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The Magdalene Sisters, directed by Peter Mullan, picked up the prestigious Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year. It is based on the true story of an Irish reform school for wayward young ladies, where residents were forced into a sort of slave labor and abused mentally and physically.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is voicing objections: "To be sure, conditions were harsh by today's standards but they were not uncommon in their day. Historians have recounted how Protestant-run institutions were similar."

But Peter Malone, author of several books on film and faith and president of SIGNIS, the international Catholic association for communication, defends the film. "Mullan … has made an expertly-crafted but grim film. The film will certainly cause sadness in audiences who have been disturbed by the experiences of the 1990s, the revelations, the court cases, and sentences. It will cause sadness for those who have positive memories of education by sisters and for those who want to see pleasant images of the church and church personnel. However, this story, which makes more impact perhaps because it is being seen rather than merely being read, is no less true than many of the recent stories that have been reported even in the Catholic press. Most audiences will appreciate, as they would with a film criticizing the police or politicians, that the majority of members of the profession did not act in this way. The Magdalene Sisters can be seen as part of an honest examination of conscience by the church and a request for repentance, an expression of sorrow and an apology, something which Pope John Paul II has exemplified and encouraged in recent years."

In this time when the news is focused on gross abuses that have taken place behind the concealing walls of churches, is it wise to claim defamation? Better we face up to the sins of the past, acknowledge that the church is made up of sinners, and point to the true source of cleansing, forgiveness, healing, and hope.

The film played over the weekend at the New York Film Festival. More reviews can be found here.

Sweet Home Alabama gives Reese Witherspoon her most glamorous role yet, and the film broke records for a September opening weekend. Witherspoon plays Melanie, a fashion mogul trying to escape her modest past in small-town Alabama. When her rich boyfriend (Patrick Dempsey) proposes to her in lavish fashion, the stage is set for a spectacular wedding. There's just one problem—she has yet to complete a divorce with her estranged husband (Josh Lucas). Is their marriage really dead? Which guy will she choose—the big-city rich guy or the unshaven small-town rogue who really knows her? Make a wild guess.

Religious media critics express mixed feelings. "While the movie eventually has its heart in the right place … Alabama plays fast and loose with Melanie's commitment to her marriage vows," Gerri Pare (Catholic News) says. "In the interests of light-hearted comedic elements, her indiscretions get blown over as if they are harmless little white lies when in reality they are serious, even reckless."

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) is bothered by something else: "The film depends heavily upon stereotypes for its humor. We must … recognize that stereotypes tend to encourage division amongst us as they focus on what makes a group of people uniquely different."

The caricatures didn't seem divisive to Holly McClure (Crosswalk): "I'm from Texas, so the accents, attitudes and references to the South were all things I could laugh at and relate to. Instead of the story focusing on a good or bad guy 'winning' the woman, it comes down to issues about who Melanie really is and … what kind of person she wants to be. And I like that."

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September (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46