Films

Nope, we don’t normally review movies with a restricted rating. But we will make an exception in this case as this is a story that contains some heavy themes relevant to both our Christian faith and work in mission.

I suggest you get the “Special Edited Edition,” which tones it down a bit. Mind you, I question whether it makes any difference seeing the “f” word being mouthed silently, rather than said out loud! There are also some scenes that are quite violent – not one for the kids.

Read more: Machine Gun Preacher

An interesting find from my library sorting job: This film has won nine awards in film festivals in the documentary division.

Whatever our theological position on homosexuality, there is a strong possibility we will know a Christian family in which someone has come out as gay. How do people of a strong Christian faith, who also love their family, react in such a situation?

Read more: For the Bible Tells Me So: A film by Daniel Karslake

Warning: You will need a good supply of paper tissues for this one!

Charlie is a milkman who lives next door to an Amish community in Pennsylvania. Angry with God at the loss of his and his wife’s baby at just one day old, he walks into the Amish school house and shoots 10 young girls, five fatally.

Later that day, the father of one of the dead girls – along with other Amish elders – visit Charlie’s wife and tell her they forgive Charlie and have nothing against her. In fact, they would like to help her with her pain and grief.

Read more: Amish Grace

Matthew Modine stars as “Mac” McCain, an emotionally crippled attorney who has lost his family in an accident. The movie opens with Mac holding a gun to his own head – then the phone rings.

That’s the first cliché in what I’d have to say is a fairly clichéd movie. I always love a good court room drama but, sadly, this isn’t quite up there with A Few Good Men, and Modine is no Tom Cruise. The courtroom trial, in which Mac defends a young man facing the death penalty, is too one-sided to draw out any real tension.

Read more: Robert Whitlow’s The Trial