faith-based

Infidel: A Movie Thriller about Persevering Faith and the Personal Clash of Civilizations.

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An American Christian blogger is invited to Cairo, Egypt to speak of unity with the Abrahamic faith of Islam. But when he declares the deity of Christ, he is kidnapped by Muslims intent on forcing him to convert to Islam. He is accused of being a spy because his wife works for the US State Department, but nobody there will help her, so she flies off to the Middle East to plead for his life.

This movie claims to be “inspired by true events.” That means that, while it is a fictional story, its various plot elements are actually drawn from situations that have really happened to some Christians in recent years. It reflects truthfully the world that we live in.

The writer director, Cyrus Nowrasteh, had previously encountered Jesus Christ and became a committed Christian through making his movie, The Young Messiah, based on Anne Rice’s novel, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.

Now, with Infidel, he makes a bold expansion of his storytelling by exploring the interaction of Christianity with one of its most formidable enemies, Islam. And yes, I mean enemies because while Christianity seeks the conversion of the world through voluntary informed choice, Islam is imperialist, colonialist, and seeks conversion through force. Two totalizing worldviews from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.

When people criticize “religion” and throw these two faiths into the same bucket, they literally do not know what they are talking about. It’s like Muslims considering Atheists and Christians to be in the same bucket as “western.” Such shallow similarities betray the deep diametric opposition.

Ah, but rationality is not a value of our modern world.

So, the hero of the story, Doug Rawlins, is played with nuance and humanity by Jim Caviezel, the handsome everyman. He’s a bit courageous, a bit naïve in thinking and hoping that he can find some common ground of unity with an imperialist religion that seeks to subjugate through force. But he ain’t an idiot. He’s and idealist who thinks he knows the danger and counts the cost. But does he, really?

His wife, Liz Rawlins, a woman who has lost her faith as a result of experiencing tragedy, is played by Claudia Karvan, with a realistic strength. But she’s not the typical Hollywood joke of a woman action hero or female version of a tough guy, trying to be like men. Karvan doesn’t quite rise in her “presence” as an actor to match Caviezel’s, but she delivers a consistent good performance for the story.

It’s just refreshing to see an authentic movie depiction of men and women Christians and unbelievers that has been written by someone who knows what the heaven he is writing about when it comes to the real world complexities of religion and faith, and what the hell he is writing about when it comes to doubt and unbelief.

When he is taken hostage, Doug experiences the brutality of the underbelly of captivity to Islam and how it treats what it calls “infidels,” with Christophobic zeal, as his wife seeks to find him using her wits and bold courage to fly in where some angels fear to tread.

That journey ultimately takes them both to Iran, where we get to see the oppression of Christians under that regime as well as a climactic third act, presenting a kangaroo court trial for Doug and an action piece ending. It’s not big budget action, but it does the job.

In a way this story perfectly incapsulates the naivete of thinking there is dialogue to be had with Islam without recognizing that its essence is to conquer and colonize for global domination. All willingness to dialogue is a strategic ruse of the doctrine of “Taqiyya,” lying to unbelievers in order to control them for the cause.

If we do not understand the true nature of our opponent, we cannot win the war for civilization.

It’s an instructing story much like Flight 93. It’s a faith-based political religious thriller that gives a new higher bar of quality for those seeking to make films about muscular Christian faith.

Listen, I know that the entire theater experience is all screwed up right now. But if you want to support more movies that deal honestly and truthfully with real world Christianity, that are not Leftist screeds of wokeness or celebration of depravity, then you need to try to find if this movie is anywhere near you and go see it. Put your money where your mouth is. If you can’t find it because the theaters near you are closed, then keep watch for when it comes on iTunes or Amazon or any pay channels and pay to see it. That is the only way we get to see more of these movies. Don’t just wait till its free. Pay for it now, to help filmmakers like Cyrus Nowrasteh make more of them.

Here is where you find out where it is playing at a theater near you.

Ben Hur: An Epic Movie of Christian Forgiveness in an Empire of Hate

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Ben Hur

Adaptation of a famous fictional novel by Lew Wallace about a first century wealthy Jew, Judah Ben-Hur, and his pursuit of revenge against an adopted Roman brother who betrays his family.

Chances are, you have heard of the classic movie of Ben-Hur with Charlton Heston in the lead role. But if you’re young, you probably haven’t seen it. Look, for those of us who have seen the “original,” it’s pretty hard to live up to the grandness of it because Heston was so legendary. But the truth is, when I watched the old one again some years ago, the actual quality of filmmaking and acting, even the famous chariot race, was not as good as my memory of it. Modern filmmaking is simply more sophisticated on many levels.

Enter, the modern reboot

Judah and his family live in Jerusalem, but his adopted Roman brother, Masala, never feels welcome with his pagan ideas and desire to make his own name in life. So Masala goes to Rome and becomes a highly placed military leader, who ends up at Jerusalem aiding Pontius Pilate at the time of Christ.

Judah begins the story as a Jew who scorns the extremes of both the Zealots, who seek to rise up against Rome, and of the way of love that he sees a young carpenter preaching to his followers. Judah seeks to protect his family and stay out of trouble. Self-preservation. And isn’t that really the desire of most of us, if we are honest? (Zealots were kind of like ancient “Social Justice Warriors” or terrorists)

The problem is that the family gets falsely accused of a Zealot crime, and is punished accordingly. Rather than execute Judah, Rome prefers to enjoy him dying slowly by putting him as a slave on a Roman galley ship. I have to say, this part of the movie was the most excellent surprise of the experience. I remember that part of the Heston movie as being a bit boring: guys rowing in dirty sweaty grunge with the quartermaster pounding the drum and the slaves getting whipped and yelled at.

But in this version, the experience of the sea battle by the oarsman from their perspective was a powerful action sequence. It captured the experience of what it might feel like to be there, helpless in those cramped quarters being bashed and battered around and sinking during a battle. And only being able to see what is going on through cracks and oar windows as they row. It reminded me of the D-Day scene in Saving Private Ryan, how it made you feel like the first time you ever really got a true sense of real battle in a movie from the individual’s perspective.

More Bread and Circuses!…

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Hacksaw Ridge: Real Christian Faith Under Fire

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Hacksaw_Ridge

I just saw a rough cut of Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson’s new movie coming out in November.

It’s the true story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist Christian who joined the US military in WWII, but refused to carry a weapon and never fired a bullet. He became a medic who “saved lives instead of taking lives.” He suffered persecution within the system and from his fellow soldiers, but ended up saving 75 of his company’s men in the brutal bloodbath of Hacksaw Ridge on Okinawa.

I will blog more about it when the release comes, but suffice it to say this is the best war movie about Christianity in a time of war since To End All Wars (Go ahead, mock me, accuse me of self-promotion, but it’s true, regardless of who wrote it. And it was a true story too).

Mel Gibson’s Redemption

He’s done it again. Mel Gibson has crafted one of the most inspiring movies for this generation.

If you want to see Christianity respected in a movie, then you will definitely want to see Hacksaw Ridge.

If you want to see Christianity lived out in grace and sacrifice, then you will definitely want to see Hacksaw Ridge.

If you want to be inspired to be a better person, then you will definitely want to see Hacksaw Ridge.

And here is what is amazing… Continue reading →

Variety’s Family & Faith Summit: Christians are Alive and Kind of Well in Hollywood

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Variety's Purpose Summit

I went to the all-day family entertainment and faith-based summit called “Purpose,” put on by Variety. I saw panel discussions on Faith in Mainstream Entertainment, How to Win the Faith Audience, Representation of Religion in Entertainment and others. This was not a conference for wannabes or Christian subculture, these were successful writers, producers, and executives, key decision makers and content makers in Hollywood. The real thing, people working with studios and networks making and marketing content related to the family and faith audience, or as my colleague Matthew Faraci of Inspire calls it, The “values audience.” (It’s more than just faith, it’s about cherished values that go along with that faith).

I have been involved as an independent filmmaker in Hollywood for a long time and I have experienced my share of cynicism with a system and people who are late to the party of recognizing and respecting the interests of this huge demographic of faith and values audience. But I have also been frustrated with the “faith-based” genre for its cheesy sermonizing and lack of excellence in craft, which to my mind disrespects God by disrespecting creation and beauty. I’m a Christian, and I don’t believe the message of many Christian movies. (Is this the fault of Christians with low standards pouring money into crap or the fault of a media culture that fails to provide for their demographic needs, thus resulting in Christians supporting lesser quality because it’s the only thing that respects them?)

But there is hope growing in Hollyweird.

Studios and networks finally see that there is money to be made in respecting faith and values audiences. As Paradigm agent Michael Van Dyck pointed out, sadly, these gatekeepers still don’t quite understand the demographic beyond their own stereotypes, but they are getting better as they hire more individuals that do get it. Yes, you have the abysmal failures like Noah and Exodus, but then you have the screaming successes of Miracles from Heaven and When Calls the Heart.

Some of those successful storytellers of faith were Devon Franklin, producer of Miracles from Heaven, Patrick Aiello, producer of Risen, Matthew Malick, producer of Scorsese’s Silence, Rick Rekedal of Dreamworks Animation, Jonathan Merkh of publisher Simon and Shuster, Writers Cary Solomon of God’s Not Dead, Bryan Bird of When Calls the Heart and many others.

The key to a growing presence of Christians in Hollywood has been in this generation ceasing seeing Hollywood as Sodom and Gomorrah to flee from without, but rather seeing it as a mission field to go into and influence from within.

Takeaways

Several memes rose within the conference in most all the panels.

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