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The Dove Foundation agrees—at least agrees that men won't get it. "The ending doesn't make up for the tedious, amoral claptrap we have to sit through for 90-some minutes," writes Phil Boatwright. "As for Ms. Moore's performance, well, she has great hair."

McClure and Boatwright were on the same page, however, concerning Sunshine. The drama, which depicts a Jewish family's struggle to hold onto its identity throughout the tumult of the 20th century, stars Ralph Fiennes as three different patriarchs in five generations of the Sonnenschein family.

Boatwright liked a scene where characters who "have been raised in and embrace communism, complete with its disdain for religious beliefs… [come to] the realization that religion is valid." However, he was troubled by the lack of "humor or joy found by its characters.… The poignancy of the film rests in its examination of how each generation repeats destructive acts."

As such, the movie becomes like Groundhog Day without the release of February 3. "Bottom line," writes McClure, "this is a long movie that I kept waiting to have a redeeming moment in the end, to reward me for struggling through [the concentration-camp torture and many graphic sex scenes]."

With little to laud on the big screen, reviewers turned their attention to the telly to find something worthwhile. They're highlighting the TV movie Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace, which premieres tonight, June 14, at 9:30 p.m. ET on PBS (check your local listings). The film dramatizes the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who helped Jews escape Nazi capture and was eventually hanged for his role in trying to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

"It shows us a theologian in action," writes Elesha Coffman, assistant editor of Christian History, "rethinking what it means to serve God, love others, and, especially, to tell the truth." Although "dramatic narrative does edge out historical reporting," and Bonhoeffer is given limp lines like "believe in the future, no matter what," Coffman says there's still "more than enough of Bonhoeffer's courage and depth to make Agent of Grace a film with real force."

Movieguide was equally impressed, praising actor Ulrich Tukur for being "so real, so authentic, so profoundly aware of all the nuances, that we meet Bonhoeffer in him." His story, Movieguide says, is allowed to speak for itself: "It clearly highlights the great moral questions raised by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By asking the right questions, Bonhoeffer helps us think through the answers that we would give."

Hollywood Jesus elaborates on these questions: "Bonhoeffer said, 'Being evil is worse than doing evil.' Do you agree?… He opposed his own church in their support of Hitler. Would you do the same? What about respect for authority? He was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. Is this moral or ethical?"

The Dove Foundation notes that "the subject matter may be disturbing for little ones, but for teens and adults, it is… a prodding for men and women of faith to take a stand against [evil]."

Steve Lansingh is editor of thefilmforum.com, a weekly Internet magazine devoted to Christianity and the cinema.

See earlier Film Forum postings for these other movies in the box-office top ten:Dinosaur,Gladiator,Shanghai Noon,Road Trip,Frequency,Small Time Crooks, and U-571.

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June (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44