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At the afternoon film group today we watched Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life‘ – some of you might be scowling now and thinking it is a Christmas film and should be banned until the festival is upon us, but actually it is a great film for Advent.
Of course there is an angel in the film, Clarence by name, so it wont surprise those who know me that this has long been one of my favourites, but it was also my first introduction to James Stewart who I have since admired in many a film.
For those of you who don’t know the film, and there are those out there, one of today’s watchers had never seen it before. It is the story of how George Bailey discovers the importance of life and that even in the darkest of hours there are reasons to keep living, the value of friends and the impact each of us has on those around us. It could also be said that it is a film about answered prayers, and that the answers don’t always come from where we expect them. So before you dismiss it as a Christmas film, not to be watched for another 16 or so days remember that this film about taking stock of our lives and that is what Advent is also about, so regardless if you have seen it before or not, why not watch it this Advent as an alternative Advent discipline?
By the way – yes it made me cry again, as it has each of the countless times I have watched it, but I wasn’t alone.
