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.
No comments:
Post a Comment