My Favorite Christian Movie

brinny

everlovin' shiner of light in dark places
Site Supporter
Mar 23, 2004
248,794
114,491
✟1,343,306.00
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Private
Politics
US-Constitution
I accidentally came across this and watched it because it mentioned the widow. I'm not LDS, but what caught my eye is how it might be for a widow in that day and time. I was also drawn to it because i didn't recognize any "faces". All the actors/actresses were unknown to me.



 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Jane_the_Bane

Gaia's godchild
Feb 11, 2004
19,359
3,426
✟168,333.00
Faith
Pagan
Marital Status
Legal Union (Other)
Politics
UK-Greens
While I love the musical Les Miserables, I have always found that Hugo's didactic message (which translated into every adaptation of his novel) is pretty atrocious:

The quest for a better society is futile, just accept the status quo, retire into a middle-class private life of marital bliss if you can, and everything will be put right in the afterlife.
It's the old lie that kept the serfs complacent for centuries of abuse: don't try to change things, just trust that everything will be better once you are dead.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ada Lovelace
Upvote 0

Grafted In

Newbie
Site Supporter
Apr 15, 2012
2,124
573
Upper midwest
✟60,856.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Samson and Delilah
The Diary of Ann Frank

And my brother has been after me for years to watch Luther. Gotta get that done.

Also Shindler's list. Those of you familiar with Itzhak Perllman can really appreciate his work on that movie....particularly the shower scene. I saw Perlman live several years ago and he has a way of hypnotizing you with his fiddle. Went from that concert to the record store and bought his recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the Israel Orchestra. One of the most played cds I have.

(I'd like to have seen Jascha Heifetz)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ada Lovelace
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Jane_the_Bane

Gaia's godchild
Feb 11, 2004
19,359
3,426
✟168,333.00
Faith
Pagan
Marital Status
Legal Union (Other)
Politics
UK-Greens
Luther is basically a whitewashed commercial for Lutheranism, financed by a Protestant insurance company.

It's not bad, but it robs the character of Martin Luther of the complexities and ambivalences that render the historical Luther so interesting, and replaces that with a saintly hero worship.
The actors' performances are great, but there are more than a few notes in there that just ring profoundly false if you are familiar with the historical era and actual events.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gord44
Upvote 0

Grafted In

Newbie
Site Supporter
Apr 15, 2012
2,124
573
Upper midwest
✟60,856.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Luther is basically a whitewashed commercial for Lutheranism, financed by a Protestant insurance company.

It's not bad, but it robs the character of Martin Luther of the complexities and ambivalences that render the historical Luther so interesting, and replaces that with a saintly hero worship.
The actors' performances are great, but there are more than a few notes in there that just ring profoundly false if you are familiar with the historical era and actual events.

No doubt trying to maintain any kind of real accuracy making a movie on such a matter, the best of intentions will always fall far short if expectations. Nobody today was there and too few details are given.
I suppose the issue isn't that far away from making idols.
Very good point, Jane_The_Bane. Or is it ok to just refer to you as Jane.
 
Upvote 0

Jane_the_Bane

Gaia's godchild
Feb 11, 2004
19,359
3,426
✟168,333.00
Faith
Pagan
Marital Status
Legal Union (Other)
Politics
UK-Greens
Oh, Jane is perfectly okay.

Historical inaccuracies are unavoidable - and after all, films such as this are intended and marketed as fictions, not documentaries (and even those are just interpretations of whatever source material is available). I do not mind when verisimilitude is sacrificed for the sake of narrative coherence and dramatic tension: in fact, I'm even expecting it.

For example, it did not bother me at all that they included the "here I stand, I cannot help it, God help me"-speech, even if it is most likely an apocryphal legend that first appeared almost a century later in writing: it's a good speech, and it's what you'd expect at such a pivotal point in the narrative.

However, Luther was a brash, "loud" character with a mind of his own - not a saintly, soft-faced Joseph Fiennes who took care of crippled children while contemplating religious liberty. In fact, it was the final note of the film that annoyed me the most, with the reformer joyously declaring that the emancipation of Protestantism constitutes a victory for freedom of religion.

Neither Luther nor the other Protestant reformers were interested in granting all religions the same status, and letting each individual choose their own path as a private decision. Luther turned bitterly upon the Jews (whose printing presses had aided considerably in the spread of protestantism) when they proved resistant to proselytizing; John Calvin had the Unitarian Michael Servetus burned at the stake to prevent his doctrinal "poison" from spreading, etc.

I didn't expect the film's authors to include Luther's antisemitic writings (which read like a road map for the Holocaust) in their script, but they specifically went out of their way to assert an idealized image of the man.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MehGuy
Upvote 0

FireDragon76

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Apr 30, 2013
30,637
18,535
Orlando, Florida
✟1,260,418.00
Country
United States
Faith
United Ch. of Christ
Politics
US-Democrat
Actually, the film got Luther spot-on, and most of the dialogue was accurate to real life. Luther's main personality feature was neurosis, scrupulosity, and timidity, accurate to biographies I've read. The scenes showing him being compassionate are also true to character, even if not completely factual. 2003 Luther was far better than earlier depictions.

But it's true it doesn't show his descent into dementia and mental illness as he got older.
 
Upvote 0