CITY HALL (1996)

Directed by: Harold Becker
Written by: Ken Lipper, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, Bo Goldman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello
Rated: R

About the film:
A young boy dies after being caught in the crossfire between a NYC police officer and a member of a crime family. Though the mayor deftly avoids a violent aftermath, his deputy mayor begins an investigation that threatens everything… including his own ideals.

Movie Quote:
“A man’s life is not in the bricks, it’s the mortar, pappy. It’s the stuff that lays between; the stuff… the stuff you can’t see.”
Mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino) in City Hall (1996)

Bible Quote:
“And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Colossians 3:14 (NIV)

Commentary:
Mortar is a substance made of cement, sand and water which is used between bricks to adhere them together. Without mortar, a brick wall would topple at the slightest pressure and at its weakest point.

Our lives contain any number of “bricks:” family, career, home, hobbies, and interests, to name just a few. But as Mayor Pappas reminds us, though these “bricks” may be in our lives, our lives are not in them. If we should lose them all, our lives would still continue.

The mortar of our lives – the invisible element that binds everything together – is love. Without it, our accomplishments and achievements become meaningless vanities. Without love, as the foundation for all that we think, say and do, life becomes a travesty – a pale imitation of the incredible richness that God wants us to know and enjoy.

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What does this film say about the ethical standards in the modern political arena? Is it an accurate depiction?
2. Do the ends ever justify the means? Why or why not? What does the Word say about this?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com