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How many great Christian heroes have you seen at the movies? Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons. Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire. That passionate Joan of Arc. Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. Can you think of others? It's a challenge, because Christian characters are often portrayed as a problem rather than a blessing—and sometimes, it's easy to see why. Christians are, after all, often as prone to misbehavior as anyone else, and we deserve some of the unflattering portrayals that we've seen.

If the real Sophie Scholl was anything like the character played by actress Julia Jentsch in Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, then she deserves a place alongside history's most revered and celebrated Christian women.

The extensive research performed by director Mark Rothemund and screenwriter Fred Breinersdorfer indicates that she was, indeed, a brilliant, brave soul who stood up against the Nazis with fierce determination, making her challengers look ridiculous. Their film about the 21-year-old truth teller is an inspiring testament to faith, passion, and integrity. Sophie Scholl deserved the nomination it received for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

If it comes to a theater near, don't miss it; check the official site for theater listings. The scenes of Scholl's interrogation by Gestapo agent Robert Mohr (Alexander Held) are riveting—we haven't seen a comparable clash between a principled heroine and a determined, malevolent villain since Agent Clarice Starling matched wits with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. But where Starling and Lecter only met in a few fleeting scenes, this battle of the minds goes on and on, until you're breathless with the heat of it.

My full review is at Christianity Today Movies.

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) gives the movie a rare "A+" rating, saying it's "one of a very few films that accomplishes one of the rarest and most valuable of cinematic achievements: It makes heroic goodness not just admirable, but attractive and interesting. How many films do this?"

He believes the film will challenge viewers to consider their own strength of character. "Throughout the film, viewers are invited to put themselves in Sophie's place: Would I have had the courage and vision to do what she did? In the scene with her parents, viewers may find themselves identifying as much with father or mother as with their daughter: What if it were my child? Would I be as proud and supportive amid such overwhelming circumstances? Not for all the world would I want to go through what Sophie's parents do; but I hope and pray to see my children grow up into young adults not unlike Sophie Scholl."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, "Though talk of the best films of 2006 is premature, when the time comes, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days … will demand consideration. … Despite his own personal atheism, the filmmaker has crafted a deeply spiritual movie, throughout which he shows Sophie, a devout Protestant, praying to God for strength. … Unvarnished by oversentimentality, the film is a quietly powerful testament to bravery in the face of evil that examines themes of freedom of conscience and peaceful resistance to tyranny while imparting a strong anti-war message."

Darrel Manson (Hollywood Jesus) praises it, with some small reservations. "Sophie's story is an inspiration that is well worth seeing. … It is spiritually uplifting and intellectually challenging. … Sophie's character just wasn't filled in as well as it could have been. … Even a few glimpses into her life before all this could have added a great deal to an already very good film. It would have been especially helpful to understand a bit more of the way that her faith molded her, not just as she faced persecution, but as she saw the work she was doing with The White Rose as calling to a higher law."

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March (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50