Comments on: “Christian movies” / Let Art Be Art http://www.jslweb.com/blog/2007/02/12/christian-movies-let-art-be-art/ Thoughts on life, art, and religion Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:31:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rebelling Against Indifference » God would prefer movies to be… http://www.jslweb.com/blog/2007/02/12/christian-movies-let-art-be-art/comment-page-1/#comment-2254 Rebelling Against Indifference » God would prefer movies to be… Mon, 19 Mar 2007 05:02:27 +0000 http://www.jslweb.com/blog/?p=104#comment-2254 [...] After my recent post about “christian movies” and the importance of letting art be art, it was with interest that I read this quote a couple weeks ago by Rich Christiano from the recent National Religious Broadcasters convention. “I think God would prefer movies to be either Christ movies or porn movies.” It was given during one of two sessions that discussed film and Christianity during the convention, helmed by Christiano and his brother, Dave, and Facing the Giants director Alex Kendrick. I’m not quite sure why he didn’t demand that movies also be shot in black and white to remove any hint of nuance. Maybe he’s saving that for next year’s NRB convention. [...] [...] After my recent post about “christian movies” and the importance of letting art be art, it was with interest that I read this quote a couple weeks ago by Rich Christiano from the recent National Religious Broadcasters convention. “I think God would prefer movies to be either Christ movies or porn movies.” It was given during one of two sessions that discussed film and Christianity during the convention, helmed by Christiano and his brother, Dave, and Facing the Giants director Alex Kendrick. I’m not quite sure why he didn’t demand that movies also be shot in black and white to remove any hint of nuance. Maybe he’s saving that for next year’s NRB convention. [...]

]]> By: jonathan http://www.jslweb.com/blog/2007/02/12/christian-movies-let-art-be-art/comment-page-1/#comment-1913 jonathan Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:55:58 +0000 http://www.jslweb.com/blog/?p=104#comment-1913 Don Miller (Author of Blue like Jazz) liked it a little better than I did. Here is his review from imdb.com: Author: Don Miller (donjmiller) from Portland, Oregon, USA "This is a film that requires some willing suspension of disbelief, since its makers seem possibly to be prey to the fallacy that it enough that Christian art be Christian. Which is not to say that they didn't get most of it right, just that their missteps are so avoidable. Fortunately, most (like the young star's unbelievably sumptuous wardrobe) weren't major distractions for me. But the crudeness of the special effects scenes (which, thankfully, are brief) did disrupt my experience, as I wondered, "What were they thinking that this looked right to them?" Most of the cast does a truly fine job, with all the central characters (the Forbes family and Fagan Kai) getting moving, heartfelt and convincing performances from their players. There's a relationship here between quantity of screen time and quality, so the minor characters remain pretty two-dimensional, though not distractingly so. The cinematography (except for special effects, as noted) is beautiful and effective, and successfully evokes the feeling of confining, dense Appalachian woods and isolation. Bottom line: despite its minor shortcomings, this is an effective, affecting, non-preachy and original retelling of one of the central concepts of Christianity." Don Miller (Author of Blue like Jazz) liked it a little better than I did. Here is his review from imdb.com:

Author: Don Miller (donjmiller) from Portland, Oregon, USA

“This is a film that requires some willing suspension of disbelief, since its makers seem possibly to be prey to the fallacy that it enough that Christian art be Christian. Which is not to say that they didn’t get most of it right, just that their missteps are so avoidable. Fortunately, most (like the young star’s unbelievably sumptuous wardrobe) weren’t major distractions for me. But the crudeness of the special effects scenes (which, thankfully, are brief) did disrupt my experience, as I wondered, “What were they thinking that this looked right to them?”

Most of the cast does a truly fine job, with all the central characters (the Forbes family and Fagan Kai) getting moving, heartfelt and convincing performances from their players. There’s a relationship here between quantity of screen time and quality, so the minor characters remain pretty two-dimensional, though not distractingly so.

The cinematography (except for special effects, as noted) is beautiful and effective, and successfully evokes the feeling of confining, dense Appalachian woods and isolation.

Bottom line: despite its minor shortcomings, this is an effective, affecting, non-preachy and original retelling of one of the central concepts of Christianity.”

]]> By: jonathan http://www.jslweb.com/blog/2007/02/12/christian-movies-let-art-be-art/comment-page-1/#comment-1911 jonathan Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:14:04 +0000 http://www.jslweb.com/blog/?p=104#comment-1911 I saw the movie this weekend. The way it told the story and oversimplified all of the deeper issues made it seem like it was made for kids. The Welsh accents were so fake and the music seemed way over the top, like they were trying to make scenes dramatic through the music rather than the story or the acting. It was not a complete waste of time, but they could have done so much better. I saw the movie this weekend. The way it told the story and oversimplified all of the deeper issues made it seem like it was made for kids. The Welsh accents were so fake and the music seemed way over the top, like they were trying to make scenes dramatic through the music rather than the story or the acting. It was not a complete waste of time, but they could have done so much better.

]]>