Movies / Documentaries

Lights, Camera, Inspiration!

I love movies. Nothing quite like dark theater,  huge screen and brilliant storytelling to move us, make us laugh or cry,  help us rethink our lives, maybe compel us into action. As with two other loves- pizza and sauvignon blanc- they don’t even have to be the best for me to enjoy them, so I can be a cheap date with a film and slaving over a hot phone for dinner. As a coach, I love movies as a way to stimulate thoughts and feelings about who you are, your life and the mission you truly wish you fuel. I often find fun, entertaining movies to be a great way to absorb provocative wisdom and healthy growth challenges. As an example, a favorite for Leadership lessons is Chocolat . (see below)

It’s dangerous to use the fantasy world of cinema as a measuring stick against real life, especially if you are expecting tidy resolutions in happy endings or epic “English Patient” type movie love. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have quippy lines from brilliant writers, soul-stirring musical scores, makeup artists and soft lighting bathing me while talking to my husband in the kitchen. Nonetheless, we can use movies to prompt contemplation about our own true choices, for better lives and yes, a better world.

Also see Movie Nut blog-cafe category

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Strangers No More

Watching this Academy Award-winning documentary will be the best 39 minutes you invest in a long while! Let it uplift your heart about a place that’s not just singing songs about peace, love and we are all One- but walking this talk  every day.  In the heart of Tel Aviv, there is an exceptional school where children from 48 different countries and diverse backgrounds ( including Christian, Muslim and Jewish) come together to learn, play, support each other and recreate their lives like the phoenix rising from ashes. Many of the students arrive from places like Sudan or Ethiopia fleeing poverty, political adversity and even genocide. I fell in love with the teachers and the kids-marveling at stories of “before and after” children who are transformed and inspired to create a new and better future for themselves and others. They all inspired me to try to be a better human being and conscious global citizen. Let their joy bring a big smile to your face and ignite something in your spirit as well. I found this “on demand” on HBO. See site for info.

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I AM The Shift is About to Hit the Fan

Filmmaker Tom Shadyac “had it all” as a  leading Hollywood comedy director. He jokes that his gardener had a gardener. A bicycle accident knocked him out and nearer to death, which led him to really want to ask 2 questions. “What’s wrong with our world? and more importantly, “What can we do to make it better?” As some of you know, one of my wake up calls came from a near death- skull smashing fall off a scooter- thus the universe knocked more sense into me too. I went to a screening and Q&A with Shadyac- who impressed me as an authentically committed change-agent who truly cares and is doing his best with his gifts for a greater good. It’s one of those movies you hope everyone sees and takes to heart his imperative message of shaking us out of a false dream and of joyful hope for our better future. Make the effort to find this movie and bring friends! Enjoy.

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A Small Act Two lives, worlds apart, come full circle in this inspiring example of the potential impact from one small act. This also reminds us to open our eyes and hearts to what life is like for our global family-children. It’s a celebration of our better selves/ true nature of what human beings can be for each other, especially if you let it inspire you to do a small act somehow.

When a school teacher in Sweden, sponsored a young, rural Kenyan student for about $15/month, she thought nothing of it. She certainly never expected to hear from him. Years later, now a Harvard graduate and a Human Rights Lawyer for the United Nations, he decides to find the stranger that changed his life. With clarity and grace, A SMALL ACT, bears witness to the ripple effect a single action can create.

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Paradise Road, based on true story. Moved to tears by this beautiful film and sensing what these women must have endured. AND the inspiration of what the human spirit is capable of, no matter what is going on externally.

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Truly Delicious Leadership

My heart stopped for a brief moment in the film, Chocolat. (O.K. it also stopped the first time Johnny Depp appeared looking oh so come hither, but that’s not the scene I’m focusing on here.) Juliette Binoche sets up a chocolate shop in a small village dominated by a strict moral code and a repressed, condemning and conniving mayor. On the surface, he is the town’s upstanding leader and she represents a naughty distraction. In the scene where she discovers him in an utterly humiliating and compromised position, she demonstrates her true choice. She would have every right to judge, laugh, and broadcast his personal disgrace to the whole town, as payback for all of his backstabbing and plotting to banish her. With dignity and genuinely respectful compassion, she simply says, “I will not tell a soul.” In this moment she is the embodiment of true leadership in the community. In other ways, she is an apt servant leader to the people of this town, helping them to awaken to their own true natures, heal old wounds and discover new freedoms.

Coaching/Reflection Qs: Why would I say that Juliette Binoche’s character in Chocolat is one of my favorite examples of servant leadership? Where do you agree or disagree?  What are you suppressing or not letting yourself have (what the chocolate often represents in this film) these days? What could make room for sweeter, richer aliveness in your life? What is true leadership about for you? How could you find joy in serving and helping others more?

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A Life Worth Saving

At the end of “Wonder Boys” we see a close up of Michael Douglas clicking on “Save” for the computer file he’s been working on. This is a little wink and smile reference to his previous lack of back up, but I’ve always felt there’s more to this moment. His character has been through various levels of achieving success, getting stuck, self-destruction and then gaining clarity on who he wants to be, what is precious and what is dispensable. My heart is lightened in this quiet little scene, because he has come through his journey with a deeper sense of his true choices. The final click says, “Aah, yes. This is a life worth saving.” Watch this film (again perhaps) noticing the theme of letting life’s train tracks rumble on rather than  finding the clarity or mustering up the courage to make intentional, conscious choices. Professor Tripp (poetic name for Douglas character)  is asked, “If you didn’t know what your book was about, why were you writing it?” He replies with mild despair, “I couldn’t stop.” Stellar cast includes Robert Downey Jr, Frances McDormand, Rip Torn, young Tobey McGuire and Katie Holmes (pre Tom Cruise).

Coaching/Reflection Qs:  What is worth saving in your life? Imagine your future self 10-20 years out lovingly advising you about what really matters most. What could be dragged into the trash bin? What might be on autopilot that you can’t quite stop? What could you celebrate about your increasing clarity about your own true choices, more aligned with your Inspired Self?

 

More to Come….