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R e v i e w
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This Rock
Volume 15, Number 10
 December 2004 
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God in Celluloid
Catherine Barsotti and Robert Johnston preface Finding God in the Movies by expressing enthusiasm for movies and by pointing out the Greek roots of the word enthusiasm: en and theos, meaning "in God." They are enthusiastic, even passionate, about their subject because, they write, "we have found God to be present in movies."
God is present in some movies; others exude a totally different presence. But no one can question that, God or no, Hollywood continues to exert enormous influence worldwide. Barsotti and Johnston cite these statistics for the United States: Students typically watch 8–10 movies per month, and some watch up to 55. In 2002, Americans spent over $9 billion on movie tickets, up 10 percent from 2001. This doesn’t include 2002 DVD sales of $8.7 billion, $3.4 billion spent on buying VHS tapes, billions spent on rentals, or the millions of televised movies viewed at home.
With these appalling figures in mind, it behooves Christians to pay careful attention to the medium that shaped our godless culture and to learn to recognize good motion pictures and discern in them Christian themes such as forgiveness, repentance, faith, and hope. Finding God in the Movies is designed as a guide for learning to do this and for discussing the movies you see with others. The authors hope that viewing/discussing will be with young people in church groups and with folks not yet Christian. They write, "We suggest you invite a friend or neighbor to watch with you. Use us as your excuse, if you like. You can say the movie was recommended as worth viewing."
Most of the films critiqued in Finding God in the Movies are worth viewing, and all meet the authors’ criterion of "a compelling story believably told." The format is effective. There are thirteen sections with major themes such as choosing life, affirming our humanity, embracing our vocation, racial reconciliation, and images of the Savior. Movies critiqued within each section begin with a list of themes (both major and minor), basic production notes (date, length, director, actors, screenwriter, rating, and DVD features), a synopsis, and a theological reflection. Next is a list of Bible verses that raise themes mentioned in the film. Following these are discussion questions, some general and others about specific scenes. The final section, "Bonus Material," strives "to help readers understand something of both the making and the reception of the movie" and covers awards, production costs, and "personal information about how cast or crew members were impacted personally by the making of the movie." Helpful appendices classify the thirty-three movies by biblical text and theme.
One caveat: While Christian moviegoers must measure movies by standards of artistic excellence, they must do so with the moral impact of the film uppermost in mind. Although Finding God in the Movies encourages readers to do this, the authors are Protestant (Johnston, an ordained Evangelical Covenant minister, teaches theology and culture at Fuller Seminary in Los Angeles, and Barsotti, his wife, is film critic for The Covenant Companion), and they appear not to recognize the threat to all of Christendom posed by anti-Catholic elements in some of the movies they recommend.
In fairness to them, I should mention that a few Catholic reviewers also praised Sister Act, a trivial comedy that portrays nuns as silly, gullible, and immature, and Chocolat, number four on a movie expert’s list of 100 most anti-Catholic movies, which Robert Lockwood describes as "portraying the image of the Church as the great repressor."
In Finding God in the Movies, these two films comprise a section called "Renewing the Church," which more accurately might be named "Protestantizing the Catholic Church." In defending Chocolat, the authors write, "Many of us can tell our own stories of rigid practices that have continued to be enforced in religious communities long after they have lost their meaning. The disciplines of Lent can be wonderfully redemptive, but wooden practice kills the abundant life Christ came to bring us. . . . Some Christian viewers have been put off by its portrayal of the church. But we feel that the film is a great place to begin conversation about the renewal of the church and the joy and freedom that come through new life in Christ."
Perhaps serious Catholic movie buffs should begin with the excellent 1995 Vatican film list of forty-five great motion pictures, each distinguished by special artistic, religious, or moral worth, and not one of which is included in Finding God in the Movies. Once these truly profound films have been viewed, enjoyed, pondered, discussed, and fixed in mind and heart, viewers will be thoroughly prepared to search for God in lesser movies.
—Ann Applegarth
Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith
By Catherine M. Barsotti and Robert K. Johnston
Baker Books
319 pages
$14.99
ISBN: 0801064813
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