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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" film. It is written and directed by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), whom Entertainment Weekly called "the sneakiest and snarkiest moralist in Hollywood." The story features Seth Rogen as Ben, a pot-smoking slacker, and Katherine Heigl as Alison, a smart TV personality who, in one night of drunken celebration, ends up in the sack with Ben—and winds up with more than a hangover. Despite her mother and others urging her to "take care of it," Alison decides to have the baby. Remarkably, Ben takes responsibility and grows up a bit, and together they bring the child into the world in an incredibly life-affirming delivery room scene.

The tender Bella celebrates friendship, family, and, most of all, life. When Nina, a struggling single woman, learns she's pregnant, she plans to abort, but when a friend offers support, she reconsiders—and we don't learn of her final decision until the end of the movie. Writer/director Alejandro Monteverde, a devout Catholic, told CT he's reluctant to use the term "pro-life" to characterize his film, because he doesn't want it pigeonholed. Instead, Monteverde calls it "a love story that goes beyond romance" and illustrates "self-sacrificial love for others."

In August Rush, Keri Russell plays another mom facing an unplanned pregnancy, this time as a single woman. Her character opts to have the child, but on her father's insistence, she gives him up for adoption. The boy is placed in an orphanage, but the story doesn't end there, as mother and son ultimately seek one another out.

Capping off the year was Juno, featuring Ellen Page as the title character—a whip-smart teen with an unplanned baby growing inside. Juno plans to abort, but outside the clinic, one of her high school classmates—a pro-life activist—chants, "All babies want to be borned." Grammatical error aside, Juno gets the message and, moments later, runs out of the abortion clinic, her mind changed—and her friend calls out, "God appreciates your miracle!" Juno then begins a search for the perfect parents to adopt her unborn child.

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February 2008, Vol. 52, No. 2