Top pick movies in theaters for the fourth week of April focus on truth and transformation in a range of movie genres for various ages and audiences. April 24, Fragments of Truth comes to U.S. movie theaters for a special one-night event. New Testament scholar and author Dr. Craig Evans presents new evidence concerning Gospel manuscripts that verify the New Testament’s authenticity, reliability, and stability. The feature content will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Dr. Craig Evans and the film’s director, Reuben Evans. Fathom Events and Faithlife Films present this film, which is narrated by actor John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings”). See the trailer.
Craig A. Evans is the John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins at Houston Baptist University in Texas. Evans, a well-known scholar is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He also serves as the Director of the Christian Thinkers Society Fellows Program and Strategic Studies.
Along with countless interviews on radio networks across Canada and the US, Evans has been seen on Dateline NBC, CBC, CTV, Day of Discovery, and many documentaries aired on BBC, The Discovery Channel, History Channel, History Television, and others. He has also served as a consultant for the National Geographic Society and for The Bible miniseries, produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.
Author and editor of more than seventy books and hundreds of articles and reviews, Professor Evans has given lectures at Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Yale, and other universities, colleges, seminaries, and museums, such as the Field Museum in Chicago, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. He is a Fox News Opinion contributor and also regularly lectures and gives talks at popular conferences and retreats on the historical Jesus, Archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Bible.
Fathom Events presents ‘Fragments of Truth’. Photo Courtesy Fathom Events
Other top picks in theaters the last week of April that focus on truth and transformation include: The Heart of Nuba, suitable for teens and adults; Black Panther (PG-13), for teens through adults; I Can Only Imagine (PG), for teens through adults; Chappaquiddick (PG-13), for older teens through adults; The Miracle Season (PG) , for teens through adults; Peter Rabbit (PG), for all ages; Paul, Apostle of Christ (PG-13,) for teens through adults; God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (PG), for teens through adults; and The Greatest Showman (PG), for older children through adults.
The Heart of Nuba focuses on transformation in the midst of tragedy. It is a documentary that tells the heartbreaking story of the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan and Tom’s mission to save children and adults from the bombing attacks taking over the region. He has been the only surgeon within 200 miles. See the trailer for the film.
From hundreds of miles away on foot, in carts, or cradled in their mother’s arms, patients come to Dr. Tom Catena and his team of workers. Void of humanitarian and media attention, this area of Sudan has been largely ignored. As years of war have gone by, cries for help have been largely unheard.
Here in this dangerous, fearful place, one lone American surgeon has tended with great compassion to patients living with malnutrition and leprosy to grave wounds inflicted by the indiscriminate bombings ordered by their own president, Omar al-Bashir.
When a government attacks its own defenseless men, women and children with supersonic bombers and this news doesn’t even hit the newswires or airways, something is terribly wrong. Nonetheless, as the only surgeon within 200 miles, Dr. Tom does his best to save lives in the midst of carnage and terror, treating as many as 400 patients a day at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the heart of the Nuba Mountains.
The region is the latest target of Omar al-Bashir, who has been wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity and for war crimes in Darfur. Dr. Tom and his mostly local staff defy Bashir’s ban on humanitarian aid and work tirelessly to serve the Nuba people, while they are surrounded by a country at war and live under the constant shadow of aerial bombardment.
This one million Muslims, Christians, Animists and Africans of traditional belief have lived together harmoniously for centuries. Now, together with Dr. Tom Catena and his workers, they struggle to survive. For more info, see The Heart of Nuba.
Many other top pick movies for various ages and audiences continue in theaters emphasizing the value and need for truth that leads to transformation. Addressing these themes, Black Panther further picturizes how to avoid, thwart and prevent evil through sharing and coordination of technology with good leaders. In the dangerous world in which we live, superhero movies with heroes of with good moral character, integrity, and self-sacrifice are popular partly because audiences want to see heroes who enable good to prevail over evil. This movie is rated PG-13, due to the violent struggles between good and evil. It is appropriate for middle schoolers-adults.
Black Panther is about Wakanda, an African nation, which has developed “vibranium,” an invaluable metal from a meteorite. Vibranium has helped Wakanda produce extremely advanced technology and civilization, which they have kept hidden from the world, as they pose as an impoverished country.
Author Dr. Craig Evans presents new evidence concerning Gospel manuscripts that verify the New Testament’s authenticity. Photo Courtesy Fathom Events
Wakanda struggles with the following universal questions and dilemmas: Should they share what they have with those in need? If they share, will they lose control of their resources? Will those with whom they might share use their technology for evil? Is the king’s highest loyalty and duty to his nation or to humanity? If Wakanda refuses to help those they can, how will it affect Wakanda? Can Wakanda use its power and technology for the good of all, as well as for their own country?
Where the earlier American Black Panther group used power for militancy, this latest Black Panther uses technology and power for the Good of All.
I Can Only Imagine, came out in theaters and its first weekend at the top of the box office grossed $17 million, with per-screen average of $10,400. Because this movie had a production budget of $7 million, it had already had an amazing return. At the heart of this movie are themes of truth that transforms and forgiveness that redeems.
In this gripping movie, Dennis Quaid displays a powerful range as an actor portraying Bart Millard’s father who undergoes a startling transformation. The inspiring and previously unknown true story behind MercyMe’s beloved, chart-topping song that brings ultimate hope to many is an important reminder of the power of true forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption.
In the movie, while chasing a dream and running away from his abusive father and a broken relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Bart hits the road in an old, decrepit tour bus with his new band MercyMe, which was named for his grandmother’s favorite expression. With the guidance of a grizzled music-industry insider, the band begins a journey which none of them could ever have imagined. See my interview with director/writer Jon Erwin.
The initial box office success for I Can Only Imagine is significant. For consumers concerned about the content of media, and who want to make a difference in encouraging the production of good movies and other media, it is important to understand and exercise savvy consumer power for good. It is important to understand, for example, that much is at stake for good redemptive movies in their first weekend in theaters. The first weekend is highly significant for the success of the movie and its broadest impact worldwide for the eternal good of our world. Consumers who support good movies and media can make a difference. When they see the movies in a theater the first weekend, their consumer “vote” makes the strongest impact.
Unfortunately, movies that do not bring in significant revenue the first weekend are often dismissed as “disappointments,” “failures,” or “flops” at the box office. In recent decades, cinemas have been dropping movies after a poor opening weekend. To some extent the opening weekend can determine the future and fate of the movie.
In general, a movie has to make over 2.5 times its budget to be successful. A movie needs to make more than its global production and promotional budgets to make money and to secure funds for future movies. Movies are considered hits when they exceed both the films’ budgets and expectations. They are considered “disappointments,” “failures,” or “flops” when they don’t. By this measure and more, I Can Only Imagine is successful already.
‘Fragments of Truth’ is in theaters April 24, 2018 only. Photo Courtesy Fathom Events
Another top pick movie, Chappaquiddick, (produced by Mark Ciardi, who also produced The Miracle Season) continues in theaters. It also highlights the need for truth and true Christian virtues. This PG-13 movie is appropriate for older teens through adults. Chappaquiddick gets beneath the spin to the facts of a critical day in the life of Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy to shine light on that darkness of the events related to that day. It is a much-needed look at political spin that covers over, whitewashes, and hides the truth.
This riveting suspense drama picturizes the events surrounding the tragic death of Mary Jo Kopechne, after Ted Kennedy drives his car off the infamous Chappaquiddick bridge. This movie, which gets behind the scenes to reveal the truth of these events, features Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne. The cast also includes: Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, Taylor Nichols, Olivia Thirlby, and Bruce Dern.
This movie is based on true accounts, documented in the inquest (a judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts relating to an incident, such as a death) from the investigation in 1969. From these facts from true accounts, director John Curran and writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, intimately expose the hiding of truth by political power and spin as they focus on the life of Ted Kennedy.
On July 18, 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy and campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne left a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, heading into darkness in Kennedy’s car. There is no question that the car ended up overturned in shallow water with Kopechne trapped inside or that Kennedy waited 10 hours to report the accident. It was the tragic end of a promising life for Kopechne and the end of any presidential hopes for the senator.
Allen and Logan decided to focus on this critical week in Kennedy’s life with its historical backdrop. At this time, the country had seen the back-to-back assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968 and Bobby Kennedy in June 1968. Ted was at his brother’s side the night he was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Mary Jo Kopechne too had worked on his Bobby’s presidential campaign. For contrasting historical context, in July of 1969, the country watched the Apollo 11 space mission on TV, which fulfilled JFK’s promise to take America to the moon. Just two days after Ted left Kopechne to die in shallow water, Neil Armstrong planted a flag on the lunar surface.
Always living in the shadow of his two more successful older brothers and now the last political hope of the Kennedy family, Ted believed that winning the presidency was his chance to redeem his brothers’ and family’s legacies, as well as securing his own. However, these desires were spectacularly and tragically stopped one fatal night in the darkness due to Ted’s own choices and behavior.
“We never wanted this to be a conspiracy movie,” Logan says. “We pulled from objective facts to lay the groundwork—no insinuation, no innuendo, but the real truth,” adds Allen. “That’s why our collaboration with director John Curran was so successful because we shared that passion for fact-finding.”
Watch for my interview on Sonoma Christian Home with producer Mark Ciardi (The Miracle Season, Invincible, Secretariat, The Rookie, McFarland USA… and former major league pitcher, whose company fully financed the production of Chappaquiddick).
Like Allen and Logan, Ciardi said in our interview, “…We did not want to editorialize but just tell the emotional story based on the facts.” Further, he said that the many layers of the Chappaquiddick story are what make it relatable today. “It does feel uniquely current right now, even though the story happened in 1969,” Ciardi said. Furthermore, in my interview with him, Mark Ciardi says that this movie speaks to the issues of ”… abuse of power and gives voice to the voiceless… putting oneself in potentially dangerous situations…We must each read between lines, seek Truth, and have a rational sense of right and wrong… History repeats itself. There are consequences for our actions…The end does not justify the means…”
Another inspirational, redemptive family movie in theaters is The Miracle Season that focuses on transformation and triumph after tragedy. After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline “Line” Found, a team of dispirited high school girls band together under the leadership of their tough-love coach to win the state championship.
The Miracle Season is a true-life drama, in which one girl story leads her team and town to victory in volleyball. In Iowa, the girls’ volleyball team, from Iowa City West High School, brings their community together, and Caroline Found – or “Line,” as she nicknamed herself – is their inspiration for the season.
The 17-year-old Line is a role model who is vivacious, life-loving, compassionate, and caring. She makes sure kids don’t eat alone in the lunchroom and that everyone gives their all at volleyball games. Line is the captain of the girls’ volleyball team’s captain. She helps coach Kathy “Coach Brez” Bresnahan (played by Oscar winner, Helen Hunt) rally everyone together to repeat their championship win from the previous year.
Then, as her senior year is about to begin, Line is in an accident that leaves her team, her school, and her father, Ernie (performed by Oscar winner William Hurt), heartbroken by their loss. Two weeks later, Ellyn, Line’s mother, succumbs to cancer and the grief for all seems overwhelming.
But when the team starts to wonder if they can move forward, Ernie’s strength and faith encourage them. Caroline’s best friend, Kelley Fliehler, won’t let down the girl she loved since childhood. Kelley also encourages her classmates, Coach Brez, and even the opponents the City West team faces across the net to “Live Like Line” – to never back down, never stop smiling, and always give 100 percent, even against seemingly impossible odds. By the time their miracle season wraps up, the Iowa City Trojans help Ernie, Coach Brez, and the whole community find the strength and spirit to live like Line, which makes it The Miracle Season.
Another movie continuing at the top of the box office this week that deals with discovering what is true to resolve conflicts, find reconciliation, and experience transformation is Peter Rabbit. It is about the mischievous and adventurous Peter Rabbit, who leads his animal friends to battle against the McGregors. This movie is PG-rated and is appropriate for children through adults. This charming film is based on Beatrix Potter books and is full of delightful British humor.
Will Gluck, co-writer/director, says “When I was a kid, my dad read me the Peter Rabbit books, so I always had an emotional tie to him – and when I had kids, I read the books to them…The thing I love most is that Peter is a little mischief-maker. He’s depicted in a beautiful old-fashioned style, but …I thought it was a great opportunity to take that little nugget, what Beatrix Potter gave Peter, expand that personality trait and make it our own contemporary story.”
In the film, Peter’s battle with Old Mr. McGregor, keeper of the vegetable garden, takes a turn when the old man dies. When his great-nephew, Mr. Thomas McGregor inherits the place, Peter realizes that the struggle for control of the vegetable garden – and the heart of their next-door neighbor, Bea – has only just begun. To help, Peter is enlisting his family and friends – sisters Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, cousin Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mr. Jeremy Fisher, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and other characters author and illustrator Beatrix Potter created in her original tales.
For the animation, Gluck and fellow producer Zareh Nalbandian partnered with Nalbandian’s Animation and VFX studio Animal Logic, whose previous credits include The LEGO® Movie, Happy Feet, and other films, for a film that would combine animation with live action. “We wanted to use as many of the Beatrix Potter characters as possible to honor what she created,” continues Gluck. “We’re all familiar with the beautiful watercolor paintings – if they were to come to life in the real world, we hope this is what they would look like.” This live-action movie is a delightful animation marvel.
The look of the film was only one part of maintaining the integrity of the characters – just as important was ensuring that Peter behaved as Peter – a character who takes risks and enjoys a good prank, but one whose good heart shines through.
“Peter is told not to go into McGregor’s garden because his father was put into a pie for going into the garden. What does he do? He goes into the garden. That’s who Peter is – there’s nothing more you can tell someone who’s like that,” Gluck explains. “He has that impishness, but also a bold confidence and a self-delusion that he’s always right, when he’s actually often wrong. He’s never in doubt, though, so he keeps charging forward until he realizes he’s gone too far.”
But even as Peter faces reality when daring bullheadedness goes too far, his true character emerges. “He comes to realize that he has to take care of his cousin and his three sisters, and although he wouldn’t admit it to himself, he realizes that there might be shades to Thomas McGregor,” Gluck continues. “Peter is an adolescent who starts to appreciate that things aren’t always black and white.”
Protecting these elements of Peter’s character was extremely important to the filmmakers, as they worked closely with the guardians of the Beatrix Potter legacy, the publishers at Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., a division of Penguin Random House, which has published Beatrix Potter’s Original Peter Rabbit Books™ since 1902.
Susan Bolsover, director of licensing and consumer products for Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd, says that the Peter Rabbit movie will connect with 2018 audiences in a similar way that the book did for readers in 1902 because the themes of adventure and mischief are timeless. “I think Beatrix Potter was able to reach so many people with The Tale of Peter Rabbit because it’s a funny, timeless story that captures children’s imaginations,” she adds. “Beatrix understood the importance of talking to children on their own level and created a story, set in the natural world that all children would recognize with themes that would be universally appealing.”
Peter eventually teaches his animal friends to find healing coexistence with their human friends and his readers to find the same with each other.
Paul, Apostle of Christ, another top pick now in theaters, also has the theme of triumph and transformation in the midst of tragedy. Although the acting is strong with Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) as Luke and James Faulkner as Paul (Downton Abbey), the movie is somewhat slow, especially at the beginning. The dialects are varied and not especially believable. The theme of overcoming evil with good without revenge and retaliation is the strongest aspect of this inspirational movie that picturizes Christ’s love in His people even in the face of horrendous persecution.
Based on biblical scriptures and historical accounts, this movie picturizes the context of Paul’s last days in the Mamertine Prison in Rome where he has been imprisoned and horribly condemned to beheading. Luke comes to visit Paul and starts to write about the Book of Acts under Paul’s direction. Luke also brings some money to a hidden group of Roman Christians suffering under Nero’s persecution. It is not clear how the two story lines of the Roman Christians and Paul are connected until the end.
The movie begins in A.D. 67 in Rome at the time that Emperor Nero has blamed Christians for starting the fire in A.D. 64 that burned much of the city, although it is suspected that he is responsible for the fire. Nero has been killing Christians in the arena. He has also fed them to lions or wild dogs and used their bodies as human torches on the Roman streets.
Although Roman troops are looking for Christians to imprison and kill in A.D. 67, Luke, who has been Paul’s companion during his missionary trips, has secretly entered the city to visit Paul in prison and to bring money from the churches in Asia Minor to help a small community of Christians who are hiding from Nero’s fury.
Aquila and Priscilla (beautifully performed by Joanne Whalley of A.D. The Bible Continues) lead this group of hiding, persecuted Christians. Originally from Rome, Aquila and Priscilla had helped Paul to establish Corinthian and Ephesian churches. They returned to Rome with Paul to serve the Christian community there.
While Luke is visiting in Rome, he learns that Aquila, Priscilla and the Christian community is debating whether to stay in Rome or try to secretly leave. This debate is not resolved until the end of the movie.
Luke bribes a guard in the prison to talk with Paul and to pick up another letter for the Christians in Asia Minor or Rome.
Paul is still haunted by the brutal persecution he led against Christians before he converted, although he knows Christ has forgiven him. Together, Luke and Paul decide to write a book about Paul’s missionary work. When the prison warden finds out about the book, he also imprisons Luke.
When a Christian boy, serving as a messenger, is caught and brutally murdered by Roman soldiers, a young Roman Christian convert wants to lead a violent revolt and free Paul and Luke from prison. Priscilla and Aquila remind him and the Christian community that Jesus taught His apostles and disciples that love is the right Christian response to persecution.
Paul, Apostle of Christ (PG-13) is most suitable for teens and adults, due to Roman violence and the slower pace of the movie.
Another top pick movie that has continued in theaters into April with the theme of truth that leads to transformation is the spectacular musical The Greatest Showman. Love, kindness, and unconditional love are also dominant themes in The Greatest Showman. This original musical is inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum.
This charming movie tells the story of the visionary, P.T. Barnum, who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. P.T. Barnum played by Hugh Jackman, founder of the three-ring circus, started with nothing; but he envisions a grand spectacle of theater, acrobatics, and amusement.
Academy Award® nominee Hugh Jackman especially likes “…the idea that your talent, your imagination and your ability to work hard should be the only things that determine your success. He (PT Barnum) knew how to make something out of nothing, how to turn lemons into lemonade. I’ve always loved that quality. He followed his own path, and turned any setback he had into a positive. So many things I aspire to in my life are embodied in this one character.”
DF-07720 – P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) comes alive with the oddities in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.
Australian director Michael Gracey says “…The Greatest Showman also touches on another idea of these times…families built around allowing people to express who they are without reservation… A big idea in the film is that your real wealth is the people that you surround yourself with and the people who love you…Barnum pulled people together who the world might otherwise have ignored. And by bringing each of these people into the light, he created a family who were always going to be there for each other. In the course of the film, Barnum almost loses both his real family and his circus family – but then you watch him discover that the most important thing he can do is bring them both back together again… Barnum’s story is about not limiting your imagination, about using what’s in your head to create new worlds….”
Gracey also focuses on the Oddities, the circus performers with uncommon physical conditions. Displays of such individuals as freaks is not acceptable today and Gracey sees another side of what Barnum’s performers experienced – the opportunity to escape hidden, marginal lives; the chance to inspire admiration and feel pride; and most of all the ability to provoke questions into just how narrowly we define “normal.”
“The Oddities are people who are invisible to society so they’ve been kept behind closed doors,” explains Gracey. “And what our P.T. Barnum does is give these invisible people a spotlight and a chance to feel love for the first time. He tells wondrous stories in which they are not damaged but special. I think audiences will love the Oddities because at the end of the day, everyone’s an Oddity.” He emphasizes, “There’s a line where Barnum says, ‘No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.’ That to me is the heart of the film.”
For Gracey, everything hinged on getting the music for this movie right. He determined that the songs could counterpoint the period setting – rather than going back in time, he wanted songs that would make the characters and dilemmas urgently of-the-moment. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul known for Oscar®-winning work on La La Land brilliantly provided this and more. Gracey said, “What Benj and Justin songs they wrote are always taking you somewhere – each is a narrative in its own right.”
Tony Award winner and Academy Award® nominee Hugh Jackman brings his commitment to family to this movie. Producer Laurence Mark says, “I think this is the first movie in which Hugh has actually played a family man and calls upon that part of himself… He makes it very much a story about a man who loses and then rediscovers his family – both his home family and his circus family who together mean everything in the world to him.”
Jackman also says, “What I like most is that at its heart, this is a film about taking risks, following your dreams and celebrating what makes each and every one of us unique…Barnum filled his show with the most talented but overlooked people he knew and gave them a magnificent spotlight in which to shine – and that’s the story we’ve decided to tell….Barnum broke walls down and I think what he represents to us now is this idea that you can be whoever you are, you can choose the life you want regardless of class or race or background.
If you work hard and use your imagination, you can do something amazing. I think Barnum was a little bit of an Oddity himself, growing up. He believed that what makes you different makes you special. That resonates with me in a huge way — and I think everybody can relate to it, particularly young kids. That’s why I’m thrilled that the theme of this movie is that it is empowering and cool just to be you….as the father of two teenagers, I talk to them constantly about the idea that no matter who you are, no matter how you differ from supermodels and football players, it’s irrelevant. Love yourself exactly the way you were born.”
Jackman’s song “From Now On,” is about seeking redemption. “That song is about Barnum coming to terms with …mistakes he’s made…” says music writer Justin Paul. “It begins in a hush and build and builds until the moment where he has to rush down the street trying to win his family back.”
Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki), Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Benjamin, Bea (Rose Byrne), Peter Rabbit (James Corden) and Cottontail (Daisy Ridley) in Columbia Pictures’ PETER RABBIT.
The music, choreography, and production elements of this spectacular musical movie creatively and freshly communicate the central themes through the skillful performances of top performers. As with the songs for The Greatest Showman, the design aesthetic blends vintage and new – hurtling the 19th century of P.T. Barnum into the future of today. Along with a team of dedicated artisans – including cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, production designer Nathan Crowley and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick – Michael Gracey establishes a look that is not grounded in any specific era. It is grounded in the power of the imagination of every era, bridging the gap between Barnum’s times and our own.
The movie culminates with the film’s climactic reprise of The Greatest Show. Choreographer Asley Wallen says, “We left our biggest dance for the end…It’s just a huge number that incorporates all the circus acts, all the dancers, all the Oddities, the…animals and so much more. It’s created to be a big, astounding, celebratory final note.”
Producer Laurence Mark says: “We all hope to have created a feast for the eyes, for the ears and for the heart. The old Barnum & Bailey circus’s time has come and gone, but what lives on as the legacy of Barnum is that desire to spark joy and imagination, and that’s the tradition we hope to have honored.”
God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness is another top pick movie with the theme of truth that leads to transformation. It is especially strong with its compelling, timely story with a powerful, unexpected ending. It also deals with critical issues for today and encourages forbearance, forgiveness, and redemption.
This movie starts a critically needed dialogue. In the marketplace of ideas today there are many loud, opinionated voices. Many of these monologues we hear today seem more about one-sided forcing of ideas and winning arguments than about collaborative problem-solving. Discussions and disagreements about faith seem especially sharper and more divisive than ever today.
“In our society and culture right now, we have a lot of darkness,” explains David A.R. White, who returns to the role of the Rev. Dave in God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness and again serves as a producer. “There’s a lot of anger; there’s a lot of fighting. You can’t turn on the news for even a second without seeing something that’s really disturbing. This is a time in our society when it seems like we have so much tension … – we have the left, we have the right, and nobody can agree on anything. This movie really brings that out. It’s a movie about hope, about love, about healing, and, ultimately, forgiveness.”
David A.R. White again plays the role of Rev. Dave, who takes on the central role in this movie after being a supporting player in the two previous movies. When his St. James Church burns to the ground in a suspected act of arson, a conflagration of different sorts rages up in town. The public university on whose land the church resides attempts to use the tragedy to keep it closed for good. Rev. Dave commits to fighting that effort even as growing public opinion questions whether a college campus is the proper location for a house of worship, and even if the church is a necessary part of such a diverse community.
The questions being asked, notes Ted McGinley, who plays Ellsworth, Hadleigh University’s dean and Rev. Dave’s close friend, are legitimate: “Does this church represent everyone on campus? Can this church be for everyone on campus? Are we allowed to put money into a church, because when you do, you take away from other areas?”
However, the way those questions are being debated by most of the movie’s characters, including Rev. Dave, are part of the problem.
“Many of us are so protective about our own views…that we stop listening,” McGinley says. “The reality of this movie is that these are all people who may be right in their own groups. This movie is not about ‘the Christians’ versus ‘the villains.’ It’s about everyone. There are a whole bunch of people in this movie who aren’t incorrect. They’re just two different sides, and they’re not listening to each other.”
Into this contentious environment comes Pearce Hill, Rev. Dave’s brother, a big-city lawyer who drifted away from his family years earlier, when he drifted away from his Christian faith. The siblings’ reunion is rocky on multiple levels, but Dave has nowhere else to turn in his fight to rebuild his church.
“Pearce is reluctant to help, but Dave is his brother, so he decides to help,” says John Corbett. “But, there’s also something about returning home and breaking through those walls they put up after drifting apart. As it turns out, we find a greater love and understanding when we find a common denominator of leaning on each other. I come alongside my brother to conquer something that was insurmountable.”
That breakthrough, at the micro level, is what God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness hopes to be at the macro level.
“This film allows conversation to be OK,” White added. “It says, ‘Hey, let’s talk about this,’ instead of just beating you over the head with what I believe is right or what your parents believe is right or what your friends believe is right. Let’s just open up and talk about it.”
Jennifer Cipolla, who plays Sydney, one of the college students who brashly challenges the wisdom and relevance of having a church on her university’s campus, says the way in which the film encourages dialogue is “going to get audiences’ heads turning.”
“It’s not about trying to sway their ideas or make them think a different way, but just think in general,” she said. “And, most of all to come together. The idea of this movie isn’t you have to think one way or the other. The idea is that all of us can come together, and we can all have our different opinion – and that’s OK.”
“In our culture right now,” White noted, “there is a lot of fighting. Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, left side, right side, nobody seems to be able to get along and there’s a lot of dissension. So, we wanted to shine a light on this, but in a God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness way: filled with hope and healing and forgiveness.”
Actor Shane Harper, who returns as Josh Wheaton, the role he popularized in the original movie, said, “My hope is that the overarching narrative of this story would bring light into people’s hearts – feelings of unity and compassion as opposed to anger and frustration. I want people to be encouraged that we’re in a time that we need the church to be the church and reach out and be loving and be gracious. This film is called A Light in Darkness for a reason: There’s a lot of darkness in the world right now, and we need to focus on grace and compassion and unity rather than division.”
“The message of this movie is how do we as Christians, as individual believers, relate to others? How do we be a light in darkness?” White said. “The biggest thing I hope all believers will take away is that Jesus was about love. How do we relate to those in need? How do we encourage them? Uplift them? Care for them?
“Ultimately that’s what this film is about. I don’t think it’s exactly what people will expect. I think it’s more than what they will expect.”
God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (PG) is suitable for teens through adults.
I also spoke to Ted McGinley and Shane Harper at the Los Angeles Premiere for God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness. Here is some of what they had to say:
SCH: In John 17 our Lord prays repeatedly that believers would be one in the Father and in His Son that the world would know that the Father has sent Him. He says that He has given believers the glory that the Father gave Him that believers may be one as the Father and the Son are one. In this movie, what aspects of God’s glory are shown in believers that enable them to be one in the Father and the Son that the world would know that the Father has sent His Son?
TM: We are imperfect people. God gives us space to be imperfect out of His grace. When we show His glorious grace to others we find unity that the world might know that the Father has sent the Son.
SH: This movie picturizes the glory of God in sacrifice and in laying down personal ambitions for others. The movie shows God’s love model of free grace and His love transforming us in our weakness.
(See the entire interview with Ted McGinley and Shane Harper for God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness on Sonoma Christian Home.)
Top pick movies in theaters for the fourth week of April that focus on truth and transformation include: Fragments of Truth, for teens and adults; The Heart of Nuba, suitable for teens and adults; Black Panther (PG-13), for teens through adults; I Can Only Imagine (PG), for teens through adults; Chappaquiddick (PG-13), for older teens through adults; The Miracle Season (PG) , for teens through adults; Peter Rabbit (PG), for all ages; Paul, Apostle of Christ (PG-13,) for teens through adults; The Greatest Showman (PG), for older children through adults; and God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (PG), for teens through adults.
Although theater release dates can change, here is what is known about what and when some of the most promising redemptive and family movies are due in theaters this year: Like Arrows, 5/1; Lego Movie, Sequel, 5/18; Incredibles 2, 6/15; Christopher Robin, 8/3; Unbroken, Path to Redemption, 10/5; The Jungle Book, Origins, 10/19; Mulan, 11/2; The Grinch, 11/9; The Nutcracker and The Four Realms, 11/2; Wreck-It-Ralph, 11/21; Mary Poppins Returns, 12/21 and more.
Other promising redemptive and family movies with release dates to be announced include: Heavenquest: A Pilgrim’s Progress; Indivisible; Run the Race; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair; Peter Pan; The Little Mermaid and many more. Watch for interviews and insightful stories for these movies on Sonoma Christian Home.
Please continue to search for and support the best movies for your friends and families. The best is yet come as long we continue to support the ongoing reformation in content and renaissance in artistry in media and movies.
As audiences continue to see good family and redemptive movies in theaters, keeping them at the top of the box office, more good movies like them will be made. Watch for many top picks this year of redemptive, Biblical and faith-based movies that continue to improve in the ongoing renaissance of artistry and reformation of content in movies. Remember that consumers can facilitate the success and wide global distribution of good redemptive movies. Remember that a movie’s success opening weekend is important.
Uniquely, each week Sonoma Christian Home not only provides valuable reviews and substantive interviews for worthwhile family movies. It also publishes the top picks in movies in theaters for all ages that are not only entertaining but redemptive, of good value, and have quality production elements.
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