I believe that film is one of the great facilitators of thought and conversation.  Schindler’s List, Kramer vs. Kramer, To Kill a Mockingbird…these are only a few of many films that have served as catalysts of discussion for so many people over the years.  Conversations like these can oftentimes be facets that facilitate life and/or societal change.

Over the next two days, I will be listing eight movies that I believe serve as excellent discussion starters.

We’ll start with FOUR documentaries today.

1. Deep Water:

A story about the first yacht race around the world that took place in 1969, focusing primarily on a participant named Donald Crowhurst whose voyage led him down a path towards madness.

Why is this film worth your time?

This film will engage you from beginning to end, and take you on a psychological journey you might not expect to come from a film like this.

“…one of this years better studies of the human soul” G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

“the film evokes a visceral understanding of solitude at sea”, Toddy Burton, The Austin Chronicle

Discussion topics include:

1. The tension between our human need for solitude and a need for community

2. How our personal aspirations can test our character

2. A Walk to Beautiful

A film about several Ethiopian woman and their journey seeking personal and physical healing from obstetric fistulas, an injury that takes place after a failed childbirth.

Why is this film worth your time?

This heartbreaking documentary takes you to a place of empathy with individuals who live in a drastically different cultural context than our own.

“A Walk to Beautiful will leave you speechless two times over — first with despair, then with joy.” Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times-qtd. in Metacritic.com

Discussion topics include:

1. How does serving others impact the soul?

2. How does our blindness to international issues impact us and others?

You can watch the entire film here!

3. Moving Midway

A film exploring a family that moves their southern plantation home from one location to another in efforts to preserve the cultural mystique of the house.

Why is this film worth your time?

This movie challenges us to explore how our generational and cultural backgrounds impact the way we view others.

“In its 98  minutes, film critic Godfrey Cheshire’s  documentary “Moving Midway”   records an amazing architectural feat, and that’s the least of its virtues.” Maureen M. Hart, Chicago Tribune

“[This film's director turns] this deeply personal film into a potent meditation on our nation’s past.” Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Discussion topics include:

1.  How do you see America’s “old south”?

2. How has your family upbringing impacted your view of the American south?

3. How important to you is the idea of the “family legacy”?

4. Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

A film about the 10,000 Jewish children that left their families as refugees to England in order to escape the impending doom of Nazi power.

Why is this film worth your time?

This movie is engaging, haunting, horrific, and inspiring.  It’s another story from our global history that must be told and must be heard (Won the Academy Award for Best Documentary 2000). I never knew this story until I saw this film.

“…the film gives a human face to stories of unimaginable suffering and unexpected triumph.” Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

“…proves there are Holocaust stories still to be told.” Mike Clark, USA Today-qtd. in Metacritic.com

Discussion topics include:

1. One lady in this film talks about how remembering history is not enough.  How do you believe this to be true?

2. How can this story taking place almost 70 years ago impact us today?