Friday, 4 January 2008
The Evidence of Things Seen In Cinemas: Ten Challenging Religious Movies
posted @12:19 p.m. by Richard Kelly
Paul Schrader - who has form in this area as screenwriter of entry #2 in the list you're about to read - once said that truly religious people aren't really interested in movies, since cinema is of course the graven image writ large. But he wasn't being serious or strictly accurate, as RAVI HOLY's third list of recent days evidences. Ravi is himself a curate, and reflects here on ten movies that have kept the faith, or else assailed it, with uncommon brilliance or originality.
10 Challenging Religious Films, by Ravi Holy
1: The Exorcist
OK, I wouldn't show it to my congregation but actually this is a pro-faith film, a riposte to atheistic materialism. The priest who is losing his faith regained it after coming face to face with the supernatural. Plus it's the 2nd best horror film ever made (after the Shining).
2: The Last Temptation of Christ
Many of the more popular/traditional Jesus films are actually heretical in that they present a Jesus who is not really human: more God in disguise as a man. This film shows a real human being gradually coming to terms with his unique destiny - which is (surprisingly) much more theologically orthodox. Plus it's directed by Scorsese and is fantastic.
3: Bad Lieutenant
Again, wouldn't show it to the congregation but gratuitous sex aside, it's a serious exploration of forgiveness and redemption and the scene when Harvey Keitel sees Jesus in the Church is as good as anything I've ever seen in a cinema.
4: The Life of Brian
Not sure if I accept all the criticisms the Pythons make of both organised religion and personal faith but the fact is this is the funniest film ever made.
5: Bruce Almighty
Not a great film but not a bad one either and it actually makes some interesting theological points about, for example, the problems involved in believing that God answers prayer...
6: The Rapture
A mad film (which I suspect few people have seen). One reviewer said that Michael Tolkin (who also wrote The Player) had managed to make a film that everyone in the world would hate: to most religious people, it's blasphemous filth; to the non-religious, it's evangelical propaganda. I am one of 4 people that thinks it's amazing. And Tolkin's The New Age is good too.
7: Black Narcissus
I´m not sure what Powell and Pressburger were saying here but nor am I sure that I´m qualified to comment on this masterpiece anyway. So I won´t.
8: The Seventh Seal
Pretty much ditto the above. PS it was awesome on the big screen.
9: Dogville
I knew it was going to be interesting as soon as the main character was called Grace. The end scene is a fascinating meditation on what would happen if God ran out of patience with the world. At least that´s how I read it.
10: A Man For All Seasons
Not challenging in the way the other are. It´s quite a conservative religious film but´it´s a great one too with a great performance by Paul Schofield. And I am certainly challenged by the level of integrity exhibited by the More character.
Comments
This is an awesome list. I'm not religious myself, but there's loads here I agree with. I'm one of the other people who was blown away by The Rapture.
How about It's a Wonderful Life - just watched it again recently and aside from all the feelgood stuff at the end, there's a lot to do with accepting that your life may not turn out quite how you wanted.
So, there's 5 of us that liked the rapture!
As to my non-inclusion of IAWL. Of course I love it and I have used clips from it in informal services. But: something that really annoys me is when religious people try and claim something as religious that isn't really i.e. anything in which someone dies for someone else. Sure films like Gladiator and the Matrix may use some religious language or imagery but are they actually religious?
Well, the Matrix may be (jury's still out on that afaic) but the films on my list were all explicitly religious in theme throughout, if not specifically Christian in most cases.
Anyway, glad you liked it.
Have just watched Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino which absolutely has to be on this list. Critics didn't seem to notice this (or thought it was cheesy) but having just written an MA dissertation on ways of understanding Jesus's death on the cross as saving without implying that God uses violence to achieve his purposes, I thought it was fantastic. The 'bookend' scenes (both in church) also comment on the difference between glib and mature faith and apart from the fact that these two explicit comments on religious matters are masterfully executed, the whole film is brilliantly made and wonderfully acted, particularly by Clint. Highly recommended to all especially Christians.
My friend Professor Colin MacCabe, a huge Eastwood fan, told me just the other day that he thought Gran Torino another masterpiece in the phase of what we should probably describe as Eastwood's 'Late Work.' So I'll get to it, one day...
Your thoughts