Book Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Death at the Movies

Hollywood's Guide to the Hereafter
Lyn Davis Genelli, Tom Davis Genelli Quest Books 09/13 Paperback $16.95 ISBN: 9780835609166 In this enlightening paperback, therapists Lyn and Tom Davis Genelli take a hard look at movies dealing with death and dying, faith, hope, judgment, angels, grief, and reincarnation. They have done a fine job of selecting substantive films and then probing their messages for meaning. We were pleased to see some of our favorite movies included in their assessments: Truly, Madly, Deeply about the Bardo of Grief; Heart and Souls where guardian angels are at work; Defending Your Life about the Corporate Bardo; Resurrection with its more informed vision; Groundhog Day with its themes of recurrence, salvation, and the Bodhisattva way; and Hereafter, a sentimental journey on a spiritual path. The Genellis write: "We find these films, beyond conveying ideas rooted in the deepest perennial wisdom of our planet's various cultures and beyond being sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and often uplifting, to be simultaneously enlightening and just plain entertaining."

Reviews and database copyright 1970 2012 by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat