If it’s Easter Sunday, it must be time for a Sympatico/MSN movies column about religious movies …
… and yes, “The Rapture” and “The Prophecy” totally count. I was this close to putting “Constantine” in, but ultimately it doesn’t quite fit the criteria.
And no crabbing. You get your own gig, you can make your own lists …
I loved that you put The Rapture on the list. Not only does it take faith seriously, but also crisis of faith. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen it, but I’m pretty sure Mimi Rogers (great performance) falters after her husband is shot, and refuses to enter heaven because she could not submit to the divine plan, even when entreated by her daughter. Maybe it’s the agnostic in me appreciating a religious movie that does not end with the main character in heaven, but this is my favorite from your list. I just couldn’t get past the use of female sexual degradation as a means of sacrifice in Breaking the Waves.
Not crabbing (much), but what about the epic homoerotic Easter tradition of Ben Hur? Or Jesus Christ Superstar, which explores the complicity of God in Judas’ betrayal?
I did think about “Ben-Hur”, but excluded it for the same reason I left out “The Robe” and its variants — they’re ultimately not about Christianity or God, but about the pageantry such topics allow.
And “The Last Temptation of Christ” handles the Judas issue a lot more elegantly than “Jesus Christ Superstar” … though it was awfully tempting to throw “Dracula 2000” onto the list for its radical but strangely compelling argument for Judas’ ultimate punishment.
I keep coming back to Gabriel’s key line in “Constantine”, explaining why John is damned despite his acknowledgment of God’s love: “You don’t believe. You KNOW. That’s different.” The movie holds the same position, which is why I couldn’t fit it into the piece.
I’d add the Woodman’s last truly great film “Crimes and Misdemeanors” to this worthy list.
But no “Monsignor”? What the hell…
I spent the last half hour of The Rapture begging Mimi Rogers to shoot that annoying brat and put her out of our misery. Does that make me a bad person? 🙂