The Ottery
“If an otter can’t have fun doing something, it just simply won’t do it.”

What Makes a Movie “Redeeming,” Anyway?

January 31st, 2007

Christianity Today has just released its list of “The 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2006.” According to their intro, by “redeeming film,” they mean, “They’re all stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of them literally have a character that represents a redeemer; one even includes the Redeemer. With others, you might have to look a bit harder for the redemptive thread, but it’s certainly there. Some are ‘feel-good’ movies that leave a smile on your face; some might leave you uncomfortable, even disturbed, and asking, ‘How should I process that?‘ But you won’t be able to shake it from your memory, either.”

Okey doke. I can go along with that. But, my question is, can a film really be “redeeming” if it’s lacking in artistic quality? Does it even make sense to look at these qualities separately?

I’m very happy with some of the movies on the list: Children of Men and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, in particular (Sophie Scholl was, of course, released in 2005, but since it’s a foreign film, most people in the U.S. didn’t see it until 2006). Some I haven’t seen. Then there’s Akeelah and the Bee, a movie I liked a lot, but one that could have been done better. Same goes for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, which had a plot that was obviously supposed to be redemptive, but which had huge characterization problems that made the “redemption” completely unbelievable.

I guess that’s one of my main criteria for a “great” movie: if I can imagine improvements, it’s not “great.” And if I can see big flaws, I’m not sure how redeeming it is, since it doesn’t reflect well on our God-given creativity.

And that’s my big beef with putting The Nativity Story at the top of the list, because, while it told the most redeeming story in history, it was, frankly, boring, except for the bits with Joseph. As I’ve mentioned before, I think Children of Men, with all its violence and strong language, actually did a better job of conveying the need for a redeemer and of portraying the hope and joy surrounding the birth of one special child.

One thing that particularly interested me about the list is that three of the ten films are foreign (actually, all three were 2005 Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Film). I don’t think that other countries’ filmmakers are any more interested in redemptive stories than U.S. filmmakers. My guess is that the foreign films that make it to the U.S. and do well here are the more “feel-good” ones (“feel-good” would apply to Tsotsi and Joyeux Noel, though not to Sophie Scholl, I think).

Entry Filed under: Movies, Uncategorized