Nostalgia Interviews With Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Fr. Peter Malone, priest and film critic, based in Australia, who was a foundational figure back when I did my own PhD in the late 1990s. Peter talks about his interest in Christ-figure films, including through the work of Clint Eastwood, and he draws on the distinction between redeemer figures and saviour figures and we find out about his work on anti-Christ figures. He speaks about how these films reveal one’s own understanding of Jesus himself and we discuss the evolution of Jesus films. He has been reviewing films since 1968 when he reviewed To Sir With Love and Far From the Madding Crowd, and we learn that Peter has a drive to see every film and he relays how he was once asked ‘Why can’t you just watch a film?’ We learn how he goes about reviewing a film and how he spent 11 years in London and became part of the London Film Critics Circle. He thought Philip French was one of the most amiable reviewers. Peter asks me if I pay to see a film and he refers to how it’s a waste i