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The 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2009

What do a lonely widower, a strong woman with a soft heart, and an African leader have in common? They're all key characters in the year's best redemptive movies.

The Oscars are still a few weeks away, but most publications and critics—not to mention The Golden Globes—have long since picked their top movies of 2009. So now it's our turn.

This week we feature our 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2009. What do we mean by "redeeming"? We mean movies that include stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of our films have characters who are redeemers themselves; all of them have characters who experience redemption to some degree—some quite clearly, some more subtly. Some are "feel-good" movies that leave a smile on your face; some are a bit more uncomfortable to watch. But the redemptive element is there in all of these films.

We also asked each of our critics to choose "One That Got Away"—a single film they wish had made the final list. Think of those extra films as sort of our "honorable mentions." (Next week: CT's 2009 Critics' Choice Awards.)

1. Up

directed by Pete Docter
It's got talking dogs piloting fighter planes and a house that floats to South America on the strength of a thousand balloons, but the most outrageous thing about Up? It's a summer blockbuster that's head-over-heels for the joys of marriage. Here lifelong commitment isn't a burden; it's an adventure.—Josh Hurst


2. The Blind Side

directed by John Lee Hancock
The Touhys, a well-to-do white family, can't ignore the needs of a homeless African-American boy. Instead of just lending a hand, they make him family. This real-life story of NFL player Michael Oher shows a great example of Christian compassion. We can't save the world, but we can love the ones God puts in our path.—Camerin Courtney


3. Invictus

directed by Clint Eastwood
This is much more than just another sports movie or "another Clint Eastwood awards season movie." It's a beautiful portrait of forgiveness and a model for how reconciliation can happen in reality, and how politics can employ things like sports and poetry in the service of national renewal.—Brett McCracken


4. The Road

directed John Hillcoat
Despite the bleak and sometimes terrifying post-apocalyptic milieu, this film—based on the book by Cormac McCarthy—stands out from other recent end-times flicks in its tenacious, audacious insistence on hope in the midst of darkness. Plus it's one of the most loving father-son relationships ever depicted on the big screen.—Mark Moring


5. The Soloist

directed by Joe Wright
This true tale of the unlikely relationship between a newspaper columnist and a musically gifted, mentally ill homeless man is a testament to the power of friendship. There are no easy answers here and the homeless problem among the mentally ill is clearly epidemic, but for both of these men, care and companionship are transformative.—Lisa Cockrel


6. Where the Wild Things Are

directed by Spike Jonze
Jonze reimagines Maurice Sendak's tale of high-spirited rebellion as a meditation on childhood insecurity in a messy world in which nothing—families, forests, even the Sun—lasts forever. Wild Things knows both a child's drowning sense of trying to hold together a broken family and the comfort of a mother's embrace, a calm center in a storm of uncertainty.—Steven D. Greydanus


7. District 9

directed by Neil Blomkamp
Using aliens and spaceships, District 9 actually gives new perspective on humans—their ugliness, racism, and greedy self-preservation. Perhaps because it shows a realistically dark world, we can see what shines. And because the main character is a complex mash-up of good and evil, his ultimate redemptive choice is powerful.—Todd Hertz


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Displaying 1–5 of 42 comments

Daniel Mike

January 23, 2011  10:02pm

I too, watched the Road. What a depressing and hopeless movie. A father always teaching his son how to kill himself is not loving or hopeful. I recommend you reconsider this on your list. Horrible.

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Mark Hadley

May 29, 2010  10:56pm

I watched "The Road" yesterday because it was on this list. This film was the most disturbing film I have ever seen in my entire life. I'm very puzzled why in the world you figure there was anything redeeming about it. The majority of the film was so much like a slasher horror film, with canibalism and blood and body parts... I don't recommend that anyone see ths movie or support it in any way.

mark smith

March 20, 2010  2:16pm

Where is Solomon Kane in your list? Directed by Michael J Bassett and starring James Purefoy, Pete Posletwaite and Max Von Sydow. Actually, im not going to say anything except 'Just watch the film!', you want redemption with a capital 'R', not to mention a sense of 'up-lift' and 'feel-good', with a clear sense of advocacy for christian values...this is the one!

Jewell Wolgram

March 17, 2010  12:33am

Like Andy, I wish you would put the link to the Christianity Today Movies review of each of the films on the list like you have done other years. I was very disappointed not to be able to read more about each one. Thank you.

Mangolite

February 21, 2010  1:44am

For people who dismissed District 9 must have not heard of apartheid in South Africa, and people who complained about Christianity Today's choice of movies, will, guess what- we don't live in a perfect world. Not everyone lives in a house with white picket fences and I am not white or black and not being politically corrected either. I am a Christian who hated the so called "Christian films" trying to appease the social extreme of the major Christendom. Don't get me wrong because I thoroughly enjoyed the Kendricks' first film called "The Flywheel" before "Facing the Giants" (not seen and don't care to) and yet do like their latest, "Fire Proof." I am not all about dramas, I am diversified, I like to be challenged, laughed, cried, frightened and even bemused.

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