By John Zmirak, The Stream, April 13, 2023
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or co-author of ten books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. He is co-author with Jason Jones of “God, Guns, & the Government.”
Many films aimed at or well-suited to the “Christian audience” fall short of artistic excellence. They are just plain flat and didactic, mindlessly “inspirational,” or afraid to show genuine evil. So you leave with a puzzled shrug and the thought, “At least it wasn’t offensive … .”
Others which avoid these obvious pitfalls can’t afford to hire top-notch actors, or skilled cinematographers, or visionary directors. So they might be a gem of a story, or contain one brilliant performance, but don’t cohere as a whole. You walk out of those thinking, “What a missed opportunity … .”
Still other films attain genuine excellence, but get lousy distribution and so never gain the audience they deserve. I can point to a few, like Gimme Shelter, Voiceless, and Mr. Jones, each of which I’ve recommended in the past. (NOTE: These films are not PG rated and not for everybody.) …