It had been so long since I had seen a really good movie, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps I had reached that age where I would stop liking movies. You ever wonder why your parents don’t go to the movies anymore? I’ve never heard a good explanation, but there must be a reason, right?
Well, the good news is that if there is such an age, apparently I have not reached it yet. After a long drought, I can honestly say that the last five movies I’ve watched were excellent, and all but one had a good message, and by “good” I mean one that was either consistent with Truth, promoted virtue, or asked the right questions.
The Man Who Saved the World (2014). Okay, this one is not recent, but I saw it recently and had to mention it. What were you doing on September 27, 1983? You probably don’t remember because you never knew that was the day a full scale nuclear war almost began between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Fortunately, one man in the Soviet missile detection unit decided the computer indicating the U.S. had just launched five ICBMs was in error. The message: The key to really saving the world is learning how to forgive those who are closest to you. Watch it through to the end, and you will get the message.
Minari (2020). A Korean family is trying to make it in a small town in Arkansas. When the children’s grandmother comes to live with them, we all learn a lesson about how resilient family can and should be…kind of like minari. Good movie. Good message.
The Father (2020). Anthony Hopkins stars in his most disturbing role since Silence of the Lambs. There is no pairing of human liver with fava beans and a nice chianti here, just a movie that deceptively slips you into the place of a man suffering from Alzheimer’s. If you think the story is confusing, you get it. The message: Empathy starts with understanding. If you never felt for those with dementia, you will after watching The Father.
The Sound of Metal (2020). This movie is about a drummer who loses his hearing, attempts to regain it through cochlear implants, and how that leads him to understand the importance of acceptance and community. Like The Father, this movie puts the audience in the shoes of the protagonist by letting us hear what he hears (and what he doesn’t) at various points in the film. It makes one sympathetic to his search for identity and acceptance, and what others are searching for who don’t know Jesus.
A Promising Young Woman (2020). This is a fascinating movie that, in its own quirky, darkly comedic fashion, takes up the central issue of the #Me Too Movement. If you are a Christian who is skeptical of the #Me Too Movement, I would strongly encourage you to watch this movie. Having represented victims of sexual harassment for more than twenty years, I didn’t need any convincing. But if you are skeptical, I will warn you, this movie will entertain you openly while subtly convincing you. If the movie misses the mark, it is that its viewpoint of men is jaded in the extreme, but can we really fault that?
I hope you enjoy these movies as much as I did. GS