Seabiscuit (2003)

Nostalgic and good-hearted, Seabiscuit is an inspiring tale of flawed but sympathetic heroes and no real villains — a race-horse story that's not about beating the other horse but about overcoming adversity.

Adapted by director Gary Ross from the acclaimed book by Laura Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit is based on the uplifting, real-life story of a no-account racehorse whose second chance at a championship captured the imagination of Depression-era America. Seabiscuit's improbable comeback and underdog fighting spirit resonated with a nation looking for a comeback of its own.

This populist appeal was enhanced by the men in the horse's life: affable novice buyer Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), overgrown jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) and eccentric trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). Seabiscuit's rehabilitation represents a second chance for each of these men.

Though not without flaws, including an unfortunate brothel sequence, Seabiscuit has a great subject and a great story, and its winning theme of the little guy with a champion's heart may leave viewers feeling great as well.

Content advisory: A brothel sequence with some comically intended lewd behavior and a brief bedroom scene (no explicit nudity or sexual activity); remarriage after divorce; crude language and profanity; sports-related violence and injuries. Adult viewing.

Open City [Roma, città aperta] (1945)

Newsreels brought home the actual sights and sounds of World War II like no other war in history. Roberto Rossellini's Open City, developed in Rome during the Nazi occupation and shot in the still war-torn city streets shortly after the Nazi withdrawal, stunned audiences the world over because they recognized in it an unmediated authenticity utterly unlike earlier, more conventional World War II dramas (e.g., Sahara).

Rossellini shot with available light on real locations in the battered Roman streets, in part because the studios had been bombed. Lacking the funds to hire professionals, he used mostly amateur actors who gave remarkably unmannered, naturalistic performances. Just as important to the film — and to the new neorealist movement — are the humanistic values that unite Italian Catholics (represented by a heroic priest) and even communists against the Nazi occupation. One weakness is the period subtitles, which are inexplicably spotty; the story is easy to follow, but some dialogue is lost. One of the 15 films on the Vatican film list in the Values category.

Content advisory: Depictions of wartime torture and violence, including the execution of a priest; references to nonmarital pregnancy.

Our Hospitality (1923)

Buster Keaton's first feature-length comedy is one of his best, a comic gem set against a backdrop of a Hatfield-McCoy-style family feud. Raised far from the scene of generations of “McKay-Canfield” violence, young Willie McKay (Keaton) knows nothing about the bad blood between the two families — until the time comes for him to go home and claim his inheritance.

Of course there's a girl (Natalie Talmadge), and of course she's a Canfield, and of course Willie's determination to stay away from the Canfields doesn't work out quite as planned. Much of the humor involves a riff on Southern hospitality as the Canfields decide that they can't kill Willie while he's their guest — i.e., while he's under their roof. A catand-mouse game ensues, with the Canfield men trying to get Willie to step outside while he tries desperately not to be caught outdoors — all under the nose of the blissfully ignorant Virginia, who has no idea who her gentleman friend is.

Keaton was given to grand comic gestures, a flair seen in a spectacular throwaway gag in which a demolished dam and a huge cascade of water inadvertently provide momentary cover for Keaton's hapless hero.

Content advisory: Family feud plot; brief comic depiction of domestic violence.