what should i do wednesday: movies with redemptive themes

This isn't an unkown one, but I recently re-watched Chariots of Fire with my bride and I was, again, blown away by how this film illustrates the gospel. I'll be blogging on it tomorrow.

I think we already talked about this one, but I'm becoming a big fan, so I'll just repeat it.

We Are Marshall

Great actors in character and screaming of Redemption. In of the first scenes, a young assistant coach volunteers to do a recruitment trip and gives up his seat in an airplane to an older assistant coach....

Well, you'll just have to see it. However, first redemptive theme is definitely substitutionary death. It just gets better from there. :)

To End All Wars
Dogville
Edges of the Lord
Man on Fire
Exorcism of Emily Rose
Saints & Soldiers
Children of Men
Phone Booth
Changing Lanes
I Am David
Pi
Primer
The Great Raid
Cars
Charlotte's Web
Les Miserables
Saving Private Ryan
Count of Monte Cristo
Braveheart
Cinderella Man
Crash
Bruce Almighty
Rocky Balboa
All of M. Night's films
SpiderMan series
Xmen series
The Matrix series

A great list here. I won't attempt any editing or additions, except the very recent Dejavu.

This line of reflection--redemptive themes in film--needs further development. So often I hear people talk about a film being redemptive, when really all the mean is that it had a good ending. I think there is a big difference between redemption and a good ending, though true redemption is certainly about an everlasting good ending, or better, a new beginning.

I have no movie recommendations, however, I do feel obliged to offer a suggestion when watching films. There is a tendency in reformed circles to look for and find redemptive themes in films that aren't there. Then, there are others that are definitely there. The problem when reading into films something that is not really there is that it is difficult to take the interpretation seriously and the person who is giving the interpretation seriously. So be careful, and be selective in the films you choose to watch and do not compromise God's glory or your good for the sake of finding a "redemptive theme."

Last Samurai (sacrifice, transformed life, being over just doing)

Anthem of Eternity (sacrifice)

Chronicles of Narnia (of course Aslan dying in Edmund's place, but also the growth of the children into noble and good adults under the breath and voice of Aslan is redemptive)

The "Touched by an Angel" tv series has some pretty good ones.

I'm just now getting to this post. Either I'm not as reformed as I thought, or I've missed the boat. When I watched a lot of the movies above, all I saw was sorrow, sadness, and the ineffectiveness of the human race, and was reminded of my own ineffectiveness, and I despair. Why? My focus tends to be man-ward (is that a word?)and not God-ward. He is teaching me the ineffectiveness of the human race has not and will not succeed in stopping Him or His purposes or the advancement of His kingdom, one person at a time. And in fact, He has chosen the weak things and the foolish things of this world to be messengers of redemption. Praise God! Does that make me charismatic now and not reformed :)? What I'm trying to do is look for redemptive themes in today's circumstances. Where is the gospel being revealed in the course of this day?

Shawshank Redemption:
I am late in the blog roll I know, but this film captures the essense of Romans 6. One example real quick and there are countless; Red played by Morgan Freeman is set free from prison but has not yet realized his freedom internally. Its objective but its not subjective. There are ton of redemptive themes but this one stuck out to me the most.