Roma (R, 2018): Again, you’ll not see much overt spirituality here. And yet, this 2018 film—one that I think was the year’s best picture—gives us a hero in the mold of Christ Himself. Cleo, the domestic servant we follow throughout the film, is the most unassuming protagonist you’ll ever see. She almost fades into the background, working in diligent silence. But as the movie wears on, we see both her love and strength and sense of grace, persevering through her own hardships with courage and beauty. This movie stretches the definition of even the very broad, flexible boundaries I’ve placed on this story. And yet, few other movies make me consider what it really means to be Christlike. Released by Netflix, it’s still available on the service.
Room (R, 2015): The original story, written by novelist Emma Donoghue, was infused with a great deal of Christian subtext, much of which was ruthlessly stripped from the subsequent film. And yet, when it came out, it moved me on a spiritual level that no explicitly Christian movie could. I unpacked a lot of the Christian symbolism found in the movie, and there’s a lot of it in my opinion. If you want to read more, click here. But in this space, I’ll just say that this is a movie about death and resurrection, of finding new hope in the midst of the most horrific of circumstances. Room won Brie Larson an Oscar for Best Actress and was nominated for three more, including Best Picture—all honors richly deserved. It’s available on Netflix.
Silence (R, 2016): Legendary director Martin Scorsese spent 30 years trying to make Silence, based on the controversial 1966 novel by Shūsaku Endō. It follows two Jesuit missionaries making their harrowing way through 17th-Century Japan, when the country was exiling and executing Christians, and it challenges our notion of what it means to live—and die—for faith. This is a deeply challenging movie. While most traditionally Christian movies set out to inspire, Silence forces you to consider the nature of faith and Christ … and the state and strength of your own faith. The apostate Kichijiro speaks for many of us when he says that, had he been born in an easier time, he’d have no trouble being a Christian. “Where is the place for a weak man in a world like this?” he says. This a movie that will haunt more than inspire, but worth a watch all the same. You can rent it on Amazon Prime and YouTube for $2.99
The Two Popes (PG-13, 2019): One of Netflix’s big award contenders this year, The Two Popes features two outstanding performances—by Jonathan Pryce as Jorge Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI. It’s an interesting, entertaining and at times surprisingly funny character study, but it’s what makes these two characters tick is what lands it on this list. While Benedict and the future Francis are studies in opposites, they both believe, love and worship the same God, and watching how their differences both cause friction and complement each other is the real joy of this movie. It’s telling that the two actually tango at one point. The dance, after all, is predicated on two people engaging in very different movements, but movements that work together beautifully. Check it out on Netflix.
Honorable mentions: Hacksaw Ridge; First Reformed; Just Mercy; The Tree of Life; The Conjuring; Selma; Harriet; The Book of Eli
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