In Seeing Christ in Films: Part I, I wrote the following:
What follows are movies that have touched me in a spiritual way (though this probably wasn’t the intent of the creators). The reason is that I strikingly saw my Lord in them. There are certainly more, but this is just an off-the-cuff sampling. The films appear in no particular order. And I’ve intentionally left out the overtly “Christian” and Bible-based films as well as the brilliant and wonderful C.S. Lewis’ series. The films listed here are a bit more subtle.
Disclaimer: Just because a movie is listed below doesn’t mean or imply that I agree with or endorse everything in that particular film. Humans are flawed so we can’t help but create flawed art . . . some less so than others. Thus when it comes to films . . . as in any art form . . . I follow Paul’s maxim to hold fast to that which is good and reject that which is evil. In this vein, I’m thankful for Fast Forward. And God is a master at writing straight with crooked lines. 
Here are a few more films that I’m adding to the list of seven that I’ve already introduced in the first post of this series:
Accepted – 2006 movie with Justin Long. Back in 1998, I delivered a message called The Developmental Stages of an Organic Church: Church Development 101 (It’s on the Challenging the Simple Church Movement CD.) In it, I traced the five steps of David as he built the city of Jerusalem. Step 1 was the cave of Adullam:
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When David’s brothers and his father’s whole family heard, they went down and joined him there. In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About 400 men were with him. (1 Samuel 22:1-2, Holman Standard Bible)
Accepted serves as a great metaphor of some of the key differences between the organic expression of the church and the institutional church. It’s all about the cave of Adullam, as it were. It also depicts the tension that’s existed for centuries between mainstream Christianity and those who have borne the torch of the testimony of the headship of Christ and the functioning of His body outside the religious system. The end of the film brings this all together in a powerful way.
Chocolat – 2000 movie with Johnny Depp. Authentic organic church life is marked by grace-based relationships rather than Law-based relationships. Body life that’s truly under the headship of Jesus is rooted in a revelation of Christ which brings with it mercy, forgiveness, and love (treating others the way we would want to be treated and thinking the best of them always) rather than being rooted in self-righteousness (magnifying the faults of others as being greater than our own), motive-judging (imputing evil intentions to the hearts of others), and shame-based interactions. Chocolat powerfully highlights the differences between the worlds of grace and Law in uncanny terms. (Note: Like all films, there are flaws in the parallels. But if you examine the big picture – no pun intended, the analogy is quite striking.)
Inception - 2010 film with Leonardo DiCaprio. I think the “kick” serves as an effective metaphor of spiritual awakening. When a person is at a certain level of dreaming, they are called out of that level to a level closer to reality or into reality itself by having something done to them that causes their bodies to lose balance. This loss of balance is called “the kick.” By the kick, the person is awakened out of their dream world into the real world. Interestingly, the first time the kick occurs in the film, the character is sitting in a chair, and the chair is kicked out from behind him, causing the character to fall into a bathtub of water. A beautiful metaphor for baptism. By repentance and faith in Jesus, expressed through water baptism, we as sinners are “awakened” from the old life of unreality into the new world of reality in Christ. Great film.
Last but not least: Animal Farm (1954, animated) and Exam (2009) are films that give a great look at how the Fall gets exposed in Christians when human control is lifted from them, and they are given “freedom” without Christ to fill the void.
Frank,
I really appreciate this series. I’m a huge movie fan, and the hobby is so much more enriching when I look for Christ hidden in story. Great stuff.
Great article of Hollywood finally discovering God, something I have been thinking about for the last few weeks, a great conversation starter! A few more movies I feel you could have added which really stand out include: Eagle Eye and Tron: Legacy, and more obvious ones: The Passion of the Christ, Luther, Evan Almighty and Amazing Grace.
Faith and God plays such a large role in today’s society that it is not surprising that it finds its way into films. Movies offer us a creative and imaginative language that can bridge the gap between the church and the world, and thereby provide a refreshing take on old and often incorrect mindsets and commonly held views.
Who knows how many people get touched by God because of the creativity and imagination of movies today, which draw them back to Him who loved us before we loved Him (Rom 5:8)
Hugh
Sydney AUS
Haha! After watching Inception, I find myself praying, “Lord, plant an idea in my mind so subtle that I will think it’s mine. An idea that will change everything.” Funny.
Take a look at Tron (the new one) lots of Christian overtones, Jeff Bridges is the Creator (actually they are 3 creators), there is trouble because of his creation (his double, devil type), his Son his to enter the scene to save the day. At the end the father sacrifices his life to save his son…
Check it out,
Lenny
Good list and interesting parallels. My favorite God allegory in film is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Wonka builds an incredible universe, is obviously delighted with his creation, and is simply looking for someone who will truly appreciate it. Most humans are grasping and only want what they can get out of it. Charlie is drawn by observing the universe to know and appreciate the maker. And even Charlie is at the end found unworthy because of his inability to follow the law. But grace is extended to him, in large part because of his humility.
Oh, and Umpa Loompas? Angels, obviously.
Rick Michels
Lynnwood, WA
Excellent insights on Inception, Frank. Hadn’t thought of that. Great film indeed.
One I thought of is Almost Famous. When the guy who supposedly loves the girl basically throws her away, the main character demonstrates real love and saves her life. He does so even though they are never in a “romantic” relationship, as he desires. (In other words, he doesn’t do it just because of what he’s getting out of it.)
Nice movies. I recently saw a one called: “The Legend of the Shadowless Sword”. It´s a Chinese movie from 2005. To me it vividly reveals how “we live by the faith of the Son of God”.
It´s about a female warrior who seeks out a prince in exile. His father and all his brothers have been killed so he´s the only rightful heir of the crown. The gang that killed the royal family, however, want him dead aswell. The prince himself does not want to become a king, he just wants to survive and keep living his present life of selling stolen goods.
What speaks to me is the way the female warrior treats him with utter respect and protects him with her life as if he already was king inspite of him not acting like one. Her faith in him eventually helps him find his core and rise up to be the hero he is destined to be.
Likewise, the Lord knows our deepest core and treats us like we are holy, blameless and glorious children of His even though we don´t act in accorance with our true identity. But His faith in Himself in us or in us as a new creation in Him, helps us find who we are in Him and learn to live out of His life within us.
In addition, it´s a beautiful film, especially if you like kung fu