Movies/Scenes
Representing Guilt/Regret
- Men of Honor
(2000)
- In the scene after Karl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has rescued the abandoned partner with great courage and risk to his life, you see the man who had abandoned his partner receive the award for courage and bravery. This is because he is white and Brashear is black, of course. But if we focus on the man's reaction, we see the weight of sin and its guilt on people. The man does not rejoice in his award; his fellow divers do not congratulate him because they knew he abandoned his partner. Brashear deserved the honor and award, but woudl never get it. Now the white man has to live with the weight of his abandonment of his partner, the award that reminded him of his cowardice and that another deserved for his bravery. It is best expressed as he stands alone in the parade yard, alone. (John Kuske)
- Vertical
Limit (2000)
- In "Vertical Limit", the hero is guilty about the fact that he cut his father from the rope that was holding himself and his sister to a rock face, at his fathers instructions - "If you don't cut the rope you will be killing your sister too."(see also sacrifice, below) We see the hero's guilt in his interaction with his sister and with Wick, the surrogate father who shows him that sacrifice is what life is about. (Timothy Leuers)
- The Green Mile (1999)
- "I felt the scene where Hank's character was explaining to his lady friend in the nursing home why he was really much older than he appeared, brought out Pope John Paul's message that even though we are not directly responsible for the sins of society, that we carry the responsibility to pray and sacrifice for atonement of these sins, that we are members of the Body, and therefore share in the responsibility."
- Angela's Ashes (1999)
- Frankie's confession of his life and sins to Saint Francis. Priest: "God forgives you, and you must forgive yourself. God loves you, and you must love yourself. For only when you love God and yourself can you love all of God's creatures." (DVD ch 27)
- Frankie "confessing" that he threw up his first communion. (DVD ch 11)
- American History X (1998)
- Derek covers the swastika tattoo in regret for his former life.
- Saving Private Ryan
(1998)
- The regret of the now-elderly Ryan as he remembers the story. Has he "earned it"? Can anyone?
- Red Corner (1997)
- Jack Moore is an American attorney having talks in Bejing about founding the first satellite TV joint venture. Suddenly he is arrested, accused of murder and has to prove it was a frame-up together with his court-appointed attorney Shen Yuelin. Her advice, as his attorney, is to plead guilty to a crime he knows--and she believes--he didn't commit. An interesting take on the denial of guilt we have in our own lives, but the inescapable truth that we are all guilty of sin. The positive side is that the attorney's advice is correct: we're better off if we plead guilty, even if we believe we're innocent. Jesus' grace will cover us; but in the words of the movie's tag line, there is "Severity for those who resist." (Brian Rafferty, MI)
- Contact
(1997)
- Ellie is sure that she killed her father because she didn't get him the right pills on time.
- Ransom (1996)
- In "Ransom," when the hero played by Mel Gibson confesses to the security officer that he bribed a union official to prevent a strike in his company, he is clearly showing signs of guilt. (Timothy Leuers)
- The
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Red stands before parole board and talks about his regrets. Start cue: bars slide open, doors open to parole board. End cue: "I gotta live with that" (Youth Alpha Australia)
- The Stand
(1994)
- The Ed Harris character realizes that his attempt to cover up the reality of the flu (evil) has contributed to its destruction of the world. He pins a sign that reads "guilty" to his uniform, and kills himself.
- Schindler's List (1993)
- Amon Goethe (touching his reflection in a mirror): "I pardon you."
- The
Fisher King (1991)
- Jack wants to "just pay the fine and go home" but cannot lose the guilt that way.
- Mississippi Burning
(1988)
- Ward: "He was guilty. Anyone's guilty who watches it happen and does nothing. He was guilty. Maybe we all are."
- Amadeus (1984)
- Salieri does not in the end feel guilt, but the whole film is a confession, and an indictment against god, of his murder or god's favourite, Amadeus. I suppose that Salieri feels guilt but he does not repent. (Timothy Leuers)
