Risen is a powerful movie set in the days immediately after Easter. A Roman centurion named Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) had witnessed Christ’s crucifixion. In the following days, Clavius tries to find the body to disprove the claim of resurrection. He hunts down the Apostles, whom he believes have stolen the body, and instead finds them sharing a meal with the Risen Lord. The story necessarily includes speculation, but it also weaves the Scriptural accounts into the story. The Apostles, while still not fully understanding, become excellent witnesses of Christ to Clavius. In the end, his encounter with the Risen Christ becomes a life-changing experience for Clavius.
Speculation is even more important and necessary to The Young Messiah. Adam Greaves-Neal is a seven-year-old Jesus. While the story does include some references to the Bible, the movie focuses on a time in Jesus’ live that the Gospels pass over. It gives one possible answer to the question of how Jesus understood that He was the Son of God. In the words of St. Joseph (played by Vincent Walsh), “How do you explain God to His Son?” While there are those who would be unsettled by the image of Jesus not knowing conceptually who He was, there is no definitive teaching on how Christ came to His self-awareness. The movie treats the characters reverently, and while I would not recommend this story as highly as Risen, it was well worth seeing.
Miracles from Heaven is based on the true story of a ten-year-old girl who has a debilitating and potentially fatal disease. After a thirty-foot fall into a hollow tree, she had a near-death experience in which she met Jesus. When she was rescued, not only was she uninjured, but she was also cured of her disease. (If you think I have given away the story, the trailer to the movie serves as a major spoiler.) Miracles from Heaven is a real tear-jerker, but it also gives some real insight into the ways that faith can be tested by adversity and the possibility of miracles in our modern world. As far as the acting is concerned, Jennifer Garner gives one of the most amazing performances I have seen in a long time as the mother.
Hollywood is often very disappointing when it comes to matters of faith, but it is nice to know that we can still get a good Christian movie every so often. If you are looking for a movie to see, I would recommend any of those three.
Father H
