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Friday, August 18, 2017

'The Case for Christ' Makes a Case for Christian Films

The Case for Christ is a biopic of pastor and author Lee Strobel, revolving around the events that led him to write the book of the same name.  Set in 1980, when he was an award-winning journalist and still an atheist, the film follows Lee (Mike Vogel), frustrated that his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen) has turned to Christianity, conducting an investigation to discredit the religion.  Per the recommendation of a colleague, he delves into the resurrection of Jesus Christ, since it’s supposed to be the fundamental tenet that Christianity is build upon.  If he can prove that it didn’t happen, then “the whole house of cards falls.”  He hopes that by accomplishing this, he will be able to dissuade his wife from continuing with her folly and fix their marriage.  But Leslie’s faith only grows stronger over time, and Lee’s abhorrence for it, coupled with his drinking, only puts more strain in their marriage.  On top of this, Lee is also challenged by a complicated cop-shooting story that he’s been assigned to cover.

First and foremost, I’m happy that The Case for Christ is a technically well-crafted film.  It doesn’t have the cheap, direct-to-video look that almost all Christian movies have (yes, even those that were shown in theaters).  It has genuine cinematic quality going for it.  The shots are attractive and done well.  The soundtrack is compelling.  The costume and set design are authentic and handsome.  The acting is stellar.  The conflict and drama are unforced.  And the narrative is well-paced, layered, and engrossing.
Unlike many Christian films, its dramatic “conversion arc” for the main character feels earned (most probably because it’s based on a true story) and interesting.    As a journalist, Lee prides himself that he lives by cold, hard evidences – by facts.  He only believes what he can see, hear, feel, taste, and touch.  He likes to think that, in this way, he is unbiased.  That’s why the cop-shooting subplot is important, as it establishes that he’s limited.  He sees only what he wants to see.  As a human being, he’s incapable of being perfectly unbiased, as what he wants to believe about himself.  Most importantly, the movie makes a point that having faith in Christ isn’t exclusively reliant on “seeing the facts.”  Yes, Lee’s investigation led him to find sufficient historical evidences for Christ.  But that’s not necessarily the only thing at play in leading him to believe.  After all, there were those who had personally seen a resurrected Jesus but still didn’t believe.  What’s needed is to have new spirit, a new heart – to be born again by God.  By touching on Ezekiel 11:9, the film manages to cover this essential Christian theme.

As for the evidences and arguments presented by the movie, I’m pretty sure atheists and agnostics would have some rebuttals to offer.  In fact, there are some stuff that I myself found flimsy, if not knotty.  Nonetheless, I’m also quite certain that Lee’s book discusses these things more thoroughly and substantially.
In the end, it’s not a masterpiece.  It has flaws.  It’s deep at some parts but shallow at some parts as well.  But, at least, work has been put into it as a film, as an art.  There’s an apparent intention to be excellent.  And thus, The Case for Christ ends up being a pretty good Christian movie.  It gets to promote an underlying Christian message through solid, admirable filmmaking.

There’s still hope for this genre after all.

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