Forgiveness: Stories of Our Time

Filmmaker Johanna Lunn's documentary Forgiveness tells the stories 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 news 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)