Manchester by the Sea is the perfect film to see during Lent. It's about tragic loss. Lent is about tragic loss. Life is a series of losses. Some by our own making, some not.
Manchester by the Sea is a beautiful little fishing village about 34 miles northeast of Boston. The Academy Award nominated film is an exquisite, devastating story.
Lee Chandler, due to his own terrible series of mistakes, has caused the deaths of his three children. He loved them dearly.
Lee is enveloped in pain. He moves away. He is closed off and inaccessible. And then, sometime later, his brother dies leaving behind a 16 year old son. Lee must return to Manchester-by-the-Sea and face his demons.
We are taken along on the struggle to survive. In the end we see hope for healing.
We humans want to believe that all misfortune is caused by bad people. However, there are no bad people in this film. Well, except for the character played by Matthew Broderick. He plays a religious zealot.
This is also Biblical - and relates to the season of Lent.
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