There are crimes so unspeakably horrendous they seem unforgivable. And yet, some people do manage to forgive. Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time focuses on four individuals who have lived through events so painful and horrific they are unimaginable to most of us.

Lesley Parrott’s young daughter was stalked, raped and strangled. Anne Marie Hagan’s father was murdered by the next-door neighbour. Alan McBride’s wife and eight others were killed in an IRA bombing in Belfast. Reverend Julie Nicholson’s daughter was killed on the London underground in an al Queda bombing in 2004. Through heartfelt interviews, archival footage and images shot by acclaimed cinematographer John Walker, filmmaker Johanna Lunn tells the stories of these individuals as they absorb, cope with and attempt to move beyond brutal events in their lives.

In a world wracked by increasing violence and horror, Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time brings hope that there are other possibilities beyond blind revenge - and that in forgiving others we can set ourselves free. This program is an excellent resource for grief counseling groups, psychology courses and religion.
 

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Video Librarian Review
March-April 2009, Volume 24 Issue 2

Forgiveness: Stories of Our Time

Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars - Recommended!

Filmmaker Johanna Lunn’s documentary Forgiveness tells the storis of four individuals who suffered enormous personal losses but worked hard to overcome their grief and rage, ultimately forgiving those responsible for their pain. Toronto woman Lesley Parrott’s young daughter was raped and brutally murdered (but Parrott’s opposition to the death penalty remains unshaken); Anglican vicar Julie Nicholson’s daughter was killed on the London underground subway during the al Qaeda bombing in 2005; Newfoundland woman Anne Marie Hagan’s father was murdered by a schizophrenic neighbor (a young man he’d known for years and treated as a son); and Belfast man Alan McBride’s wife was killed in an IRA bombing (McBride joined a protest group as a means of coping with his anger). Forgiveness combines home movies, stills, and archival footage to provide background for the interviews with the four principals, who reflect on their experiences. A moving film about human tragedy, Forgiveness illustrates the immense struggle required to relinquish the desire for revenge, but also strikes a hopeful note about the possibility of coping with terrible events in our lives. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)