Reviews, Interviews , News, Commentaries, My Top 5 Movies, Best-Of Lists, Filmmakers of Faith, Film ForumChoosing Life at the Movies
To some, it was a year of war movies and "statement" flicks—including In the Valley of Elah, Lions for Lambs, and Rendition. Meanwhile, David Poland of Movie City News declared 2007 "Oscar's Year of the Man," noting that of the top sixteen contenders for best picture, only three were headlined by women.
But others noticed a different trend: In some ways, 2007 was the Year of Pro-Life Cinema.
From the church-friendly Bella to the raunchy Knocked Up, film after film depicted its main character facing an unplanned pregnancy and opting not for abortion, but for carrying the unborn child to term. Sometimes the mother kept the baby (Knocked Up, Waitress), and sometimes she gave the baby up for adoption (Bella, Juno, August Rush). But in each of these films, the mother, and sometimes the father, made a critical decision that was decidedly "pro-life."
Children of Men kicked off the year with a dystopian sci-fi tale in which Earth's entire population is infertile; no babies have been born in 18 years. Along comes a woman who is, inexplicably, pregnant. Clive Owen plays Theo, a sort of modern-day Joseph who must deliver the woman, and her unborn child, to safe haven. When the baby is born in a war zone, the dazed Theo utters just two words: "Jesus Christ." The Lord's name in vain? Or a nod to a miracle child who holds all hope for humankind's future?
In Waitress, Keri Russell plays Jenna, who ends up with an unwanted pregnancy from her abusive husband. Jenna makes some poor and selfish choices, but saves her most unselfish decision for the life growing inside her: She opts to have the baby, a choice that becomes her saving grace.
Knocked Up is an R-rated comedy that's as crass as it gets, making it the year's most unlikely "pro-life" ...
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DW
There are not 'Pro Life' films, they are 'Pro Choice' They show the pregnant women excercising their right to choose and even that doesn't mean the writer/director is making a statement - lets not forget, most of these films rely on the pregnancy and birth to exist at all. Otherwise we'd be looking at 'Not-Knocked Up', 'Still No Children of Men' and 'August Who?'
Dana
here's a strange interview with ellen page of "juno". how could such a sharp young woman think that a film involving teen pregnancy and the decision to not abort COULD be not political in the public sphere? baffling, but interesting. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Movies/article/298588 'children of men' is the single most life-affirming film i've ever seen. so much death, yet every death was filmed in such a way that each one MATTERED - like the scene just after the baby's birth where the apartment is being seiged by the military and theo and kee are running through the halls with the baby, and in the background, out of focus, just over theo's shoulder, a man is shot in the head and killed. small, in the background, and yet, it MATTERS. love this film.
Karen Goebel
What an amazing dose of hope!! Thank you for your balanced perspective.
Bryan
I applaud Christianity Today for spotlighting these films as a contribution Hollywood has made to our culture versus the traditional stance of Christians to see Hollywood as the great corruptor. It is refreshing to see Christians putting a film like KNOCKED UP in the proper perspective versus counting cuss words and judging it based on its rating.
Dana
i'm just laughing that some feminist groups are complaining because these films don't 'sufficiently depict' a consideration of abortion. how often do we see folks on screen seriously considering not aborting? yup, four whole films that present women keeping their babies is not depicting of real life. grow up, my fellow ladies - you can't have your way all the time.