I recommend the film WOMEN TALKING. More than a “movie,” it is a fine example of honest discourse on both intellectual and emotional levels to the many impulses operating in our responses to violence. Set in a contemporary Mennonite community, the characters engage in Christian concepts, but the issues are equally applicable to people of all faith traditions –to anyone who holds forgiveness and reconciliation a life-giving value.

Equally important, the dialogue and images elicit questions on how families, and social and religious institutions (especially patriarchal ones) educate boys in relation to girls. I think the film will prove a great resource for any discussion, class, or seminar on Forgiveness, as we continue to ask ourselves, “With faith’s compulsion to forgive, what choices do we have until, or if, we are ever ready?” and “How does forgiveness engage us in issues of accountability?”

As a response to the violence our nation is experiencing here and now, WOMEN TALKING is definitely worth your time.