Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Earlier today, I ran across a community forum where several people were slamming The Visitation, a Namesake Entertainment project that was filmed right here in our hometown. (One of the final scenes takes place in our VP’s house!) There were a lot of comments about the story, the way the script departed from Frank Peretti’s book, and a lack of originality in the film’s plot development.
We have tremendous access to filmmakers. Let’s use it for good, to encourage them in their work.
This went on for several posts - even from some who hadn’t yet seen the movie themselves (my personal pet peeve!) - until I reached a posting from a guy named Dean. He’s a filmmaker who has worked with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in several countries. He challenged othes posting criticism stop talking, get out, grab a camera, and make a better movie. Good for him!
The increased availability of films and access to information about filmmaking has made us all armchair experts in “production value, casting, plot development” and all other kinds of things that, unless we’ve actually created a film, we know very little about. There are film critics who have studied the art and science of filmmaking, and they are prepared to speak intelligently about it.
But the majority of us who criticize and find fault with things have neither educated ourselves nor done the work of making a film. So on what grounds do we speak? We speak from personal experience and personal preference. We don’t like the way the story unfolds so it must be a bad storyline. We dislike the actor playing a particular role, so we think the casting is off.
I’m not saying we have to like everything that comes out, or bless every effort someone makes because they’re a Christian, or put a “Christian” label on it. But we do need to put things into context. What were Christian filmmakers doing 20 years ago? Is the industry improving? And what can we do to help it improve? Give filmmakers a chance. Pray for them. Encourage them. If you like the Left Behind Collection go to the Cloud Ten website and tell them! You liked One Night With the King or Thr3e, you need to let Gener8xion Entertainment or Namesake Entertainment know. And of course, if you love ChristianCinema.com movies, we’d love to hear from you.
Because of the openness of the internet, we have tremendous access to filmmakers. Let’s use that for good, to let them know we want to see more of their work. It’s not just Hollywood who cares about the movies we see; Christian filmmakers want to know too. They want to know what kind of films you’d buy a ticket to see; what kind of films do you want your kids to see?
So we can either stop criticizing and start making movies, or we can turn our criticism into positive action and support the pioneers who are working really hard to make more and better films.
Very good post.
August 10th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I think it’s okay for people to be discerning about movies. By that I mean, to try to figure out what works for them and what doesn’t. Why was a movie good? Why was it not so good? For those who wish to make films of their own, there is a lot to learn from both good and bad films. That I have no issue with, including applying those questions to Christian films.
My issue is that a lot of folks seem to have seen only the weaker Christian films, and so they generalize the whole genre. “All Christian films are bad,” they say.
Maybe they’ve only seen the Mark IV efforts from the 1970s - while earnest, these were early attempts and are quite dated. Maybe they’ve managed to watch the “Apocalypse/Tribulation/Revelation/Judgment” series. These films were almost 20 years after the Mark IV releases, and yet they didn’t really chart any new ground - there was no marked improvement. But people need to learn that there are actually very fine Christian films out there. Someone needs to champion the good ones and spread the word. I’ll be happy to start here.
The films I’ve already mentioned have gone a long way to paint a pallor over “end times” epics. But David A.R. White and Kevin Downes have actually taken great pains to add a human element and realistic drama to their eschatology pics, including “Six: the Mark Unleashed” and the sublime “The Moment After,” which actually depicts the rapture as the beautiful event it will be for believers.
You’re pretty safe with anything from White and Downes - “Mercy Streets” was an earlier, quite good effort from them. Also look for White’s upcoming “Hidden Secrets,” which I was blessed enough to see at a Christian film festival. It shows real people going through real problems and applying faith to the tough questions. In my opinion, it is on par with Hollywood’s “chick flicks” - it has the right balance of drama and comedy and delivers its messages clearly and with conviction, but without the use of a sledgehammer.
“Facing the Giants” has caused some controvery because some folks think it presents faith in God as a quick-fix band-aid to all of life’s problems. It’s hard not to think that, but even with that, I have friends who are the staunchest critics who forgave this film’s shortcomings due to the heart and soul of this production. The filmmakers were totally sincere, and crafted a well-written, acted and shot story that really made you care about its characters. So ultimately it triumphed - if it could win over two of my very critically tough friends, that says something.
Other films with varying degrees of narrative (mostly) success include “The Edge,” “The Perfect Stranger” and “The Theory of Everything.” “Time Changer” gets better each time I see it (you have to get used to this character out of time, but once you realize that the goofy way the actor portrays the character is the only thing that makes sense, it increases your enjoyment of the movie exponentially).
Best of all, check out controversial recording artist turned director Steve Taylor’s “The Second Chance.” Michael W. Smith courageously acts against type in this hard-hitting drama which doesn’t skirt the issue of a believer’s true commission to truly get into the trenches to help those in need instead of merely writing a check to charity. If you want to see just how a Christian movie can truly be as good as a mainstream drama, this is the film to watch.
Seek, watch and learn from these films… abd then go make more just like them!
August 14th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I think that you all are a bit too soft on Christian cinema here. Sure, it’s one thing not to berate filmmakers for having low budgets and such, but as an independent filmmaker myself I know that when you have no money you have to concentrate on things that don’t cost anything to improve, like the script, the acting, the direction. No amount of money can buy enough fancy lights to overcome a awful script.
There are some great lights in Christian cinema today, notable Steve Taylor of the aforementioned The Second Chance. But if forgettable and downright insulting junk like The Last Sin Eater gets a pass simply because it was a Christian film, then there is something wrong. Christian art has no reason to make excuses. If anything, we should be apologizing for failing so badly despite having God on our side.
Just on a side note, there are two genres of Christian film that I would like to see retired forever, or at least until someone can do something truly worthwhile with the concept: the so-called “Christian thriller”(code for an unscary movie with a lame villian) and any end times movie that makes the end of the world into a B-movie adventure(I still think the Mark IV movies mined this dry 30 years ago and the current filmmakers are just sifting through the scraps.)
August 24th, 2007 at 12:18 pm