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If you post a book that has an awesome theme then I won’t kill you. I may still try to get my hands on a copy of the book. But it’s harder to find books than movies. And because of that I might not learn that much. So I prefer movies.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@Mark-Kamibaya – So, I came on here and was scrolling down the list and saw movies that I’ve seen but I never thought others would. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers to name one. Some of my favorites are
– The Princess Bride
– Beyond the Mask
– How To Train Your Dragon 2
– Ever After (the best Cinderella movie I’ve ever seen! Really good you should watch it. Drew Barrymore for all the people who know actresses
– Hugo
– could name dozens more but don’t want to swamp you.I was trying to think about themes, and it was hard to decide if movies had just good themes, or really gripping ones. Beyond the Mask is a good one. The theme in three words that they actually say once in teh movie is ‘Redemption, not Revenge’
Can I put TV shows? I like Sue Thomas F.B. Eye. It’s a clean show about an legally deaf FBI agent who can still speak, and she reads lips, which makes her pretty useful for security tapes and such. Hardly any language, and yes, a bit of blood because duh, it’s police, but no gory bodies or stuff like that.
And I like the PBS show, Poldark, but that one deals with a lot more grown-ups things, and there have been several time when Dad turned the channel for inappropriateness. But I’ve seen five or six episodes and he turned the channel twice, so decide for yourself. I know @hope likes it.
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@Mark-Kamibaya Good to know we won’t be killed for listing books. 😉 Why is it harder to find books than movies? Because of where you live?
A Tale of Two Cities for the theme of sacrifice and true, Christ-like love. Book and movie. Seriously, that one is so. awesome. I cried my heart out because of it, but it was so well pulled off. Do you know that one?
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for perseverance. Extremely inspiring.
I haven’t watched that many specifically Christian movies, as in the ones done by Christian companies; but A Tale of Two Cities definitely has a Christian theme. I think it’s just because back then, in Dickens’ time, Christianity was the thing. It was normal, and in everyone’s work. But it’s extremely well done.
Also another one which is quite duh, but which is too good—The Lord of the Rings. That has too many good themes to count (books and movies—have you read the books??), all wonderful; but specifically for the themes of sacrifice and friendship.
One movie which I saw recently and which has a really powerful them is The Mayor of Casterbridge. It’s SO sad and even depressing—barely any sweet with the bitter—but the theme comes across really strong. Basically it’s ‘if you continually make foolish choices with your life, you won’t have a good life or a good end’. @Aratrea have you seen or read that? It seems like one you would.
@emma-flournoy I actually haven’t seen it. I looked it up and saw it’s an adaption of a Thomas Hardy work. I did enjoy the one book I’ve read by Hardy, so between that and your recommendation, I may have to check it out!
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@Mark-Kamibaya
I found the movie I’m Not Ashamed to be shockingly powerful. The theme of standing up for your faith even when you’re surrounded by people who will ridicule you and, basically, make life miserable, is something that I think most people struggle with, so it struck me very deeply just because I can relate to it, while also encouraging me stand up for Christ even when it’s extremely hard because my testimony can have an incredible affect on people.Also liked Captain America Civil War. Doing what you know to be right even when everyone’s telling you just to go along to get along.
So I know those two themes are kind of along the same line. I guess they just really strike me because nowadays, it seems like there’s immense pressure to blend in and not be, according to the secular worlds’ standards, “weird”.
Anyways.
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One of my absolute favorite movies, guys, is Rigoletto. It’s kinda old-ish so most of you probably haven’t even heard of it, but it is SO GOOD. The theme is tremendously well done— ‘an ugly heart is worse than an ugly face,’ and ‘Ignorance is the ugliest prejudice of all.’
And it’s completely a family film— we all watch it, down to the one-year-old. 😛 It’s intense in places, sad in others, and violent once or twice, but not graphic.
@kate-flournoy Mmmmmm… such a lovely film.
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@anne-of-lothlorien I love The Princess Bride, How to Train Your Dragon, and Beyond the Mask (I actually have a good friend who worked on costumes for Behind the Mask– she was an extra in the ball scene, where Will and Charlotte are dancing together– next time you watch it, watch for a lady with a model ship in her wig, and that’s my friend, McKenna Rosen). The Princess Bride has a quote for almost every occasion, but as far as themes go… I can’t say as it has a super powerful theme. Have you read the book by William Goldman? It’s almost identical to the movie, but it goes deeper into characterization, which is cool.
@Mark-kamibaya, for a secular movie with a powerful theme, I’m going old-fashioned with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and the theme that “Beauty comes from within, not from without.” I mean, really, that is Disney’s only princess movie where the princess does not fall in love with a handsome guy. That’s one of the reasons I was disappointed by Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame– Esmeralda didn’t fall in love with Quasimodo.
I have seen a lot of Christian movies, but I can’t think of one with an especially powerful theme. A lot of them tend to be cliché, actually (which is one of the reasons why I’m considering going into filmmaking). The movie “Do You Believe” comes to mind, however, with a subtle theme of “One small step for Christ can lead to a huge leap in the Kingdom.” Has anyone seen that movie? It was a lesser-known release by the company that made God’s Not Dead, but I liked it WAY better than either of the God’s Not Dead movies, and I highly recommend it. It starts out with a man who is walking through inner-city alleys carrying a huge cross on his back and asking people, “Do you believe?” He asks a pastor, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” And the pastor, whose initial response was, “Of course,” starts thinking more deeply about that question, and it triggers a huge chain of events that results in an incredible story of salvation. Highly, highly recommended.YA Fantasy Writer
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Find me at hisinstrumentblog.wordpress.comI think War Room would have to be my favourite Christian good theme movie. The power of prayer is amazing and I think War Room portrays it very well.
As for my other movie…I’ll have to think. Okay, so I stopped typing and thought and looked in our movie drawer. I think Frozen is fair close to top. The fact that a kiss wasn’t the answer to her true love problem. And the fact that you rarely meet the perfect person straight away. So yeah, I thought the love issue was done really well in Frozen. 🙂
@Aratrea Yes, Thomas Hardy. It’s definitely not a happy movie, but the theme comes across very strongly. I heard most of Thomas Hardy’s novels are tragedies. 😛
Been five days. I’m late. NaNoWriMo strikes again.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@anne-of-lothlorien I’ll check out Beyond the Mask for sure. And I think Ever After would be cool too. Romance movies are totally my guilty pleasure (if you know what I mean).
@emma-flournoy Yeah. It’s harder to read books here. No libraries. I know you’ve mentioned the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington before so I’ll be sure to watch it. And I love A Tale of Two Cities. It was at first required reading for literature class. But I enjoyed it so much that I just had to deconstruct it. Mayor of Casterbridge. Huh, I’ll look into that one.
@ethryndal I’m Not Ashamed has been recommended to me by a friend before. True stories always touch hearts differently. Captain America: Civil War has, what I believe, is the most powerful theme in the Marvel movies. The interesting thing is that Cap was technically wrong. He was doing what was right: protecting an innocent man. But in doing that he was disobeying the law. So do the ends justify the means? Cap eventually recognized it. That’s why he agreed with Tony that he wasn’t worthy of using his shield anymore. That’s why he left it behind. Sorry for the excursus. I just love that movie so much.
@kate-flournoy Another film that’s been recommended before! The peer pressure is really forcing me to watch that one.
@his-instrument Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney princess movie! I love it so much. And they’re making a live action version. I AM SOOO READY!!! I remember hearing about Do You Believe. I heard it wasn’t that good, but I’ll take your word for it.
@bluejay War Room. I won’t talk about that anymore. I’ve already made my view known. As for Frozen I just avoided that movie when it came out. Maybe now’s the time that I should watch it.I’ll be back soon with my two favorite movies with powerful themes.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
My favorite Christian movie with a great theme is Facing the Giants. I might be biased a bit because it was one of the first Christian movies I saw, but after seeing the other Christian movies that they did, I still think Facing the Giants is the best.
I think the strongest aspect of Facing the Giants is just the strength of the subplots. The subplots tie in quite well and make for a more powerful theme.
Of course I’m not quite as attached to this movie. My favorite movie with Christian themes might change soon (once I see Beyond the Mask?). So I’m not that attached . . .
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@mark-kamibaya Oh, that’s one of my favorites too!
@Mark-Kamibaya I watched Frozen for the first time just a few days ago and actually really enjoyed it. I was surprised— expecting a typical ‘princess’ story and it was anything but. I recommend it.
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