The Film Club

Categories: Movies & Books , Parenting & Families

'Homeschooling' takes on a whole new perspective.  Canadian novelist and film critic David Gilmour recently published a book about his son's high school years and the creative way in which they dealt with the issues at hand.  Gilmour's book, The Film Club, has received a good amount of press, and rightly so.  Gilmour's son Jesse hated high school and his grades were heading for an all-time low.  After much deliberation he and his father made a deal: Jesse could quit school as long as he agreed to watch three movies a week and discuss them with his Dad.   Good idea/bad idea?  A courageous idea, without a doubt.

The 'curriculum' served primarily to give a father and son some dedicated time together each and every week, which in any household would be a small miracle.  And it was not all smooth sailing - mix in the usual suspects of teenage heartache and substance abuse, and this is a very risky experiment.  In his book Gilmour describes the scene and lists the films that they watched together: from American Graffiti to Reservoir Dogs, from Hitchcock to Truffaut.  Look for this book to spur the creation of film discussion groups everywhere.  If you wanted to encourage some great conversaton, what list of movies would you put together?

In addition to the amazing catalog of movies that the Library has to offer, these two books in particular might be just what you need to start a film club of your own:

What Stories Does My Son Need? A Guide to Books and Movies that Build Character in Boys by Michael Gurian

The Movie Lover's Club: How to Start Your Own Film Group by Cathleen Rountree