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Mary Ann Brussat

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Mary Ann Brussat has been discovering spiritual meanings in films for more than five decades. Her reviews were cowritten with her husband Frederic until his death in December 2025. The Brussats’ archive of reviews reveal that they always were on the lookout for movies that “speak to our condition” (a Quaker phrase) and reveal new possibilities for our lives. Mary Ann loves movies that touch hearts, illustrate universal experiences, knock down barriers between people, and evoke compassion. She believes that a truly good film is not only thought-provoking and entertaining, it also leaves the viewer with a sense of what it means to live deeply & fully every day. With Frederic, Mary Ann is the coauthor of two books, Spiritual Literacy and Spiritual Rx, in which movies are used to illustrate “spiritual takes” on everyday experience. You can read more about the Brussats’ approach to movies in “Befriending Films” and “Spirituality and Films” in the Film section at SpiritualityandPractice.com.

Publications:
Favorites:

We publish an annual list of the Most Spiritually Literate Films of the Year -- features, documentaries, foreign language, and animated.

Critics' Group:
Location:

Claremont, CA

Official Website:

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The Life of Chuck (2024) 80% 5/5 EDIT “A genre-bending story of an ordinary man and how he discovers he is connected to everything and contains multitudes.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 1, 2026 Full Review F1 The Movie (2025) 82% 4.5/5 EDIT “An exciting tour through Formula 1 races that reveals how auto racing can be a spiritual practice.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 1, 2026 Full Review The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) 95% 5/5 EDIT “This is what genocide looks like. Watch and weep.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 1, 2026 Full Review Train Dreams (2025) 95% 5/5 EDIT “A masterwork on the spiritual practices of beauty, love, reverence, and connections as revealed through the story of one man’s life.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 1, 2026 Full Review Audrey's Children (2024) 81% 4/5 EDIT “Story of the physician who developed a children’s cancer staging system and organized housing for their parents.” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 24, 2025 Full Review Lilly (2024) 58% 4/5 EDIT “The campaigning and decision making behind the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. ” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Good Fortune (2025) 78% 4/5 EDIT “Charming story about an angel trying to guide a gig worker and a wealthy capitalist to appreciate their lives.” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Bugonia (2025) 88% 2/5 EDIT “A dark dramedy about the excesses of our world and attempts to do something about them.” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review The Penguin Lessons (2024) 78% 5/5 EDIT “True story about how a disillusioned teacher has his life turned around by a rescued penguin. ” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review The Friend (2024) 84% 4.5/5 EDIT “Touching story about how a human-animal bond can prove transformational during times of grief. ” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Good Boy (2025) 90% 5/5 EDIT “A haunted house story that gives us a different perspective on illness and death through the eyes of a dog.” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) 91% 4/5 EDIT “The final chapter of the story of the Crawleys and their servants in which all the changes they have endured come to fruition.” – Spirituality & Practice Dec 9, 2025 Full Review The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023) 74% 5/5 EDIT “Story of an elderly man walking to heal a friend and himself.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Here (2024) 36% 5/5 EDIT “A survey of all the beings who have lived in one place and an invitation to acknowledge the soul of a place.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Inside Out 2 (2024) 91% 5/5 EDIT “A fine sequel during which Riley copes with some new emotions, including Anxiety.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review All We Imagine as Light (2024) 100% 5/5 EDIT “A portrait of three Indian women who find that friendship, love, and the future can be filled with light.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Frida (2024) 89% 4/5 EDIT “An innovative documentary presenting the artist Frida Kahlo through her own words and self-portraits. ” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024) 98% 4.5/5 EDIT “Story of the transformation of a superhero actor into a disability rights activist.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review The Wild Robot (2024) 97% 4/5 EDIT “A gorgeous animated film about a robot who is of service to an orphaned gosling and other animals.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Lee (2023) 68% 4/5 EDIT “A biopicture about the remarkable photographer whose World War II pictures reshaped how people saw the war and its victims.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Power (2024) 79% 4.5/5 EDIT “A fact-filled and emotionally shocking documentary on how police power has expanded exponentially over the years.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Separated (2024) 97% 5/5 EDIT “A shocking documentary tracing the history of the separation of refugee and migrant families at the U.S. border.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Surveilled (2024) 4.5/5 EDIT “A scary and hard-hitting documentary about the ever-expanding world of digital spyware.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Nickel Boys (2024) 92% 4/5 EDIT “An historical drama about abuse and corruption at a reform school in the Jim Crow South.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review Gladiator II (2024) 70% 3.5/5 EDIT “A sequel to the 2000 hit focusing on two charismatic leaders who could determine the future of Rome.” – Spirituality & Practice Jan 9, 2025 Full Review
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