Trees

"The Man Who Planted Trees" was an absolutely beautiful film. Leeper wasn't kidding when he said it was like a Renoir painting in motion. The color was fabulous. The sepia tones for the dry desert, the lush greens, blues and yellows in the trees, and the reds for the violent village. In case you haven't seen this wonderful film, it's about a shepherd who single-handedly plants thousands of trees; thus turning a dry, lonely desert, into something lush and beautiful. The beauty of the trees brings everyone together. At one point in the movie, the narrator ponders the fact that perhaps one man can do the work of God. I think this story is a lot about being the salt and the light to the world. We are to show Christ's love in all that we do and are, and this carries out God's work on earth. The shepherd never asked for fame or wealth or friends, but continued to plant trees in order to make his small part of the world better. In a way, his planting the trees became his way of communing with God. The forest he planted became a symbol of peace and beauty to all the rest of the world, much like how we as Christians are suppose to reflect the love and hope of Christ in all that we do.

Hill Farm

This movie was so cute! I love the hungry chickens, the square sheep, and how all of the animals "popped" out of the barn. Okay, so I really, really liked the animation. The story was good too. The farmer and wife and shepherd are just living on this little pleasant farm and everything is fine. Then the well stops working and these tourists and a hunting party show up and things turn upside down. Life is starting to be a little crazy, when a huge black thundercloud rolls in and destroys the shepherds house. On the other hand, it seems all is set right by the storm - the water starts working again and the tourists and hunting party leave. I'm not exactly sure what I got out of this one, except maybe that sometimes it takes a storm to set things straight again. I loved the animation and the light humor in the film.

Out of the Fog

"Hedgehog in the Fog" was really cool. It was definitely about the awe of nature and of life. While walking through the fog, hedgehog discovers the wonder and beauty of nature. I loved how intricate the leaves and the owl and the white horse were portrayed. The way hedgehog became curious, got lost, resolved himself to die, and then reveled in the joys of simple life speaks a lot about how we live our lives. We become curious about things of this world, wondering maybe if we would choke on the fog if we were to enter it. Our curiosity beacons us to enter the fog, and so we do. While at first, it may be beautiful and mysterious, we soon become lost and the world becomes a dark and scary place. Just when we think all hope is lost, however, God comes along and carries us ashore, much like the mysterious creature in the water carrying hedgehog to the bank of the river. We realize how wonderful life is once we've come out of that dark, doomed place.