Mediaculture

FILM REVIEW

Frances Ha (R) is an art film, shot in black and white, that centers on Frances (Greta Gerwig), a kind of lost soul in New York without an apartment, an apprentice for a dance company who wants to be a dancer. She has dreams but seems unable to follow through on what she needs to do. This funny film is also touching in its depiction of her search for a solid, unconditional love.—Gordon Houser

BOOK REVIEWS

Taking Jesus at His Word: What Jesus Really Said in the Sermon on the Mount by Addison Hodges Hart (Eerdmans, 2012, $18) is addressed to Christians and non-Christians. Hart says it is not a book of doctrinal argument but of “sitting before Jesus, asking him about living life, listening to him and taking notes.” Hart’s approach is honest and full of insights. For example, he writes, “keeping ourselves salty means being authentic, doing what we do invisibly as unto God.”—gh

Liturgy as a Way of Life: Embodying the Arts in Christian Worship by Bruce Ellis Benson (BakerAcademic, 2013, $17.99) argues that “God has called all of us to be ‘artists’ [and] that being an artist is not something just for the few, some select group of ‘artistically inclined,’ rarefied folk.” Benson contends that life is improvisational, that “our very lives should be seen as art and that we should live liturgically in service to God and neighbor.” This is helpful, but in generalizing “art,” he discounts the distinctive skills and calling of artists.—gh

Mothering Mennonite, edited by Rachel Epp Buller and Kerry Fast (Demeter Press, 2013, $34.99) is the first scholarly attempt to incorporate religious groundings in interpretations of motherhood. The 17 essays address the roles of mothering in Mennonite contexts and how Mennonite mothering intersects with the larger world. The book includes poetry, memoir and reflection from a variety of viewpoints.—gh