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Movie: Good Will Hunting
MPAA: Rated R for strong language, including some sex-related dialogue.

Runtime: 126 min

I’m pretty sure everyone’s seen it, except me.  Until last night, I had only caught bits and fragments of the movie Good Will Hunting starring a young Matt Damon and a bearded Robin Williams.  I can understand why many consider it to be a great movie.

Will Hunting is a genius.  But he’s not in school.  He is a janitor at school.  And not just any school, MIT.  Though misdirected, troubled, and aimless, he has a loyal group of friends.  He has a mind that baffles the estute mathematics Professor Lambeau, but he’s not putting his mind to any use, and it seems to bother others more than it does him.   When Will is faced with jail time, the Professor makes a way for him to stay out of the pen by regular math practices and visits with a counselor.  An interesting conflict in the movie is between Professor Lambeau and Robin William’s character, Sean, who is the only Counselor able to connect with Will.

It is as though Will is avoiding his destiny.  Throughout the movie, his mind is frequently being compared to the stature of Albert Einstein, yet we see him living far below his potential.  He lives a rough life, fighting, breaking the law, and cleaning empty classroom halls.  Will blows off the Professor’s attempts at job opportunities.  He even manipulates the only man who is able to get through to him, Sean.

There’s a point in the movie where Will is working contruction alongside his friend, Chuckie, and they’re on break.  Will says something about 30 years into their future, still working construction and coming over to each others house to watch the game and such.  His friend says, “If you’re still here in 30 years, I’ll kill you.”  This is because Chuckie recognizes the fact that Will is 1 in a billion.  That he has a gift that others would LOVE to have.  And although Will seems to think he owes it to his friends to cover up his gift, Chuckie assures Will that he owes it to his friends to develop his mind to meet his full potential.

This part struck me so much because I believe that with knowledge comes responsibility.  Like Jesus said, to whom much is given, much is required.  Even when we look at the parable of the talents, it would seem as if God wants us to use the gifts he’s given us in a way that will best produce fruit.  Will was the guy who takes his talent and buries it.  But when he encountered someone who believed in him as a whole person, and not just a great mind, he was released to become the guy who uses his talents to make a lot more.

But the other part that struck me was Will learning what is valuable.  Just like when Sean tells of the first time he saw the girl who later became his wife.  He had tickets to a historical Red Sox World Series game, and blew off the game to spend time with the girl.  To everyone else, Red Sox fans especially, Sean’s decision to blow-off the game in order to pursue the girl would seem foolish.  I mean, couldn’t he just get her number and call after the game sometime?  Yes, but there is beauty in recognizing worth.

We see Will begin to see this beauty when at the end of the movie, he leaves the job that Professor Lambeau helped him get, in order to cross the country to be with the girl he loves.  Agree or disagree on his choice, the irrefutable point is that Will saw the options and chose the one that he knew to be most valuable.  Although his decision may seem baffling, to leave a great job after growing up in the wrong side of town and being a janitor, he chose what he knew in his heart to be most important.  Surely the Professor and his bosses would consider him foolish, maybe even his friends, but he knew what he wanted and he went after it.

This has Gospel written all over it.  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”  When the man sees the value, the immeasurable riches of the treasure, he looks at everything else he owns as garage sale material.  He forsakes it all with JOY, because he knows the treasure that he has found.  This is one aspect of the kingdom of heaven.  When we as sinners see the beauty of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and the beauty of the life he has called us to live, everything else seems second rate.

So that’s what I saw, and I’m pensive.  With all that I’ve been exposed to this year, all that I’ve been blessed to see and experience, what am I now required to do?  And how many times do really treat the kingdom of heaven like a treasure?

Lord, lead us in the way to develop our gifts and abilities.  To multiply our talents.  To produce fruit.  We trust You to work.

Lord, show us again what a treasure it is to know You.  Show us again what a joy it is to leave everything and follow You.
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Movie: Seven Pounds

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:  123 min

Last night I watched Seven Pounds, the somewhat recent film in which Will Smith’s character is stricken with a deep since of guilt about some untold event in his past.  As the movie progresses, it become clear that Ben Thomas (his character) is driven with such a desire to help others, to his own detriment, that he donates his eyes, bone marrow, kidney, liver, part of his lung, his beach house, and even commits suicide in order to give his healthy heart to the woman he loves.  Though unspoken, the implication is that he does these things in order to make up for the seven lives lost in his past during a head-on collision in which he was driving.

Now there are all kinds of parallels here.  His fiance was one of the lives lost in the car wreck.  So the movie portrays him indirectly “taking the life” of the woman he loved, and “giving his life” for the new woman that he loves.  There are a lot of redeeming qualities to the plot.  He feels the weight of his actions.  He feels the guilt of the situation.  And in order to relieve his dark conscience, he gives a total sacrifice of his own body so that others will know life in a deeper, more beautiful way.  He does some great things to help great people.  His eyes help a blind man see.  His house becomes the new home of a battered woman and her two kids.  And in the end, you are made to feel as though he is a man of great sacrifice.  Many redeeming qualities, and also a few things I noticed about our human nature.

We often find ourselves in Ben Thomas’ position.  Knowing we’ve done something wrong, wanting to make it right, not quite knowing how.  At some time or another, we all try to self-atone.  We try to make things better on our own.  We try to prove that we can pay the price for the wrongs we’ve done, that on our own we can make things right, make it better, make it acceptable to God and others.  But the story of the bible tells us this is not the case.  The wage of sin is death, and all have sinned, and more importantly all are sinners.  We’ve messed things up, we’ve marred the image of God that we were formed in far beyond recognition… far beyond our own ability to redeem.

In many Christian traditions, the wrath of God is empasized over his love.  The justice of God is empasized over his grace.  I grew up with a fear that God was waiting for me to mess up so that he could send me straight to hell.  I know of others with similar stories.  It led me to believe that I had to perform.  It led me to believe that my salvation depended on my performance of God’s rules, instead of his act of love for me on the Cross.  It let me to believe that everything was riding on whether or not I sinned, instead of whether or not he made a way.

But the good news is that when we had no way to pay for our sins, God acted on our behalf.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the us.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world.  He loves us!  He knew that we would sin.  He knew that we would try on our own to cover it up, or to make things right.  And he knew that the only way to make it right was through the Blood of Jesus on the Cross.  The truth is that when we could do nothing to help ourselves, he did everything to help us up, and to make us acceptable!  This is the story of redemption.

But are we Ben Thomas?  How often, though, have you found yourself still trying to self-atone?  Have you ever found yourself holding on to the guilt of a mistake, almost grieving it to prove to God that you’re sorry?  As if you will “feel guilty” enough to make up for the wrong?  As if there is a scale which you must tip in order to have God’s favor?  Have you ever found yourself going above and beyond to prove to your friends and family and co-workers that you are competent, that you can handle things, that you can measure up? (especially if these are people you have let down in the past).  Aren’t we always trying to prove ourselves to somebody?  Whether we’re proving ourselves to ourselves or to others, it’s because of a false belief.  It’s because of a lie that we hold on to so dearly.  It’s because of a belief that we can make things right.  Or that we should be perfect, so we will try our best to prove to others that this is the case.  It’s because we think that since God is perfect, he expects us to be sinless and perfect on our own.  (If you think I’m wrong, then ask yourself if God is surprised each time you fall into sin.)

Here is the truth:  God is gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves.  God knows we are imperfect.  He knows our fallen nature.  And out of love, he made a way that we could live above sin.  In Christ, he’s made us from from the guilt of sin and the power of sin.  So, the challenge for when we misstep is to rely on HIS GRACE instead of our own abilities (or should I say feeble attempts) to make things right.  God is gracious, so let’s rest in that.  God is gracious, so let’s show others grace.  God is gracious, so don’t work so hard trying to prove to him or to others that you’re perfect.  He knows you’re not, and we know you’re not.  After all, when we try to self-atone, what we’re really communicating is that we feel like we have sinned against our own image.  When I sin, have I sinned against “me and my image” or God and his image?

I know this is long, but it’s really only the beginning of what was happening in my heart as I watched.

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more – Rom 5:20


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Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

Running Time: 120 Min.

MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.

Slumdog Millionaire:

Horrifically beautiful. Devastatingly uplifting. These are the terms that come to mind as I process last night’s movie-going experience, watching Danny Boyle’s latest film, Slumdog Millionaire. Beautifully shot and superbly acted, the whole experience was amazing. Still, I left torn: a classic case of mixed emotions.

The movie took me many places I did not expect to go. On this incredible flight of recollection, through the life of a boy from the Indian slums (who we find contemplating his memories in a jail cell, accused of cheating his way to millions) we experience a turbulent journey, filled with beauty, sandwiched between an exhilirting takeoff & a glorious landing.

The high points of the movie are mounted upon the story of this good-natured child (Jamal) from the slum who rises from the mire to pursue a better life, alongside his 2 companions: his brother, Salim and a young girl, Latika (upon whom much of the tension in the story is based). When the boys lose their mother at a young age, to a violent religious riot in the slums, they are immediately forced into survival mode. The first rainy night alone they encounter another presumably orphaned child, Latika, who Jamal has mercy on, inviting her into their makeshift shelter. The three self-proclaimed ‘musketeers’ pursue one mishap-adventure after the other until their characters are fully developed and we understand where their destinies are inevitably leading them. Jamal chooses pure ways & seeks after Latika, whom he loves, with all his heart – rescuing her time and again from frightful situations. Salim, however, chooses a different road: a fast track into crime and self-centered living. The film climaxes as Jamal, who’s once again searching for Latika, is entered onto India’s premier game show: “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” Does he win the grand prize? You have to watch to find out.

The low points of the movie are comprised of the context of the narrative, and it’s subtle way of sneaking into the story to repeatedly disrupt the lives of these children. The low points were truly appalling: the slum, the poverty, & the culture it breeds. This horrendous culture, that emerges from the slum, is one of apathetic & corrupt officials, child prostitution, and gangsters who control this underworld. It’s a raw, visceral, and unrelenting picture that still haunts me.

The fairy-tale-like narrative of the story may leave you feeling like you can conquer the world and overcome any obstacle, but it’s also blindingly obvious that the majority of the people in the movie (and in the slums) do not. They are bound to these Indian ghettos and horror-filled lives, that most of the audience (including myself) are blindingly ignorant of. This is why my emotions were so mixed. I was enthralled by the beautiful story of this boy who overcame insurmountable odds to become all we dreamed he would. Still, I was appalled at the fact that 99.9% of the stories in that world do not have such an ending. I left feeling energized that we can overcome, yet torn as to whether I was directing that energy toward overcoming my own petty obstacles or helping others overcome the giant obstacles that make some parts of our world a living hell… poverty, injustice, and apathy.

I saw several Gospel applications in this experience, for you and me to enter into and draw faith from.

Firstly, the realization that these slums truly exist is a horrific fact that I believe the Gospel compels us to do something about. But there is hope, even in the direst of circumstances. That is the message of this film. Jamal was saved from this horrific life by fate. You and I have been saved from the horrors of sin by God. The people of these slums (and similar places all over the world) need to be saved to; not by fate, but by God's gospel working through us... saving these people from sin and it's terrifying effects. Throughout the narrative of Scripture, from the Torah to the Epistles, we see God, busy at work in the world taking care of the oppressed & marginalized. When He calls a people to be his, this is always part of their responsibility to Him. It’s recorded in the Mosaic Law and in the New Testament teachings of Jesus & the Early Church. Jesus says, “I was naked and you clothed me, hungry & you fed me, imprisoned & you visited me…whenever you have done this to the least of these, you’ve done it to me.” James says, “True religion is taking care of those in distress.”  We are called to bring change and reconciliation into these situations: this is Gospel Proclamation…this is a large part of the message of Jesus.

I also noticed several redemptive qualities in the film. Each of the character’s choices leads them to a destiny. 1) Latika’s Hope for Jamal’s return coupled with her undying love reunites them several times… true love never dies. 2) Salim chooses a life of cruelty & selfishness, which leads to eventual destruction… as it always does. 3) Jamal’s choices to be good, on the other hand, lead him toward more goodness: this is a Biblical promise toward those who pursue goodness. His pursuit of Latika’s love with the purest motive is irresistible to her…her only response is selfless love in return (much like God’s pursuit of His people and our response when we come in contact with it). His character reminded me of Genesis’ story of Joseph, who’s refusal to compromise his integrity lead to his eventual success (though several trials and struggles lied waiting on that path to test and try him).

All in all, I can plainly see why this movie took home so many awards. It was beautifully crafted, heart-warming, and challenging at the same time. It’s redemptive qualities mirror those of scripture, and it’s depictions of the horrific culture of the slums represents very real realities present all over our world, as well as our challenge as Christ-followers to make a difference in such situations. I highly recommend the film and hope you can see it. I challenge you: keep your eyes open to the needs around you and your ears open to the voice of God speaking to you in the most underestimated places… like a movie theater.

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Movie: Taken

Genres: Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign, Drama and Thriller

Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.

Release Date: January 30th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Distributors: 20th Century Fox Distribution

Taken:

I think this is one of the most exciting movies that I have seen since the Borne series. I will try not to spoil the movie for you, but this guy (Played by Liam Neeson) does everything necessary to get his child back. You can easily see the parallels between this guy and Christ (not all the way, but close enough). He puts everything on the line to get back the one he loves. Because such an extreme thing happens to his daughter, he goes to extremes to get her back (like Christ did, because of the extreme thing that has happened to the world, called "SIN"). SIN is something that destroyed the relationships between God and Humanity, God and Creation, Creation and Humanity. So God sent his son to do the extreme: die for us when he did not have to, in order to save us from the extremes of SIN and death.

This was a great movie. Men, I would strongly suggest that you take someone you like, and at the end of the movie, tell that person "I would do everything he did to get you back."


 


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