The film Fireproof has a production budget of $500,000 and brought in over $33 million at the box office. Even accounting for the additional costs, this was probably still a good piece of business.* The film makers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, also responsible for Facing the Giants, are now two of the premiere figures in Christian film. I had a conversation with writer/producer Stephen Kendrick last week. During this interview I put some questions to him that came to me while viewing his film. Some are the same questions I had when I saw the trailer. His answers challenged me more than I thought they would.

Coincidence is God's way of being obvious. When things come together in life, I pay attention. I honestly think this is one of the ways the Lord speaks to us. This is probably because of my ability to be easily distracted. When I pray, I plead with the Lord to be as blatant as possible. I hope for something along of the line of Him dropping an anvil from sky with a note tied to it. Coincidence is His anvil.

For those of you who read my reviews on a regular basis, my harsh criticisms of “Christian film” are well known. I’ve maintained for years that as a rule the Christian film market is packed with cheesy, poorly made and ironically uninspiring products. A majority of the films are all intention and no execution. They likewise fail to reach beyond the church walls, keeping their focus firmly on preaching to the choir. I believe we need to move past just talking to each other and open our efforts up to include those not saved. We need to look at seed planting. We should work to lift up this declining culture and spread the Word through film. Despite all of my complaining and sometimes attacking of my fellow Christians, coincidences in my life have lead me to realize I have lost sight of some things.

My biggest concern with Fireproof was its unflinching Christianity. This may seem like an odd thing for a Christian to be repelled by. This is a “Christian film” after all. The display of Christian thought and action in itself hasn’t been my concern. Where I wobble is how it is received by non-Christians. There is a certain level of embarrassment when dealing with non-Christians in light of films such as this, not because of any shame of I have towards Christ, but because of the awkward disconnect the non-Christian has with the cultural norms we hold within the church.

Secularists have been raised to have a caricature in their minds when they think of Christians. To many we’re a bunch of doe-eyed morons who believe in a fairytale. For many people raised in our culture, the idea that the Christian faith is steeped in firm academic traditions and holds a logical foundation is preposterous. It seems films like this one which delivers its agenda so plainly risk promoting the misconception others have of us. Film is one of the greatest tools of communication ever devised. It instructs the population and has the ability to direct the course of our civilization. When I see film, I see a tool to be used to spread the Gospel to all people. Up to this point, a film that spoke directly to the converted annoyed me. It always seemed to me like holding a play, but not letting the general public in to see the stage. What’s the point? Along with some other things, my interview with Stephen Kendrick has softened my criticism.

Stephen Kendrick was a sharp and thoughtful interviewee. Unfortunately, the phone system I had used to conduct the interview crashed, so I do not have his exact words. I will paraphrase, I hope he doesn’t mind. I had asked him if he had wanted to direct the film specifically at Christians and if non-Christians could get something out of this film? His response was unapologetic. He said that he and his brother were called by God to make films for Christians. Their focus was directly towards that group. The film itself was intended to call us faithful to renew our marriages. If we hope to inspire and draw others to the church, we need to shore up our own issues. Christians lead by example and his intent was to help us heal our relationships and stand more in alignment with Biblical teaching. When I pressed him on the overt messages of the film pushing away potential secular audiences he responded that “the Narnia and Lord of the Rings films are wonderful, great films, but I don’t know of anyone coming to Christ after seeing them.” He has a good point and it has struck a chord with me. Buttressed by a post by Skip Press over at Big Hollywood, and conversations I’ve been finding myself in lately. I've been urged to reconsider my criticisms of Christian film.

I’ve been comfortable pointing at the overt Christian displays of a film like Fireproof and dismissing them as obtuse. A number of my readers have agreed with my attitude. It has been my contention that we need to speak to the masses and not as if we were in mass. I’ve been wrong on this, or at least I’ve been wrong with the degree at which I’ve attacked this brand of filmmaking. While subtlety is good in some venues, being open is good in others. If the message is so buried under symbolism and narrative what is the point? We need films that plant seeds to be certain. A film such as Magnolia for example is not Christian at all but John C. Reilly’s Jim Kurring in the film still stands as one of the best portrayals of a Christian man I’ve seen put to film. We also need films that speak in declarative tones. Christ is the way, He is your Savior - no frills, there it is. We need films that do speak to the converted. We need films that call us to account and reaffirm the Word in us. To always have films push Christian thought while avoiding Christ Himself doesn’t work. He is the author of everything and avoiding the topic of his role is unhealthy. Employing the arts and sciences while ignoring the governing hand of God is like completing a jigsaw puzzle cardboard side up. You can figure out how the pieces fit together but you're missing the beauty and function of the design. Christ is the answer and He belongs in our art. Seed planting is a worthy goal but we also need to keep Him upfront. In my zeal to urge Christian artists to speak to broader audiences, I have forgotten the simple fact that they need to speak to us as well.

On the subject of coincidence, I asked Mr. Kendrick how he and his brother found distribution for Facing the Giants. Pooling funds and talent to make a movie is one thing, but finding distribution is whole other beast. Securing a favorable distribution deal is the make or break part of any production. He told me they were just local film makers looking to obtain the rights for a song they wished to use in the soundtrack. They contacted the music publisher to negotiate these rights. As it turns out, the publisher just so happened to have been bought up by Sony. Sony just opened up a faith film branch. Sony put out word they were looking for Christian films and the tape of Facing the Giants was sent on and it goes from there. In addition, the controversy of the film getting a PG-Rating from the MPAA increased the visibility of the film upon release. Clearly, in particular when you view the meteoric rise of these film makers, the Lord is working through these men and their crew.


* - Research accounting in the film industry and you’ll understand why I couched this sentence.

Labels: Christian film, commentary