12 Great Movies for Deeper Discussions about Jesus (plus maybe a dozen more)

So there’s a new Les Mis out in theaters.  I love getting together at someone’s home with friends from other countries to have “international movie nights.”  Hope to have one more soon next week before I leave.

I don't care much for junk-food-for-the-brain popcorn fluff or the crass, offensive, and vile.  Precious little that is heart-stirring and thought-provoking.  Much better to gather around to spend two hours on something that is genuine and emotive, even cathartic.

I’ve seen a lot of nonsensical “Christian movie” lists that include titles simply because something about faith or self-sacrifice is mentioned or a Christian portrayed in a half-decent light.  Most are but marginally related to gospel themes.  Many proclaim a totally heterodox or heretical take on the gospel message.  I’m at a loss to try to untangle their reasoning, so instead I’d like to submit these as some substantial entries that are basically family friendly.  Some of them you can even watch on YouTube.

A few I wanted to include are a bit more rough around the edges and messy (like The Apostle, 1997), or have some unnecessary, if brief, scenes with nudity, sex (like Joyeux Noël, 2006), so I felt it better to leave them off this more straightforward list.  Or just more Catholic than baseline Christian - sorry, The Mission!  Chariots of Fire or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were likewise good and somewhat Christian-related, but overall not as much as I'd like.

I’m sure this list will be amended periodically or totally rearranged.  Let me know what you would add or delete.  Just don't forget the subtitles and to pause the film now and again to catch everyone up to speed.

1. Les Miserables (1998).  Classic and climatically moving tale of redemption, identity, law vs. grace.  Watched it the first time in Paris with my brother as we were backpacking through Europe and stayed at a missionary’s home.

2. The Robe (1953).  Absolutely brilliant old-school sword-and-sandals classic.  Don’t worry about the awful sequel though.  You can find on YouTube.

3. Courageous (2011).  All about fatherhood.  I've taught it several times for ESL classes concerning American culture/parenting.

4. The Cross and the Switchblade (1970).  True story of David Wilkerson facing New York gangs.  Admittedly, a little dated/goofy at times, but one of my favorites.  YouTube available.

5. Faith Like Potatoes (2006).  True story of revival in South Africa.

6. The Nativity Story (2006).  Makes you feel the first century cultural context.  By the way, true story. :)
 
7. Amazing Grace (2007).  Story of William Wilberforce, who helped abolish the slave trade in England.  The 18th century language will probably be challenging for those whose first language isn't English.  Not a lot of gospel, but it has a few good lines.  Apparently there's a song about it too?  :)

8. Grand Torino (2008).  Recommended, but not for kids.  Tons of cursing by the gritty Korean war veteran (Eastwood), even to comical effect, but in a moment it has you by the jugular.

9. To End All Wars (2001).  Well, this is a POW war movie, so lots of cursing.

10. The Count of Monte Cristo (2002).  Classic tale of revenge and forgiveness.  I should probably look up Robinson Crusoe while we're at it since I've heard such good things about it.

11. The Miracle Maker (2000).  Claymation, but well-done and moving.

12. The Little Troll Prince (1987). Animated.  Great songs I still remember from my childhood.  Good for Christmastide.

Okay, there are your twelve.  The rest is icing on the cake.

13. Luther (2003).  As in Protestant Reformation dude, not civil rights leader.

14. God’s Outlaw (1986).  True story of William Tyndale.  Some penetrating lines and in-the-head insight of one of the great scholars who gave his life to give us the English Bible (and therefore much of the English language) – an unspeakable gift to be able to read and understand the Word of God in our own language.  Beautifully sprinkled with gospel language, but that might also make it less accessible for non-native English speakers.

15. Shiokari Pass (1977). Near impossible to find a copy from an online store with English subtitles, but I finally got one.  Japanese bookstores seems have have enough copies.  The book is one of my all-time favorites.  True story.

16. The Hiding Place (1975).  True story of Corrie Ten Boom, who rescued Jews and was sent to a concentration camp.

17. Facing the Giants (2006).  From the makers of Courageous.

18. Blue Like Jazz (2012) – Certainly not your average family flick, but it’s well-done and rewarding in unexpected ways.  Wait for it; it gets you in the end.

Shorter films:

Most (2003).  Excellent Czech short film - 30 minutes.  “Most” is actually the Czech word for “bridge.”  It’s on YouTube.

Good Soil (2007).  Around 20 minutes, feels like five.  Japanese, with English subtitles.  A little hard to find a copy, but I have one if you want to borrow it.

Paper Flower (2011).  About "compensated dating" in Japan.  One of the excellent shorts from Toy Gun Films.  There's one set in Columbia that's quite good, another in Africa.