Critics » Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Agrees with the Tomatometer 74% of the time.

Biography:
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat have been discovering spiritual meanings in films for 40 years. We are always on the lookout for movies that "speak to our condition" (a Quaker phrase) and reveal new possibilities for our lives. We love dramas that touch on universal experiences, knock down barriers between people, and evoke our compassion. We are enriched by stories that touch our hearts and send us out of the theater rejoicing. A truly good film is not only thought-provoking and entertaining, it also leaves the viewer with a sense of what it means to live deeply and fully every day. We are the authors of two books, Spiritual Literacy and Spiritual Rx, in which we frequently use movies to illustrate spiritual "takes" on everyday experience. We also regularly prepare "Values & Visions" Discussion Guides for film clubs. You can read about our approach to movies in "Befriending Films" and "Spirituality and Films" in the Spirituality & Film section at our website.
Favorites:
We publish an annual list of the
Publications:
Spirituality and Practice
Critics' Group:
New York Film Critics Online, Online Film Critics Society
Total Reviews:
5153
Total QuickRatings:
197
Location:
New York, New York

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 5153
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Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
4.5/5 98% Gravity (2013) " A soul stirring tale of survival in outer space and an astronaut's spiritual journey." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Oct 3, 2013
3.8/5 84% Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa () " Steve Coogan in a frisky English comedy that clicks." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 30, 2013
4/5 88% Captain Phillips (2013) " A solid portrait of a middle-aged caption of a hijacked cargo ship man who possesses the right stuff for surviving a hellish four-day ordeal." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 30, 2013
5/5 97% 12 Years a Slave (2013) " A sobering drama about racism and slavery that will sear your soul and set you thinking about the shadow side of American history. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
4/5 46% Jimmy P. () " A chronicle of the spiritual retrieval of a lost man's soul through the work of psychoanalyst/anthropologist. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
4.5/5 62% About Time (2013) " A combination romantic comedy and time travel movie that reveals what comes from a spiritual appreciation of the present moment and all its delights. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
4.5/5 70% Like Father, Like Son (2013) " An appealing Japanese film about the slow and surprising transformation of a self-absorbed father and distant father. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
3.5/5 —— Nugu-ui ttal-do anin Haewon (Nobody's Daughter Hae-Won) () " A thought-provoking drama that depicts the baby steps a pretty young South Korean woman takes as she begins to deal with the breadth and depth of her loneliness. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
4.5/5 100% Le Week-End (2013) " A witty and insightful drama about the challenges of a long-lived marriage, including old resentments, wounds, disappointments, secrets, and sexual problems. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 29, 2013
4/5 100% Manakamana () " A documentary about a cable car route that teaches us how incredibly rich and varied the sameness in our lives can really be. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 27, 2013
3/5 81% The Wind Rises (Kaze tachinu) (2014) " The life, work, and love story of an aviation engineer in Japan prior to World War II directed by Hayao Miyazaki." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 27, 2013
4/5 83% Don Jon (2013) " The strange spiritual journey of a young porno addict who shifts his perspective and is set on a different path." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 26, 2013
5/5 88% Rush (2013) " A start-to-finish winner by director Ron Howard about two race car drivers who start out as enemies and after many years find themselves in a place that neither of them could ever have imagined." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 20, 2013
4/5 95% Enough Said (2013) " A comedy that proves that succeeding in an intimate relationship after divorce takes the patience and kindness of a saint and the creative daring and courage of a mountain climber." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 19, 2013
4.5/5 90% Inequality For All (2013) " A well-done and enlightening documentary on income inequality in America featuring Robert Reich and his take on this deepening crisis." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 16, 2013
4.5/5 50% Thanks For Sharing (2013) " Four sex addicts in recovery supporting each other, sharing the pain, taking it one day at a time, and seeing change as a process, not an event." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
4/5 81% The Short Game (2013) " A snappy and crowd-pleasing documentary about eight players in the World Golf Championships for children 8 and under." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
4/5 42% Zaytoun (2013) " The spiritual journey of a Palestinian teenager from a refugee camp in Beirut in 1982 and an Israeli pilot captured by the PLO." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
5/5 89% After Tiller (2013) " A sensitive and intelligent documentary about the compassion and heroism of four doctors." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
3/5 45% And While We Were Here (2013) " An unhappily married American woman's affair in Italy sets her on a new course in her life." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
4/5 100% Mother Of George (2013) " A glimpse of a Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn who are trying to get pregnant." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 12, 2013
3.5/5 34% Salinger (2013) " Revelations about Salinger's arrogance, romantic escapades with much younger women, mania for privacy, writing bunker, and many secrets." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 9, 2013
4.5/5 98% Wadjda (2013) " A courageous and creative little girl in the oppressive and patriarchal Saudi Arabian society expresses her rebelliousness and tries to fulfill her dreams." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 9, 2013
4/5 34% Adore (2013) " A bold and vivid exploration of the sexual desire of two middle-aged female friends." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 59% Afternoon Delight (2013) " An unhappy suburban wife and mother seeks to move her life into turn-around through sexual pleasure." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 34% Touchy Feely (2013) " A character-driven drama about some baffling changes in the lives of a middle-aged brother and sister." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
3/5 95% Ping Pong (2013) " A rousing documentary that pays tribute to the grit of male and female competitors in the over-80 World Table Tennis Championships." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 96% I Am Breathing (2013) " A moving portrait of a courageous young man with Lou Gehrig's Disease who seeks to make his death fruitful to others." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 —— Band Of Sisters (2012) " A heart-felt documentary celebrating the incredible achievements of activist Catholic nuns in the United States. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 83% From Up On Poppy Hill (2013) " A lovely Japanese hand-drawn animated film with a female heroine." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 79% 42 (2013) " A workout for the emotions in the story of Jackie Robinson as a civil rights pioneer in the segregated sport of baseball in the 1940s." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4/5 46% Closed Circuit (2013) " A riveting thriller that reveals the widespread use of surveillance technology in the war on terrorism." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 28, 2013
3.5/5 80% Drinking Buddies (2013) " A drama that shows how romantic relationships and friendships can demand more nurturing than some people can give." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 22, 2013
5/5 91% The Spectacular Now (2013) " Wonderfully immersive film into the emotional lives of two vulnerable teen-agers in love as they move forward in their tenuous relationship." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 22, 2013
4.5/5 99% Short Term 12 (2013) " A sensitive and well-acted drama about a wounded healer and the challenges she faces in her work with troubled kids and in her own psyche from the pain of the past." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 22, 2013
2.5/5 4% Paranoia (2013) " We've seen this corporate morality tale done better many times before." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 15, 2013
2.5/5 73% Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) " An unimpressive survey of American racism told through an under-whelming drama." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 15, 2013
4/5 96% Cutie And The Boxer (2013) " A top-drawer documentary about two artists who prove that some marriages can mysteriously add up to be more than the sum of their parts." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 15, 2013
4/5 81% Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013) " A character-driven post-Western drama about the terrible toll of loss when two lovers are separated from each other for a long time." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 15, 2013
4/5 56% Inch'Allah (2013) " The heart-affecting drama of a bridge builder from Canada who is worn down by the Israeli-Palestinian war." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 15, 2013
4/5 78% Europa Report (2013) " A suspenseful drama proving that outer space is a very mysterious and a very dangerous place." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 9, 2013
4/5 75% Paradise: Faith (2013) " A sober minded and poignant film about the dangers of religious zeal." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 8, 2013
4/5 91% In a World... (2013) " A spunky and snappy romantic comedy set in Los Angeles's voiceover industry." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 8, 2013
3/5 27% Planes (2013) " A 3D animated family film about stepping into your dream and becoming all you were meant to be." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 8, 2013
4/5 68% Elysium (2013) " A mesmerizing sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian world where the rich reside on a paradisiacal orbital space station and the teeming masses yearn to join them for their comfort and health care. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 4, 2013
5/5 99% 20 Feet From Stardom (2013) " A heartfelt and rousing documentary tribute to the talent and artistry of female backup singers." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 1, 2013
5/5 84% Prince Avalanche (2013) " Proof that even the weirdest and most irritating people are full of surprises and capable of change." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 1, 2013
3/5 57% When Comedy Went to School (2013) " A mildly entertaining documentary about the rise of stand-up Jewish comedians and their boot camp in the Catskills." — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Aug 1, 2013
5/5 83% The Patience Stone (2013) " An astonishing film about an Afghan woman's close-encounter with sex, power, and female desire after a loveless marriage and years of oppression by all the men in her life. " — Spirituality and Practice
Posted Jul 31, 2013
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