Avatar called one of 2009's top spiritual films: Celebrates "interconnectedness of all beings"

Movies about aliens, air travel, cooking and the war in Iraq were among the “spiritually literate” films of 2009, according to the Web site Spirituality and Practice.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, the Web site’s founders, say the 10 top spiritual movies all “raise our consciousness to a fuller engagement with our world” by depicting characters searching for meaning and applying moral values to daily life.

The husband and wife duo are members of Judson Church, a United Church of Christ congregation in New York.

James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar, which pits avaricious humans against pantheistic aliens, was “the spiritual surprise of the year,” said Mary Ann Brussat. It created an alternate world where the “interconnectedness of all beings” is celebrated and the natural habitat is revered. Avatar won Best Film at the Golden Globe Awards.

Nine other films on the Brussats’ list are: Up in the Air, Julie & Julia, Amreeka, Away We Go, A Serious Man, Precious, Invictus, The Hurt Locker, and The Messenger. –Religion News Service