Requiem for the Relentless Fathers (2012)

Actors: James Mannan (actor), James Mannan (editor), James Mannan (producer), David Ross (actor), Alfred Eaker (actor), Alfred Eaker (producer), Alfred Eaker (writer), Alfred Eaker (director), Robin Panet (actress), Robin Panet (producer), Patrick Greathouse (producer), Robert Webster (actor), Nat Ridge (producer), Jordan Wheatley (actress), Steve Stephens (actor),

Plot: Requiem for the Relentless Fathers is a short film chronicling the rise and fall of Saul, the first King of Israel. It was inspired by the Old Testament books of Samuel and The Samuel Commentaries of Marti Steussy and David M. Gunn. As the film opens the Elders of Israel have grown distrustful of the theocratic rule of the last Judge, Samuel. Samuel relents and anoints a monarch, Saul. Saul attempts to rule as 'his own man' but is in constant conflict with the elder Judge. Eventually Samuel rejects Saul and Lord sends an Evil Spirit to torment the King. Saul is killed in battle, leading to the rise of King David. This piece not only re-tells an ancient narrative, but finds within it a timeless and complex human drama that arises from tragedy and chaos in a time of transition.

Genres: Drama, Short,

King David (1985)

Actors: Carl Davis (composer), Alice Krige (actress), Massimo Sarchielli (actor), Edward Woodward (actor), Lorenzo Piani (actor), Bruce Beresford (director), Marino Masé (actor), David de Keyser (actor), Tomas Milian (actor), David Graham (actor), Jean-Marc Barr (actor), George Eastman (actor), Richard Gere (actor), Luciano Tartaglia (miscellaneous crew), June Randall (miscellaneous crew),

Genres: Adventure, Biography, Drama, War,

Quotes:

[first lines]::Saul's guard: The king cannot speak with you now. He is engaged in the affairs of state.::Samuel: Since when have the affairs of state taken precedence over the affairs of God? [shoves his way past and enters Saul's throne room]::Saul: ...Samuel. We welcome you. With God's blessing, our victory is complete.::Samuel: Is THIS how you show Him your gratitude... by robbing the Amalekites of their women and cattle? By holding their king in chains?::Saul: We were discussing a possible treaty. The king is to be ransomed...::Samuel: A *treaty?* *Ransom?* Saul, for this you have betrayed your own soul in the sight of God. His instructions were plain enough: "... Spare nothing from the sword." [beheads the Amalekite king]... When our tribes clamored for a king, to make us like other nations, I answered them: "We are not like other nations. The Lord of Hosts is both our God and our King." The people said, "We want a king we can see. We want a king of our own flesh and blood." [holds up the severed head] Here are your kings of flesh and blood. Here is a king you can see. [throws the head at Saul's feet]

Saul: [over the defeated Goliath] An entire army at my command. Yet it takes a shepherd boy to wipe out our disgrace.

Saul: [to David, when they first meet] Have you seen Him? Face to face? I saw Him... once. He smiled on me, too. But at daybreak He was gone.

Goliath's Captain: Slaves of a nameless God, once again I gring you the challenge of Goliath of Goth, champion of the Philistines. Where is your faith in your God? Where is your trust in His protection? You boast that He can move mountains, and yet He cannot move one man among you to defend His honor. Six times have we challenged you to put forward a champion, and six times have you cowered in silence. Send down a champion, and whoever wins the combat wins the day for his country and his God. Well, Israelites, what is your answer? [Nobody speaks out]... Then let all the world bear witness. There is no God in Israel!

Jonathan: ...Is Israel governed by a king, Father, or by the whims of a senile old prophet?::Saul: You cannot have the one without the other.::Jonathan: And who's to say that Samuel is not a false prophet?::Saul: If Samuel is a false prophet, I'm a false king. It was Samuel who annointed me, even as he has rejected me.::Jonathan: The people still look to you as their king, Father. They have not rejected you.::Saul: ...What was his name? The man who wrestled with me until daybreak.::Abner: What man, My Lord?::Jonathan: It was only a dream, Father.::Saul: Well, if it was a dream, send in my musician; let me dream on.

Samuel: God is not a man that He should deceive you... The Lord does not see as man sees. Men judge by outward appearances, but the Lord judges by the heart alone. [to David] You kneel before me as the shepherd of your father's flock, but God has chosen you... to be the shepherd of His people Israel, to unite His scattered tribes into one nation... and to send the heathen from His promised land.::Young David: My brothers are all soldiers. Why not choose one of them?::Samuel: It was not I who chose you. It was the Lord God of Israel.::Young David: I am the least in my father's house.::Samuel: You are a child after God's own heart.::Young David: If I stand so well in His sight, why not let Him command me face to face?::Jesse: Because no man may see God face to face and live. God speaks to man through the mouths of His prophets.::Samuel: So be it. When I have gone the way of all flesh, you shall be brought before the king by one of his sons. Then shall the Lord challenge you, even as you have challenged Him, to defend His name and His honor. Have no fear, David. The Lord shall not forsake you so long as you keep His laws and obey His prophets without question.

Jesse: Any man can teach, but David's are the gifts of God.

Saul: ...Hear how Jonathan warbles in praise of the cuckoo bird, David, who has fed from my table and now lies with my daughter... David has robbed me of my God, my people, even my children. What else can he take but my crown...? So long as David lives, neither I nor Jonathan nor the throne shall be safe... Samuel anointed him in my place! David! The boy I trusted and loved as my own son.::Jonathan: Then be glad of it! Give thanks that the future of Israel belongs to a man worthy of your love.::[Saul throws a javelin, just missing him]

David: Come with me to the sanctuary at Nob. We have a covenant of friendship between us.::Jonathan: I also have a covenant of honor between my father and myself. I would lay down my life for you willingly, but I cannot break faith with my father *or* with you. You have the love of One far greater than I [the Lord of Hosts] to care for you. My father has no one.

Saul: [at Nob, shortly after David has escaped] Abner, I want these priests killed, one by one, until their high priest "remembers" where David is, or is going. Then the killing will stop.::Abner: No soldier would carry out such an order. These priests...::Saul: THESE PRIESTS are maggots! In carrion! Fattening themselves on the offerings people give to the Lord! They are traitors, every one of them! And so is any soldier who refuses to obey the king's command. [He runs his javelin through one soldier who couldn't bring himself to slay the priests] Will no one obey the king? [Another soldier volunteers] It takes a gentile to obey. [the second soldier kills several priests, but still no one "remembers" David's whereabouts, so Saul kills the high priest with his javelin]

Le berceau de dieu (1926)

Actors: Georges Tréville (actor), Marcel Vibert (actor), André Roanne (actor), Gabriel Signoret (actor), Ernest Maupain (actor), André Nox (actor), Gabriel Signoret (actor), Léon Mathot (actor), Joë Hamman (actor), Joë Hamman (actor), Joë Hamman (actor), Camille Bert (actor), Léon Mathot (actor), Léon Mathot (actor), Victor Vina (actor),

Plot: A young intellectual, J. Powers, loses his faith in God after the untimely death of his wife. He devotes his great talents to writing a shockingly blasphemous book, debunking all religion, and then embarks on a trip to Jerusalem. Far from reconciling him to God, the sight of all the different sects worshipping in that ancient city only serves to embitter him and deepen his unbelief. One day, wandering in the country, he loses his way and stops to ask directions at a small house. The inhabitants are a poor but devout family whose daughter, Ruth, revives his broken heart. At the risk of losing her, he confesses to her his loss of faith, and she gently declares that meditation on the Gospels will heal him. He sorrowfully tells her that he wishes he could believe as she does, but it is impossible. Exhausted by the discussion, Powers falls asleep and in a dream witnesses the entire panorama of the Old Testament, from the Garden of Eden through the prophets and the kings. In his dream, he repents; he then awakes, his faith restored. In the morning, he asks Ruth to marry him.

Genres: Drama,