the movie to show my husband an image: "Look at the way he films their faces." "Look at the landscape." And sometimes, I would pause just to catch my breath. Truly, this is one of the loveliest, most heart-wrenching and beautiful of films.

The setting for the Oscar-worthy "A Year of the Quiet Sun" is Poland just after World War II. An American private, played by the dashing Scott Wilson, falls head over heels for a Polish war widow, whom he encounters as she paints in an abandoned car.  Neither speaks the other's language and yet they manage to communicate and to fall in love

"Cape Fear": How Far Would You Go To Protect Your Loved Ones?

Because I teach "To Kill A Mockingbird" and show my students the Oscar-winning film, I ended up buying a six-DVD box of Gregory Peck movies. Among the box's treasures is "Cape Fear," a film that came out in 1961, the year before "To Kill a Mockingbird" and stars a very different Peck from the sedate, level-headed Atticus Finch.

My husband and I settled in to watch "Cape Fear" this weekend. It's a psychological thriller that takes place in Georgia. The action is set into motion when Max Cady, a convicted rapist, played by Robert Mitchum, finishes his prison term and tracks down lawyer Sam Bowden, the key witness against him. Peck portrays Bowden.

Sherlock Holmes 2: Funny, Fast-Paced and Violent

To a person, each of us in our family enjoyed Sherlock Holmes 2 last night. The movie, directed by Guy Ritchie, has plenty of fans; it already has grossed more than $100 million in North America and nearly $50 million worldwide. Critics give the movie mixed reviews, but we liked it a lot. It stars Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, his sidekick.

Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three: Coca-Cola, Communists and Comedy

It was our 12-year-old son who recommended we watch One, Two, Three on Christmas evening. You see, my husband is passing along his love for film to our sons and it seems the seventh grader already has seen this movie a few times. It's a great movie and a lot of fun to watch. The movie proves the time-tested advice to writers: Write what you know.

Billy Wilder, who was Jewish, was born in 1906 in what is now Poland. He fled Berlin during the Nazi regime and went on to become one of Hollywood's most brilliant directors. You might know some of his other movies such as  Hollywood Boulevard, the Apartment, Ninotchka, Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot, and so on.

The Bicycle Thief, 1948: A Film for These Troubled Times

Given that my husband is a major movie buff and has shown me so many wonderful classic films, it surprised me he's never seen Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece, The Bicycle Thief.  I'd never seen it either. So Saturday night, we sat down with a good friend in our family room to watch this masterpiece on cable TV. Even if you have seen this film before, rent it. Given the perilous state of the American economy, the film speaks to our hearts now as never before.

The movie's setting is post World War II Rome, when Italy was poor and politically unstable. The plot concerns a young father, Antonio, who is struggling against every odd to support his small family. Bruno, his 7-year-old son, accompanies him throughout most of the story and so we see the father's pain through the child's eyes. The theme: the price we pay for what matters most.

Waiting for Layoffs and Praying Together at Work

I called my father this morning to wish him a Happy Birthday. He turned 82 today. During our conversation he mentioned my brother, who is raising three young children with his wife, was waiting for an 11 o'clock meeting at work to find out if he was going to be laid off. My brother has been with the same employer for 25 years, and in his current position for four.

I kept him in my thoughts all day, praying that somehow he would survive this latest round of layoffs. On my drive home, I was sending up some serious prayer. I reached R. on the phone about 5 p.m. He was babysitting his year-old nephew. (The dad hadn't finished his work shift and the mom had to start hers early; the little guy was screaming in the phone as we were talking. R. was both soothing him and trying to tell me about his day.) I could also hear two of his own children in the background. His oldest was at soccer practice.

Hope and "The Shawshank Redemption"

"The Shawshank Redemption," which came out in 1994 feels like one of those movies, along with "Planet of the Apes" that is endlessly airing on cable TV. The thing is, until last night, I had only seen snippets as my husband and I channel surfed. Last night I sat down with my husband and our 15-year-old son and watched the movie from start to finish. The movie is rated R for its language and for prison violence.

This movie affected me deeply.  I am a big believer in redemption, which the Catholic Encyclopedia defines as: "The restoration of man from the bondage of sin to the liberty of the children of God through the satisfactions and merits of Christ." If we understand the price Christ paid to redeem us, we cannot help but be moved by the possibility of being forgiven.

Victor Fleming's Technicolored Joan of Arc: Portraying a Life of Faith

Cradle Catholics who grew up in the tumultuous years following Vatican II, my husband and I as children learned virtually nothing about saints. Greg first heard of Joan of Arc from a Brady Bunch episode; I learned a bit about her in my high school church youth group, but dismissed her as a nut case.

I've been curious about Joan of Arc ever since I read about her in Father James Martin's My Life with the Saints earlier this year. So I rented Victor Fleming's 1948 movie on Netflix. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to learn some basics about this remarkable saint. Older children and teens can also learn a lot about St. Joan by watching this movie.

"A Tale of Two Cities" and the Paradox of Sacrificial Love

My sons and I returned home last night from a long, wonderful day trip to New York State to see my parents, my brother and his family. My husband and I settled in to watch a movie: "A Tale of Two Cities," a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production from 1935. The film, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, is the story of men and women who become caught up in the bloody aftermath of the French Revolution.

If you are expecting instant payback for your time, this is not the movie for you. The film builds its characters and its suspenseful plot methodically. Be patient. By the end of the movie, I promise you will be on the edge of your sofas. The movie's sensibility is profoundly Christian and seeks to answer the question: What is one's purpose in life?

"Marty" and the Search for Beauty

I came into the house Sunday afternoon after digging in the garden and my husband had the movie "Marty" on the TV. I'd never seen it before, but he's seen it dozens of times. I sat down and watched with him.

This gem tells a simple story about regular people. A 34-year-old bachelor named Marty Pilletti is hounded by his friends, his family, even the customers in the butcher shop where he works in the Bronx about why he is still single. It won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Now, More Than Ever, We Need "To Sir, With Love"

Last night, I watched "To Sir, With Love (1967) for the first time, along with with my husband and our 11-year-old. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a while, or if your children have not seen it, Netflix it. You won't be sorry. This story tells of the capacity of one unassuming man to make a difference in children's lives.

My graduate school advisor suggested all we first-year teachers see this movie, in which a handsome engineer, Mr. Thackery, (played by Sidney Poitier) accepts a job at an inner-city high school in London for kids who have been thrown out of other schools. He only accepts the job because he can't land one in his chosen field.

This is a movie offers hope, especially at a time in the United States when the teaching profession is under fire by politicians. New teachers find their work in the classroom so tough, they are burning out and dropping out in record numbers As politicians and interest groups vociferously debate the merits of various public policies, our young people are listening. I wonder who among them will be drawn to teaching in the future. Who among them will stay? Movies like this one keep me inspired in my brand new career.

Detailing the Beauties of Married Love: "Goodbye, Mr. Chips"

I ordered "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," the 1969 version from Netflix by mistake. I meant to order "To Sir With Love" starring Sidney Poitier as a rookie teacher in an inner-city school in London. Instead, Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark arrived in a red envelope on our front porch. My husband warned me it wasn't that great a movie and that the 1939 version was far superior.

Nonetheless, we both ended up enjoying it. This movie is G-rated and I do recommend it for families, particularly those with young teens who don't mind singing and schmaltz mixed in with romance and a slice of British history. Our 11-year-old watched with us and alternated between enjoying the story and mocking the budding romance between the two leads. He's at that age.

The story is about a shy, socially awkward Latin teacher schoolmaster at a British boarding school. On vacation in Pompeii, he falls head over heels for a London showgirl with a checkered past. The story in this movie begins in the 1920s and spans about 30 years of Arthur Chipping's life.

Seven Quick Takes for Friday and Please Share Cookie Recipes

Where did the week go? Seems I just wrote this feature.

1. My husband, Greg, and I went to an adult dinner party last night! I cannot remember the last time that happened. The neighbors threw a Bastille Day party. It was kind of a joke between husband and wife; he had given her a hard time about going to a Royal Wedding party. In response to his "monarchist" wife, the husband proposed a party celebrating the French Revolution. It was fun to spend an evening with just adults.

Because Boys Need Heros: "Green Lantern"

I grew up in a family with three girls and one boy and the atmosphere was weighted toward the feminine: my sisters and I played with Madame Alexander dolls, hosted singing "concerts" in our basement, wore Lanz of Salzburg nightgowns and, when we girls were teenagers, experimented with dozens of brands of shampoo.

Now, I'm raising two sons. The experience is filling out my understanding of childhood. Consider this. A friend of our sons comes over for a sleepover with bare feet and empty hands. "Where's your bag, honey?" "Bag?" he answers. He puts his toothbrush on the radiator. "I just brought this."

And so it is I found myself yesterday afternoon driving to a local shopping mall with three 11-year-old boys, including one of my own, to buy tickets to see the superhero-action-adventure movie "Green Lantern." As I played my Duke Ellington CD in the front seat, I listened in on the boys' conversation in the back. They talked about two things: cars and their fathers.