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Who'd have thought a couple of CCM veterans—Steve Taylor and Michael W. Smith—would make one of the year's most redeeming films? Taylor directs and Smith stars—with newcomer jeff obafemi carr—in this unassuming but effective depiction of the intersection between a "rich white suburban church" and a "poor black urban congregation." But it's much more than that. Smith plays the clueless white worship pastor who learns a thing or two about racial reconciliation—and life in general—from Jake (Carr), the African-American pastor of the inner city church. And Jake learns a few things too. The film had the potential to be trite, but it isn't. (Our review.)

It's a story that's almost too unbelievable to be true—and the fact that it is true is likely due to divine intervention. In German-occupied France, on Christmas Eve 1914, soldiers who had been trying to blow one another's heads off called for an impromptu cease-fire, crawled out of their trenches, and began fraternizing, even fellowshipping, with one another—singing carols, playing soccer, exchanging pleasantries and cigarettes and chocolates. The miracle truce continued for about a day, and then they went back to their regular warring. But for 24 hours, it was truly a blinding light of redemption in the midst of a dark and hellish time. (Our review.)

Would you have the nerve to stand up to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, telling them that their methods and philosophies were sinful? A 21-year-old German woman had that kind of courage, a valor driven by her faith in Christ to do the right thing and say the right thing—even if it meant risking her life. Sophie Scholl, who distributed flyers decrying the Hitler regime and defending the Jews, stood up rigorous interrogation by a Nazi officer for hours on end. Their exchanges are riveting, and Sophie's bravery—as depicted by Julia Jensch—is a shining example of what it means to stand up for truth, no matter the consequences. (Our review.)

Depending on how you feel about Malick's filmmaking style, the viewer is likely to either love or hate The New World. Eschewing any sort of traditional narrative approach, Malick nevertheless delivers a film that is stunning in its visual beauty and cinematography. At its core, it's the story of Pocahontas, John  Smith and John Rolfe, but even deeper, it's about how we respond to the still, small voice of the Spirit that whispers in our hearts. For Pocahontas, it's initially the "spirits" of the Native American world, but later, through the love of Rolfe, she comes to know the true Spirit of Christianity. (Our review.)

It's fitting that the story of how the Redeemer came into the world would top our list of the year's most redeeming films. Interestingly, though, while this film obviously points to God's redemption through the birth of his Son, his actual redeeming sacrifice is still a future event; in that respect, The Passion of The Christ is more the story of Christ's redemption than this. But in The Nativity Story, we especially see Joseph's part in this greatest story fleshed out in ways like never before. Through the imagination of writer Mike Rich, the direction of Hardwicke, and the evocative acting of Oscar Isaac, Joseph really comes alive here, and we get a glimpse of what Scripture means when it simply calls him "a righteous man." Righteous, and redemptive, indeed. It's a Christmas story that will ultimately sit on the DVD shelves next to all the usual holiday classics. (Our review.)

Editor's note: Three of the films in the above list—Joyeux Noel, Sophie Scholl, and The New World—were technically 2005 films; Joyeux and Sophie were actually 2005 Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Film. But very few people—including our critics—actually saw these films until early 2006, so we decided to make them eligible for our 2006 voting. Additionally, the late 2005 version of The New World, which screened only in New York and L.A., was 150 minutes long, but the early 2006 version which released to more U.S. theaters (and on DVD) was edited to a 135-minute version, a very different movie.

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