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Only a few of these films offered any substantial hope. Frightened, persecuted heroes walled themselves in against their enemies (Panic Room, Signs), but some found courage to "ride out" from behind the walls to meet the enemy face to face (The Two Towers).

A handful of adventurers found support in their communities (Ice Age, The Rookie, About a Boy.) Others took refuge in the safety and grace offered by others (Atanarjuat, The Pianist, The Two Towers). You could count on one hand how many characters bothered to consider the help available from heaven. Thus, many were moved by the calls to a Higher Power for rescue in The Two Towers and Signs. Most stories ended in angst and the disintegration of families and dreams.

Several films this year have joined my list of favorites. I'll revisit them for what I learn from the troubles they portray, and for the hope and insights that they offer. Perhaps it was the persistence of dark despairing stories that made these films stand out. Each one of them inspired me and rekindled my sense of wonder and amazement at how God can redeem the mess of our lives.

1. The Pianist

Director Roman Polanski returns us to a familiar big screen subject: the Holocaust. But his version of the story is so personal, specific, and unsentimental, that it stands as the most affecting, devastating, and inspiring film I've seen about these historic atrocities. Polanski's film brings to life the story of a classical pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who lived in Warsaw when the Nazis invaded. Szpilman and the rest of the Jews in his neighborhood slowly realized the horrific reality of the Nazi trap closing upon them. He escaped and went on the run, dodging patrols and tanks, hiding in the houses of gracious strangers or in the dusty ruins of demolished buildings.

Adrien Brody's performance as Szpilman is the best performance of the year, bar none; his transformation under the fear and pressure recalls Tom Hanks' famous turn in Cast Away. He makes us intimately acquainted with a quiet and introspective artist who survives by listening to the music in his memory even as he is forced to keep silent and still. The music itself becomes the agent of grace, the voice of God, guiding him through the darkness. There have been too many movies about the Holocaust, but this one is told with unmistakable passion of someone who lived through it. It's the most memorable and moving film I've seen this year.

2. Punch-Drunk Love

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) divided audiences with this strange, abrasive romantic comedy about an angry man who meets a mysterious and gracious woman just as his lonely life is spiraling out of control. Many walked way displeased and uncomfortable with Anderson's experimental style. I found it to be the most consistently unpredictable, surprising, and exhilarating good time I had at the movies all year. The biggest surprise of all: Barry Egan, the central character, was portrayed with humor, depth, and sensitivity by Adam Sandler. As random and chaotic as the film seems, I was enthralled. Each time I saw it, I found more meaningful connections between its disparate parts. It avoids the crowd-pleasing indulgence of a violent showdown between rivals, making Barry's triumph over his anger the peak of the action. The story reveals itself as a parable of grace entering fractured lives and patching up the damage. Just as Barry is repairing a broken harmonium and learning to play, his own life is being repaired; love, like music, is working in and through him.

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January (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47