Hey, if we get to see God through our own perception, I choose Morgan Freeman.
God: “Naaah, I’m just messin’ witcha.”
Why even include the clause “not a traditionally Christian movie”? What mainstream movies were created solely for the purpose of preaching the faith?
Well, I’d say don’t bother posting an obvious choice: “OMG, Jesus of Nazgulriff totally has God stuff in it! Whoa–dude! I just looked at the VHS sleeve and it awesomely blew my mind… with like God stuff.”
That’s how I talk when I’m not posting at an intellectual site like this…
I don’t know what the intent of the producers were, but would The Rapture qualify?
Yeah, I could go with that. It’s not a bad film.
But I can’t think of many others. It just seems that we should be listing Christian movies. Because if Constantine doesn’t count as a “Christian film” I don’t know what does.
nevermind
I’d say those recent movies by all Christian groups don’t count. And while there aren’t many Christian movies that are mainstream to most of the world, there are a bunch that are popular amongst the fundie set. I believe there was even a Left Behind movie.
Anyways, I’d like to throw in the Disney adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time.” Yeah, it’s based on a book, but really isn’t classically Christian. But, I mean, you’ve got angels fighting against the darkness, and evil being beat by love and forgiveness.
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Man Called Peter
No, no, no. God wanted Constantine to be a faithful adaptation of the Hellblazer comic.
“Y’know”, saith He, “the books that star John …Constantine?”, He intoned in that James Earl Jones voice he likes to do.
“And I’m talking vintage stuff… starting with issue 43 or so, the cancer storyline, where Constantine outwits the devil. Totally punks him, takes him down with holy water transmogrified into Guiness Stout. Now THAT’s a movie. Well, that and Goonies…”
“Oh, and someone would cast a real John Constantine: Sting, or Rutger Hauer, or maybe that new James Bond. Somebody blond, bothered and British … the exact opposite of Keanu.”
“Whoaaaa…” The Lord of all creation then proceeded to do a spot-on Keanu impersonation.
I stumbled across a little movie Luke Wilson starred in called “Henry Poole Is Here”. It really did not go where I thought it was going to go. The main character is cynical and despairing (and he has his reasons). He undergoes a transformation because of the faith of his neighbors. Jesus is explicitly mentioned. But in its whole tone and production quality it really did not seem like a “made for the Christian market” movie and it really could’ve gone either way…the Christians might have easily turned out to be gullible dupes by the end.
Surely “The Book of Eli” qualifies? I don’t think “Jesus” is specifically mentioned, but certainly the teaching of the Bible is portrayed as worthy of devotion and having a positive effect.
And really not Jesusy, but I’ve always thought that “Pulp Fiction” was really a story about being transformed by feeling the “touch of God” …Jules feels the hand of God in their “miraculous” escape from bullets, Jules is transformed and (presumably) leaves “the life” and survives the movie…Vincent Vega does not feel the touch of God, chalks it up to chance, sticks with “the life” and ends up bullet riddled on the toilet.
12 Monkeys
Bruce Willis plays James Cole (JC) Sent to redeem the humans by looking for the Original Virus or is it the original sin?
At the end him being gunned down he is posed as if on a cross
Then there is Fearless. Jeff Bridges plays Max Klein. A man who survives a plane crash. It deals with post traumatic stress syndrome but Max is resurrected twice in the film both at the beginning and again at the end when he is saved. Max has one wound from the crash. He has a wound in his side as if he was stabbed by the ‘spear of destiny’. The fact that there is no tear on his shirt or suit jacket is not something that is pushed blatantly. Of course many of the other survivors turn to religion to deal with their grief. Jeff has a more personal relationship with God after the incident.
It’s a great movie.