With news this week that Warner Brothers is providing its 2019 film “Just Mercy” free for viewing on platforms including YouTube, the Rev. Dr. Edward McNulty, a Presbyterian pastor and film critic, has developed discussion questions and provided a review of the film.
Visual Parables’ Top Ten Film list is usually different from most lists because ethical and spiritual values in the films carry more weight than aesthetics. That the latter is important, however, is shown each year by the fact that faith-based films seldom show up on the list, most of these being dramatized sermons rather than open-ended works of art.
Below are the 10 films worthy of being called the year’s “Top 10.” Because the list of readers of my on-line journal “Visual Parables” consists mostly of believers, my criteria are different from those of secular critics whose lists you might have already read.
Artistic excellence is important, but the films on this list do more than entertain us. Some of their makers seek to challenge viewers to uphold values of love and support (think “Lars and the Real Girl”), and some warn us of the dangers of an inhumane set of values (this year’s “The Hate U Give”). A few explore and expand our spirituality, occasionally enhancing our understanding or appreciation of God (“Come Sunday”).
As with my longer reviews in “Visual Parables,” I’ve included one or more relevant Scripture passages in many of the mini-reviews to foster dialogue between film and faith. The titles include a hyperlink so that you can go to the longer review of the film at readthespirit.com/visual-parables for more details.
Presbyterian News Service is continuing the tradition begun about 15 years ago in Presbyterians Today of selecting the year’s top 10 films. The list is different from those appearing in secular journals because the primary criteria are spiritual and moral/ethical values, not artistic ones.
