So What Should We Watch?

I recently posted about what I see as the shortcomings of Christian media in general and Christian movies in particular. However, I do not want to leave the subject by speaking negatively about the shortcomings of movies. Instead, I want to finish that discussion by offering a few movies that I think do offer us a glimpse into whatever is holy and true and noble.

A few notes before beginning this list:

Some — or most — of the movies on this list were not made by Christians (as far as I know), but the doctrine of common grace tells us that there are still glimpses of the Creator in every created work. I attempted to find movies that tell stories of redemption and transcendence that point us to the transcendent Creator who redeems us. While there are many years of film history to pull from, I wanted to pull from more modern examples to show that there are still films being made that are worth seeing and have value for Christians.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

I’m aware that starting this list with a documentary may be a little off-putting to some, but come on, it’s Mister Rogers. This film tells the story of the man who ministered to millions upon millions of children through the TV. Featuring interviews with some of the people who knew Fred Rogers best, including his wife and sons as well as people who worked on his show.

I assume that you know who Fred Rogers is (if you don’t you can Google him) so I will not demean you by explaining who he is. What I will say, is that the film makes it clear that one of the most important things to him — in fact, one of the driving forces of his entire career — was a belief that every person has been made in the image of God. Much has been made about the fact that Mister Rogers often told his audience that he loved them just as they were for who they were. Many believe that this has led to the entitlement seen in the generation who grew up watching Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. However, it is clear in this documentary that it was Mister Roger’s faith, not some general belief in humanity’s goodness, that led him to make that the message of his show.

This film is beautifully made and is truly a call to remember the people in our lives who have influenced us and a reminder that we are all made in the image of our Creator. For me, a documentary must be about more than its subject in order for it to be truly great. What I mean by that is, rather than be limited to telling the story of a person or thing, I want documentaries to explore themes that keep me thinking once I leave the theater (or turn off the TV). Won’t You Be My Neighbor? did that for me and reminded me of the beautiful way we have all been created.

(If documentaries aren’t really your thing, I understand and I highly recommend It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood instead. It also covers the life of Rogers, though in a dramatically different way. However, it explores many of the same themes through a different lens.)

Sound of Metal

Note: This is the only film on this list to have a content advisory. This film contains a lot of cursing and I recommend doing research about the content of the film (pluggedin.com and commonsensemedia.org are both great resources) before watching the film and making the best choice for you and your family.

Sound of Metal was released in 2020 to great acclaim. It was nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards along with many, many other awards. It was one of my favorites that I have seen in the last year. Every element — especially the sound design and editing — is excellent in this film. However, the most impactful parts for me personally were the story and the characters. And it all comes down to one word: redemption.

Sound of Metal tells the story of a heavy metal drummer losing his hearing and what he will go through to get it back. It’s a story about what you do when everything that you hold dear — the only thing that truly matters to you — is taken from you. One on hand, the stakes seem almost too low for there to even really be a story, but on the other, they have never been higher. For Riz Ahmed’s Ruben, the only thing that matters is his music. That’s all he does. And the other member of his band is his girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben fears that if he loses his hearing, he will lose the band and Lou.

The most powerful moment of the film comes midway through when Ruben has a conversation with Joe (Paul Raci), a deaf man who runs a facility for those who have lost or are in the process of losing their hearing. Ruben has decided to pursue a path that he knows will result in him being disinvited from the facility and that he knows will disappoint Joe. Joe’s response, however, is one of compassion and love. He follows through with what he knows he will have to do in having Ruben leave, but he does so in a way that communicates that he still loves Ruben and longs to see them reconciled. The love and forgiveness pictured in this scene is the love of a father who calls his son to return home, hoping that one day he will.

The path of this movie is one of redemption. It is one of acknowledging one’s disabilities not as something that inhibits you but as something that is a part of your design. A reminder that even when things seem to be at their darkest, there is hope.

Just Mercy

Just Mercy tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and his mission to free a wrongly convicted man (Jamie Foxx) on death row. Again, this film is a story of redemption and about the dignity of man as people made in the image of God (you might be sensing a theme here).

This film blew me away. It blew my family away. I’ve lived in the South for most of my life but in many ways I have felt insulated from the racist history that surrounds me, at times almost like I had blinders on. This film, with it honest and empathetic portrayal of pursuing justice and mercy in a place where it is most unexpected. What I found most impressive about this film is the way that it did not flinch away from anything. It is honest in its portrayal of someone who is relentlessly pursuing radical mercy. In most of these stories, there is always an complete and total victory for the “good guys.” What I found so powerful is that this film was willing to show the losses too.

This film is a reminder that Christian are called to be a people pursuing redemption and reconciliation. All people are made in the image of God and are deserving of the dignity that comes with that. We should pursue just mercy because we have experienced such great forgiveness and redemption.

Lion

Another true story of redemption, Lion follows Saroo from his time as a young boy separated from his family in India to when he is a young man having been adopted by a family in Australia searching for his birth family.

This film, along with many others on this list, would qualify as a quiet film — what another person might pejoratively call “slow”. There is not a lot of dialogue and there are no action set pieces. Instead, the film focuses on Saroo and his family. Starting with him as a boy in India separated from his brother, the film follows him as he grows up, is adopted, and goes in search of his birth family. This kind of film leaves plenty for interpretation and plenty of space to think and process what the story is saying. The story of the family is one of beauty and redemption while also not shying away from the harsh realities that often face adopted children.

I like films that can provoke a discussion and a reaction. I think that this film is definitely one of those. It provides plenty of jumping off points for talking about sacrificial love, what it means to be a family, and loving the unlovely. To top it off, the visuals throughout are excellent and the performances (especially those of Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel) are heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

Many films that end happily do not feel like they have earned their ending. It feels fake and forced. Lion, in contrast, manages to have a happy ending that does not feel too saccharine or two-dimensional leaving the audience both satisfied by the story and the ending. I cannot recommend this movie enough.

Minari

Minari is the story of a Korean-American family making their way in 1980s Arkansas. It is a story that approaches the American dream from a new perspective, taking it apart, examining it, and putting it back together in a new way.

This film absolutely knocked me out. It was one of the most beautiful films that came out of the last year and a half and (given the last year and a half) was a huge breath of fresh air. The film is shot beautifully. It is empathetic and touching, tearing down barriers to get to the heart of what it means to be human. The performances are all amazing. Steven Yeun was rightly praised for his performance as the patriarch of the family. Alan Kim is, in fact, as adorable as you would have been led to believe if you followed any awards season coverage earlier this year. And Yuh-Jung Youn (who gave what might be the best acceptance speech of all time) delivers one of the most heartfelt performances of the year.

All of that is great, but the question that remains is what qualifies this film to be on this list? The answer, like so many of the films on this list, is redemption. This film sees a family at what might be their lowest moment, and yet it is a story about how they do not give up on each other. When everything goes south, when it all falls apart, they forgive and they give sacrificially of themselves. This film is reflective of the immigrant experience in America and, I believe, can give us a window in how to approach other more empathetically and kindly. (It also features a fantastic, period-accurate needle drop of Michael W. Smith’s “Friends”) A tender and heartwarming experience, Minari, is a great family movie that everyone can enjoy.

The Tree Of Life

This might be the most polarizing movie on this list. When it comes to opinions on Terrence Malick’s magnum opus, the 2011 Palme D’Or winning The Tree of Life, people tend to either love it or hate it. By listing the accomplishments (and including it on this list at all) I might have tipped my hand a bit as to what I think. I love The Tree of Life. And though I am sympathetic to those who do not share my enthusiasm, I hope you will hear me out and maybe reconsider.

The Tree of Life examines the life of Jack as a young man (played by Hunter McCracken), learning about the world through the eyes of his mother (Jessica Chastain) and father (Brad Pitt), and as an older man (Sean Penn) dealing with the grief and trauma of his childhood and losing a brother. The film is highly symbolic and poetic featuring voiceovers and dramatic imagery including an extended creation sequence and Malick’s vision of what heaven might be like. Though the plot sounds like a small family drama like the previous entry on this list, The Tree of Life, with its scope and enigma, is more akin to something like Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. (I realize that, too, might not be a selling point for many readers.)

This film is drenched in biblical imagery and references. The film itself opens with a quote from the book of Job, characters are seen praying and genuflecting at church, and voiceovers are often prayers directed at God. In many ways, the film is more a theodicy than a traditional narrative — trying to make sense of the evil in the world in the context of a good and sovereign God. In its portrayal of grief, it is brutally honest, driving one character to address God saying, “Why should I be good? When You aren’t.”

This film is beautifully shot and acted but leaves the viewer with more questions than it does answers. However, none of it feels purposeless. Malick is inviting you into a conversation, one that I think is incredibly valuable and can strengthen and deepen one’s faith (which all good art should do). I could go on and on about this film and its theological and artistic merits, but instead I will just recommend that you watch it.

A Hidden Life

Another film from Terrence Malick, albeit a more accessible film than The Tree of Life, A Hidden Life tells the true story of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. More linear than The Tree of Life (and a good bit of Malick’s work for that matter), A Hidden Life uses the letters written between Franz and his wife during this period of their lives to tell their story.

A Hidden Life is a story of standing for what is right even when it is the harder thing to do. Franz knows that he faces the penalty of death if he refuses to serve the Nazi party, yet he knows that he must stand for what is right. Rather than give in to the pressures of the state or his community, Franz finds refuge in God and his family.

This film is transcendentally beautiful. The cinematography, acting, music, and writing all work together to make a film that points to something greater than itself. The film raises questions of duty and what it means to do the right thing even in the face of pressure to do otherwise. It shows the importance of family and the refuge God is in the midst of trials. Much like other films on this list, it does not provide neat answers for all of life’s problems. Nor do I think that is the role of such works. Instead, it raises questions that the viewers can discuss and answer after the credits roll. As an alternative to much of the “Christian” storytelling that is out there, A Hidden Life does not play it safe. It does not shy away from the difficult questions we face everyday. Instead, it confronts them head-on, showing what it looks like to be faithful in the most difficult of situations.

Hacksaw Ridge

Another true story, World War II movie about a conscientious objector, Hacksaw Ridge, follows Desmond T. Doss, a young man in 1940s America who enlists in the war but insists that he will not fight or kill anyone. This film is thematically similar to A Hidden Life but takes a slightly different approach. When Doss faces criticism and ridicule for his pacifist stance, he stands his ground and when his division attempts to take the titular Hacksaw Ridge, Doss risks his life to save the same people who ridiculed him for his beliefs earlier.

The striking part of this film is the sacrificial love that displayed by Doss. In our fallen nature, our first instinct is to strike back at people, to give them what they gave you. In Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss demonstrates the love of Jesus by giving of himself, risking his life to save those who had previously hurt him. One of the most powerful moments comes in the midst of battle as Doss prays, asking God to help him save just one more man. Just one more.

This film is definitely a crowd pleaser, one that everyone can connect with, but that does not make it any less powerful. Andrew Garfield gives a riveting performance as Doss and the film is well-directed by Mel Gibson. It will leave you with a discussion about what it means to love those who are unlovely, the way that Christ loves us and what it means to make a stand in the face of uncertainty and pressure from all around us.