My Favorite Movie



If you like movies like me, the hardest question to answer is which one you like most. Of all the great films there are, which one tops them all? It's a question I've had several people ask me in small talk, but now I have to answer it for a grade. As an assignment for one of my seminary classes, entitled Christianity and Film, I must answer this question. I'd like you to read my answer and tell me what you think. Of course, you know that my answer is liable to change, but here goes.



Signs by M. Night Shyamalan. Yes, I know, you probably didn't like the alien at the end, it may not have met your expectations, etc. All the same, a great movie. Three reasons why.

1. scary, funny, dramatic--all in one movie. It made me cringe, roll in laughter, and teary.

2. it gets to the heart of what being human is about: faith.

3. it gets to the heart of what makes life worth living: God.



The 1st reason you may not jive with, but you can't deny 2 and 3. 2 is found in Mel Gibson's character development through the whole movie. The best scene for seeing his crisis of faith is with he and Joaquin Phoenix. There sitting on the couch watching tv reports. Go back and listen to the two kinds of people Gibson's character (Graham) thinks there are, and which category he puts himself in.



Reason 3 is why I like the movie most. God is not a character in this movie like he is in The Passion of the Christ; it's more like the biblical story of Esther. God is seemingly silent and passive, but in reality He is always in sovereign, beneficent control. The best scene for this aspect of Signs is of course the climax, in which Gibson tells Joaquin to "swing away." Why does he tell him that? Go back and watch the scene of his wife's death and see what she tells him as she dies. Also notice the multiple ways in which seemingly insignificant details come together in a divine purpose (i.e. the glasses of water left all around the house). The tension throughout the movie is this: is there a good and sovereign God? The last scene confirms it: we see Gibson donn his coat and collar again as a minister of Christ.