Dear More Dear Movies

Sharing letters with some of my favorite films by Peter Malone MSC

Fr Peter Malone is well known to many of us, a familiar face around Camberwell, Balwyn and Deepdene Parishes where you might have seen him celebrating Mass in one of our churches or sitting in the pews.

Born in Sydney and a priest of the Missionary of the Sacred Heart since 1965.  He has taught theology and scripture at Yarra Theological Union and was a director of the Australian Catholic Film Office in the 1990’s and was president of the International Catholic Organisation for Cinema and Audia Visuals of which he became World President from 1998-2001.  Peter was also the first president of SIGNIS, World Catholic Association for Communication from 2001-2005 and is a writer of many books on cinema, theology and spirituality.

Films have been a source of joy and inspiration for Peter from a young age.  A turning point for Peter was in 1948 when watching Vivien Leigh standing in front of a train in Anna Karenina, stirring powerful emotions that led to a lifelong love of the movies.

Dear More Dear Movies is the second volume of Peter’s letters to movies.  A lifetime of professional and personal interest in film together with a ministry of review and recommendation make for letters to films that are honest, thoughtful, informed and, occasionally, challenging. The letters offer unique insights to the films – not only their plot, cast and direction – but about how the movie affected Peter at the time: the context of his viewing, the broader changes in church and society that affected his approach and experience. Readers will delight in the sharing of those experiences and prompt them to recall, reflect and celebrate the movies that not only entertained them but somehow shaped their lives and values. While many readers will opt to begin with their own personal favourites, the invitation is to explore the great number of films in the collection, to consider the impact the films made on them – and how this happened at the time of viewing and on revisiting the films in the context of the letters. 

Available through Coventry Press