A Hidden Life (PG-13, 2019): Director Terrence Malick is one of the film industry’s most uncompromising, visionary filmmakers. He’s also one of its most explicitly spiritual. The Tree of Life has landed on plenty of critics’ “best of” lists for the decade, and it nearly made this list, too. But I’m going with one that throttles back a bit on Malick’s dreamlike vibe, offers a more traditional narrative and is all about faith. A Hidden Life tells the story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer in the 1940s who, like all men of military age, was drafted and asked to pledge personal allegiance to the Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler. Franz did not make that pledge: Because of his Catholic faith, he felt he could not. “If God gives us free will, we’re responsible for what we do, what we fail to do, aren’t we?” Franz asks a local bishop. “I want to save my life, but not through lies.” It’s the flip side to Silence, which we’ll talk about a little later, and it’s a beautiful statement of faith-inspired principal. And that’s something we could stand to remember today, too. Look for it in theaters.
Lady Bird (R, 2017): Christine McPherson is a picture of discontent. Her family drives her crazy. Her hometown of Sacramento, California, feels ever-so-suburban. The Catholic school she attends is the antithesis of cool. But as she goes through her senior year, Christine—who prefers to be called “Lady Bird” comes to discover how much she loves all the things she thought she loathed. Directed by Greta Gerwig (who I had a chance to talk to about this movie), Lady Bird can be salacious and profane. But it’s very funny and real and, in the end, offers a poignant look at the comfort that comes with faith. It’s available to rent on a number of streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime.
Les Miserables (PG-13, 2012): Based on Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 novel, this cinematic musical won three Oscars and was nominated for four more, including Best Picture. It’s also completely predicated around the concept of grace—the idea of a life redeemed in God’s eyes, and how that life makes a difference in a world filled with pain and injustice. Starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe and featuring a riveting performance by Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway, this movie—featuring such a familiar story—is still tremendously moving. It’s available to rent on a number of streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime.
A Quiet Place (PG-13, 2018): Unlike Les Mis and some of the other films on this list, A Quiet Place contains very little explicit spiritual content. Only a silent dinnertime prayer clues us in that the Abbott family—living in a world plagued by fearsome creatures with a super-duper sense of hearing—is Christian. And yet, that moment of prayer points to the foundation that supports the hope and love we see here. They’re not just raising their children in a truly terrifying world, but they’re preparing to bring a new one into it—and babies aren’t known for their silence. It’d be easy in such circumstances to give up, to lose hope. But the Abbotts (a name also shared by the leaders of monasteries that often celebrate silence) believe—in themselves, in God, in a possible future even under the most trying of circumstances. You can watch it on Hulu for free.
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