Any Spiritual Movies?

[Head Mutant]

Millions
Chariots of Fire
The Hidden Room (Corrie Ten Boom is one of my heroes)

The thing is, you can use almost any movie to illustrate various points on faith and Christianity. I have a few books that help youth pastors quickly find clips to that effect.

The converse side of all this is that metaphors, especially movie clips used as metaphors, need to be handled correctly. Not all film is grounded in truth, and it's easy to take a scene or quote out of context to try to shoehorn it into your viewpoint.

[RobOfTheDead]

I actually own Millions so we could use that also. Thanks. Thanks also for the tip. I try to be very careful especially with using certain movies to illustrate a spiritual message and having discussions with the youth.

[wdm0744]

1. First Knight -

Not the greatest movie in the world, but an entertaining actioner with quality music. Spiritual themes of sacrifice, love, and service to others abound. Sean Connery's King Arthur is one of the most obvious and positive Christian figures in any film I've seen in a long time and some of his lines really touched me. It sounds corny, but there are some words to live by in this movie. It is definitely an idealistic film, with clear-cut lines between good and evil, but I don't think that's always a bad thing.

2. A Man Called Peter -

The story of famous preacher and Congress Chaplain Peter Marshall. It's an older film, and it is pretty slow, but has snippets of some really great sermons. Marshall is portrayed admirably and realistically.

3. The Last Sin Eater -

One of "Fox Faith"'s pictures. I'm a Christian, and I usually find these movies hard to take. They're often poorly acted, edited, scripted, and produced.

This one, however, was better than I expected. There is one really atrocious effects shot that could have easily been left out, the climax is overplayed, and a couple of the actors (the really old lady and Elliott from E.T.) overacted like mad clowns, but on the whole, I enjoyed this film, and its message reinforces the central tenet of Christianity.

[orangejesus]

First things first: Keeping the Faith's other star was Edward Norton. I love that film. (And the girl was Jenna Elfman, if anyone was interested.)

Second things second:

The Godfather III
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Ghostbusters
Quantum Leap (Yeah, I'll toss out TV shows on DVD--what of it?)
Big Love could be good for you, if you screened out certain segments, as could:
Dogma
Pulp Fiction
Stigmata

Hope it helped.

[RobOfTheDead]

I'm resurrecting this thread to get more suggestions for movies with moral or spiritual themes especially about evangelization. Thanks.

[rabidmonkeys]

umm.. the Ten Commandments? You probably already have that one.

how does Batman Begins have spiritual themes?

[coccatino]

We did a small group movie club with the youth group at my former church and here are some of the things we did- we actually asked the kids for movie ideas and they did a really good job and took it really seriously.
Simon Birch- TONS of good stuff to discuss, especially if you feel like making the kids cry.
Toy Story- Existential crisis with cowboys and space rangers!
Field of Dreams- we had a lot of REALLY good discussion about this one.
Perfect Storm- Self will vs God's will
The Truman Show- reasons why it's a bad idea to play God
Mr Holland's Opus- redemption/resurrection/atonement theme
My Dog Skip- spiritual growth, conversion, redemption
Road to Perdition- spiritual growth, father stuff, sacrifice

[RobOfTheDead]

Thanks, again. I forgot about how good Truman Show could actually be. Simon Birch would also be really good. I can use Toy Story if we structure the discussion well. I will consider all suggestions that are posted. Thanks and keep 'em coming, I will update on what movie we use next month. This month we are watching Prince Caspian.

[rabidmonkeys]

a friend of mine goes to this Christian youth group where they have done things like reach out to other faith groups to promote interfaith harmony and stuff like that. One of the things they did was watch movies with non-stereotyped Muslim protagonists... Little Mosque on the Prairie, Traitor (with Don Cheadle).. i can't remember what else, but they would invite people from other faith groups to watch and then have discussions about it. Just an idea i thought i'd pass on

[RobOfTheDead]

We actually ended up watching The Truman Show. We didn't have a detailed discussion because it was getting late but it was a good watching experience because most of them hadn't seen it. I pointed out the religious implications of Christof playing God with Truman and the "created" world around Truman and his search for true meaning in his life. Next month we'll probably watch Simon Birch but I welcome any more suggestions you may have.

EDIT - Just as a quick note this thread can also be used to discuss spirituality and religion in movies. Thanks.

To respond to the thread above, in Batman Begins there was the whole theme of fate and how much control you have over your own life in face of dire circumstances.
"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."

[RobOfTheDead]

Would Groundhog Day be a good movie to use for a Religious/Moral discussion?

[dex]

Feb 7, 2009 5:41:00 GMT -5 RobOfTheDead said:

Would Groundhog Day be a good movie to use for a Religious/Moral discussion?

Good idea. It's kind of a nearly scientific moral experiment.

I suggest The Good Thief. Besides the titular religious aspect, there are many opportunities for moral discussions.

[Head Mutant]

Heh I just used a clip from Babe last Sunday to talk about "purpose" (where the evil cat is telling Babe that his purpose is to be eaten) and what God has planned for our lives. Pigs! Awesome!

[penguinslovedw]

Aug 7, 2008 19:24:15 GMT -5 @bladestarr said:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon... an EXCELLENT movie with Christian themes, especially for Catholics. It's a retelling of the story of St. Francis of Assisi.

Good luck finding it though, it's kind of old...

Totally second "Brother Sun, Sister Moon". One of my favorite saints, and it has a score done by Donovan, the great Hippie-Master. It was directed by France Zeffirelli, and some of the cinematography is so achingly beautiful it just breaks your heart.

Also directed by Zeffirelli was "Jesus of Nazareth", a mini-series which is consistently ranked among the best mini-series of all time. I haven't seen it yet, but the cast is epic and what I've seen looks stunning. The fact that it had the official support of Pope Paul VI doesn't hurt either.

Finally, if you can find it, the History Channel did an awesome documentary on Christianity and film and how the two have sort of mixed and occasionally battled each other. It takes a look at some controversial movies ("Life of Brian", "Last Temptation of the Christ" etc.) and people arguing both for and against them. It might be better for the older kids, and should definitely create discussion.

EDIT: Found the name, it's called "The Passion: Films, Faith, and Fury"

[RobOfTheDead]

We have used Brother Sun Sister Moon, an excellent film. I also like The Gospel According to Matthew directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini since everything in it is taken straight from the Bible. To paraphrase another review, it's as if camera crews followed Jesus and his apostles back in the biblical times. We could probably use Jesus of Nazareth if we show it in installments. Thanks.