Bad Lieutenant
Unless someone’s going to deny the Christianity of Catholics…
The Brother from Another Planet has some interesting Christ imagry.
I’m The Auteurs resident Christian, and Black Narcissus is my favorite movie.
thanks guys!
‘The Last Temptation of Christ’
: )
Christian film isn’t half as bad as Christian music and Christian music isn’t half as bad as it sounds.
“Dogma”- has plenty of complaints on Catholocism, but still looks on Christianity positively
I’ve only seen a couple Bergmans, but would he count?
I feel bad for the religious, that “Christian film” is kind of a genre lable for low-budget MST3K level Kirk Cameron vehicles.
I didn’t understand that Deckard. Forgive me if I’m being ignorant…
Nathan-You should get a picture to replace that penguin in your profile.
Can’t wait to see Black Narcissus!
To End All Wars
Breaking the Waves is the best Christian film I’ve ever seen. And I’m serious.
Savvy
Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson)
Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman)
Though my personal recommendation for Quentin would be Rambo: To Hell and Back which is basically a retake on Dante´s “Divine Comedy” with many deaths involved.
The Devils
I suppose I’m torn between The Apostle and an earlier film, Resurrection, which starred Ellen Burstyn.
I’m a semi-practicing Catholic deist.
“Bad Lieutenant” – Once you get past the shocking content, it’s really a very moving Christian film.
“The Diary of a Country Priest”
“The Last Temptation of Christ” – The reason I’m not an atheist.
“The Bells of St. Mary’s”
“The Passion of Joan of Arc”
“Song of Bernadette”
thanks guys for all these great suggestions. the only christian stuff i had seen before was Crappy with awful acting like ‘Facing The Giants’, and such. Can’t wait to see these films!
In addition to Bad Lieutenant, I would also suggest checking out Ferrara’s The Addiction. I would also second the following:
Passion of Joan D’Arc
Breaking the Waves
Ordet (might be a little slow, but it’s worth watching)
I’d also recommend Babette’s Feast. It’s a Wonderful Life is another good one.
Mass Appeal with Jack Lemmon is also funny and pretty thoughtful. Third Miracle with Ed Harris and Anne Heche was solid, too.
I didn’t agree with a lot of what I saw in The Rapture, but I thought it was a serious attempt at dealing with a certain segment of Christiantiy. The direction was quite good, too.
the life of brian
I have “Babettes Feast” from netflix now, will watch soon. And of course I’ve seen “Wonderful Life”, but I saw it as more a movie about life, not religion. But in some cases, life is religion.
Mass Appeal is as of now at the top of my queue on netflix!
i thought bresson’s mouchette and au hazard balthazar were beautiful. and isnt tarkovsky a christian?
sodantine? is that like soda flavored ovaltine? also, this is a decent thread. maybe there is hope.
Sodantine,
I don’t think IAWL is about religion (Christianity), but I consider it a Christian film because its depiction of the way God works resonates so strongly with my own understanding of God. I’m thinking specifically of the way God often helps people the most in times when people think he has actually abandoned them. Think of Jesus’ crucifixion. From the disciples’ perspective, it’s a disaster—even from Jesus’ perspective God has forsaken him. But in that moment people are redeemed. If the story stopped there, I think most people would be satisfied, but Jesus not only suffers and dies, but comes back to life! So there’s sense of an overabundance of good things that God delivers.
The same sort of thing happens in IAWL. When George gets his life back, that in and of itself is a great blessing—because he realizes how valuable his life was and all the good he did is not lost (as it would have been if he had never been born). At that point, going to jail for embezzlement matters little to George—and indeed, for me as a viewer, too. But the story doesn’t end there. George not only avoids going to jail, but he becomes the richest man in Bedford Falls—in a figurative sense and possibly a literal one.
I hope you post your comments after you see those films.
I highly recommend Robert Duvall’s THE APOSTLE.
I second The Apostle, and ill raise you The Mission. Both are incredible films.
and im a believer also :)
Another believer here…!
Jazzaloha: Awesome job explaining that. I totally agree. IAWL is a great example of God’s overabundance..
I have a question for you guys though. What do you think defines a Christian Film?? Does it have to do with the beliefs of the people who make it or does it have to do with meaning behind it…? Also do all Christian films have to have a meaning/moral behind them?? Just wondering what you all think.
Ordet, Diary of a Country Priest, and Winter Light are not only great movies on religion, they are almost religious experiences in themselves.
On the other hand you have a lot of nunsploitation films of course…
Yes, I think Tarkovsky was christian, a spiritual kind of fellow anyway.
>>The Devils<<
Very good, Dimitris. Most people misinterpret it as anti-Christian.
Places In the Heart has a final shot that lends a sort of “peaceable kingdom” vibe,
as well as a brotherhood of man message.
It causes a viewer to reconsider all that has previously transpired in terms of a Christian ethos.
I need to go back and look a WINTER LIGHT, Matti, because what I’m referring to with Places in the Heart
may have an origin there.
I agree, Winter Light is transcendent.
I guess we have to put Virgin Spring in that category as well.
I’m a believer, too, although I don’t prefer that term. I have seen some things that take me beyond mere belief.
I’m one of those Christians who can make an atheist a bit disconcerted,
because I don’t rely on threats, churches, hymns, or rituals to state my case.
I guess I’m a physicist at heart.
The exorcist is a gorgeous christian film or rosemary’s baby ….
quentin
So now that my Death-Hilarious thread has revealed my religion, I wonder, are there any other Christians on the Auteurs? If so, do you know any good Christian films? All the ones I’ve seen are fucking awful!!!!