Finding God in the Movies : 33 Films of Reel

Recognizing that Christians go to the movies, the authors present a unique resource to help believers engage and enjoy films of faith. Includes information for understanding and discerning the Christian message relevant to 33 recent movies now available in video or DVD formats.

Robert K. Johnston is a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church and formerly served as dean of North Park Theological Seminary. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed Reel Spirituality. Catherine M. Barsotti teaches courses at Centro Hispano de Estudios Teologicos in the areas of theology, ethics, and spirituality (in Spanish). She also does consulting to Christian non-profit organizations in the area of strategic planning and board development. Together with Rob, she has been writing movie reviews for the last eight years for the Covenant Companion and Faith@Work.

Preface

10

(2)

Finding God in the Movies: An Introduction

12

(19)

How to Use This Book

31

(11)

Affirming Our Humanity

Life Is Beautiful (d. Benigni, 1997)

42

(8)

Amistad (d. Spielberg, 1997)

50

(8)

No Man's Land (d. Tanovic, 2001)

58

(1)

We Were Soldiers (d. Wallace, 2002)

58

(16)

Beauty, Imagination, and Creativity

Spirited Away (d. Miyazaki, 2002)

74

(8)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (d. Lee, 2000)

82

(10)

Choosing Life

Big Night (d. Scott and Tucci, 1996)

92

(6)

Fearless (d. Weir, 1993)

98

(10)

Embracing Our Vocation

The Rookie (d. Hancock, 2002)

108

(7)

Billy Elliot (d. Daldry, 2000)

115

(8)

The Apostle (d. Duvall, 1997)

123

(11)

Reconciliation within Families

The Straight Story (d. Lynch, 1999)

134

(8)

Ulee's Gold (d. Nunez, 1997)

142

(8)

Fly Away Home (d. Ballard, 1996)

150

(10)

Racial Reconciliation

Save the Last Dance (d. Carter, 2001)

160

(1)

Remember the Titans (d. Yakin, 2000)

160

(13)

X-Men (d. Singer, 2000)

173

(1)

The Hurricane (d. Jewison, 1999)

173

(15)

Forgiveness

Smoke Signals (d. Eyre, 1998)

188

(8)

Antwone Fisher (d. Washington, 2002)

196

(10)

Community and Friendship

About a Boy (d. Weitz and Weitz, 2002)

206

(7)

Italian for Beginners (d. Scherfig, 2001)

213

(9)

Faith

Simon Birch (d. Johnson, 1998)

222

(7)

Tender Mercies (d. Beresford, 1983)

229

(9)

Faith and Doubt

The Third Miracle (d. Holland, 1999)

238

(7)

Signs (d. Shyamalan, 2002)

245

(1)

K-PAX (d. Softley, 2001)

245

(15)

Living Our Faith

The Year of Living Dangerously (d. Weir, 1982)

260

(6)

Patch Adams (d. Shadyac, 1998)

266

(10)

Images of the Savior

The Spitfire Grill (d. Zlotoff, 1996)

276

(7)

The Iron Giant (d. Bird, 1999)

283

(9)

Renewing the Church

Sister Act (d. Ardolino, 1992)

292

(6)

Chocolat (d. Hallstrom, 2000)

298

(9)

Appendix 1: Movies Listed by Related Biblical Text

307

(3)

Appendix 2: Movies Listed by Topic

310

(9)

Notes

319

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Finding God in the Movies : 33 Films of Reel Faith

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials