How could it happen?

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2005)

Saints and Soldiers is a movie that actually reaffirmed Christian values, the belief in God, and the universality of God's presence. What is the movie industry coming to? How could Christianity be portrayed in a positive light? And then this piece of "propaganda" won some film festival awards! Horrible. Christians are all hypocritical, brainwashed zombies, who follow money grubbing preachers and are worse sinners than any humanist. I have always counted on the movie industry, especially "art" films, to expose the underbelly of Christianity, and to expose their audience to only alternative and life--affirming living styles.
What happen with Saints and Soldiers? The Christian characters were not stereotypic religious fanatics, crazy and repressive, insane in their beliefs, but thoughtful and complex individuals trying to deal with the realities of the horror of war while maintaining their core values. The arguments between believers and non-believers are passionate but reasoned with each side giving a perspective based on their personal backgrounds and experiences and giving equal validity. Those wimpy Mormon movie makers--even the agnostics are treated fairly and seem to be decent people (ie the medic, Gould), but of course the hero, Deacon, is a Christian, formerly a missionary. But wait, in the beginning of the movie Deacon seems crazed and demented, not sympathetic in many respects. The Germans are both good and bad. One attempts a rape, while another is a friend of Deacon and actually seems to be a good guy. There is not a lot of black and white characters, but in the end the biblical message of brotherhood and love prevails even in the ugly face of the brutality of war.
This was an excellent movie. It was so refreshing to watch a movie where Christianity was giving a fair shake.