Did you miss this month’s Film & Theology screening of Up, where Pastor James expertly culled Biblical themes from the world’s saddest cartoon? So did too many of us. But no fear: we’ve got your audio for the event right here. So for now, we will enjoy the audio, the below review of the event, and a large bowl of popcorn, but we’ll make sure to get to the live event next month. From the looks of it, as many as half the attendees were newcomers to Film & Theology were newcomers to the monthly event for a screening of Pixar’s latest Academy Award-winning movie, Up. Some people had been dragged by friends. One couple drove up from West Seattle just to take it in. Many said they were impressed with both the technical setup and the commentary. There were also several confirmed reports of people–namely, men–who apparently found themselves "getting something out of their eyes" during the screening. Pastor James began opened with his usual short list of things to look for, for those who had previously seen Up, i.e. most people there.  Then, for 87 minutes, Lake City laughed, hooted, cheered, and cried as the story of one cantankerous Carl Frederickson, Russell aka "the small mailman", and Dug the Talking Dog, unfolded. Pastor James followed with his commentary, interspersed with stand-up, and boiled down these main points on the film as it dealt with age, motives, and mission:

• Russell, the young boy essentially abandoned by his absent father, wasn’t really looking for adventure on his voyage as Carl’s unintended companion to Paradise Falls, per se, but family.
• Sometimes our lives are interrupted. Russell was the interruption in Carl’s plans--and voyage--to honor his deceased wife. However, Russell was just what Carl needed to make his life meaningful again.
• Relative to age, how do we value the elderly? How does the Bible view the aged?
• Are we living in a museum of memories like Carl Frederickson, Up’s elderly, widower, lead character? Or are we offering our wealth of experience to serve others?
• In our lives, are we on mission or off mission? Carl got back on mission (late, but not too late) by helping Russell and honoring Ellie, which also brought happiness and hope to his own life, again.

At the end of the night, the F&T regulars and newbies filed out together, already planning on next month’s installment of the increasingly popular series: a May 21 screening of this year’s Best Picture-winner, Hurt Locker. We expect a 98 percent reduction in tears. Film & Theology events take place on the third Friday of every month at the Lake City Campus (3524 NE 95th St) and are followed by an expository exploration of narrative themes and spiritual parallels by Lake City Campus Pastor James Harleman. You can listen to audio of Pastor James’ commentary on Up here, and you can check out more of his commentary at his personal film review site, cinemagogue.