I just watched the 2013 film. Damn, the Catholic Church has a lot to answer for.

Yes, I enjoyed that film very much. I was surprised no one here at RFM commented on it when it came out. Such a tragic story, damning to the reprehensible practices of the Irish Catholic organization of that time, but to me it wasn't overall a depressing film. I thought it was a great extended dialog between Atheist and Catholic, colored in an interesting way by their very different life circumstances. Not a preachy film either, it more or less just presented the two characters in the context of the fascinating story. Loved the performances by Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.

Agree with the comments made above. A well-acted and written movie.

I love Judi Dench in everything she does, and have kind of crush on her. I was sad when she was killed off in the last James Bond movie.

I loved Philomena and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, from 2012 I think. There's a sequel coming out later this year and I hope it's half as entertaining.

I loved The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, too! I just hope the sequel won't be a disappointment. The original was just so perfect.

They kind of shot themselves in the foot calling it "The BEST"--how do you make a sequel after that? "The Even Better Best Marigold Hotel"?

"The Bestest Marigold Hotel"?

(And, to agree with the OP--loved Philomena. Coogan was awesome, as was Judi Dench. And really quite infuriating, those adoption practices/mass graves.)

Darn.

Left out "Exotic".

I also watched "The Magdalene Sisters" a few years ago.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318411/

I just barely saw it about a month ago on HBO I think. I didn't mention it, because I thought that everyone else had seen and discussed it when it came out. I didn't want to be "Johnny come lately". It was heart wrenching; and of course the acting of Judi Dench makes it more so.

One of my favorite movies from the 80's is 84 Charing Cross Road, starring the always lovely Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and a youngish Judi Dench.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090570/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_31

It's based on a book by the same name which I read when it first came out and then enjoyed the movie very much.

When I watched it again about 4-5 years ago, I noticed that Judi Dench plays Anthony Hopkins wife, before either one of them were big stars. I didn't remember her before but it had been a while since I'd seen it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2015 03:52AM by memikeyounot.

I was impressed by the movie when it came out. And yes, the behavior of the nuns was terrible. Nothing about what they did was charitable.

I loved the movie and then read the book. And as you might imagine, the book is even better. The abuses by the Catholic church are outlined in much more detail. And the book gets into more detail about how his religious upbringing played such a huge part in his self-loathing as a gay man. The movie was sad; the book made me cry.

Compared to them Mormon Church should is not worth of making any headline in any aspect of religious news.

To women, who,like me, surrendered a baby to adoption, this film is about adoption and the terrible things most churches have done in the world of adoption. The lds church has so much to answer to for it's role in adoption, I can't even begin to start on that one.

I agree, temnamedeborah. We adopted a baby through LDS over 2 decades ago. My son and his birth mom have been reunited, and she's wonderful! She and I have shared stories of our experiences with LDS Social Services adoption. What a horribly shaming, coercive, manipulative organization. And the lies! So many lies!

She told me that she saw this movie after finding her son, and that if she had seen it before, she may not have tried to contact him. Soooo glad she did though! She and our son love each other and visit as often as they can. Happy endings do happen.

I haven't seen the movie but I could never be a Mormon or Catholic. I can't respect a so called religious organization that has such an offensive past.

I feel no need to forgive an abusive organization.

Before lds adoption services was set up in CA, lds women in Southern CA had to go thru the a Stake Pres who kept a list of those who were willing to give a baby a good lds home. It was not done legally, but there were many churches who facilitated adoptions in a similar manner. I worked reuniting birthfamilies and adoptees for over 30 years and saw the bad and the good. I wish my birthdaughter had been placed with a/parents as open as you are.

"A good lds home" - ha, ha, ha! Our "good lds home" ended in divorce (so much for that eternal family that the birth mom was promised). And my kids and I left LDS Inc. when son was 13 years old. As it turns out, his birth mom had left it when she was 22 - yay!

I also enjoyed that movie. Poignant.

Too bad Martin Sixsmith didn't really dump Sister Hildegard out of that wheelchair like he wanted. What an old bat, with her law of chastity and santimonious BS.