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Playing the harmonica

Mitch Glaser, a founding member of Jews for Jesus, provides insight into the link between Dylan's Christianity and his Jewish background, and talks about distributing evangelical tracts outside of Dylan's shows. But the surprise highlight of the movie is hearing from legendary rock critic Joel Selvin, who reviewed Dylan's first "Christian concert" appearance and notoriously dubbed it "Dylan's God-Awful Gospel." A non-believer, Selvin speaks candidly about the frustration he felt at Dylan's newfound religious message, but also admits that, with the benefit of hindsight, he sees the bravery and sincerity Dylan brought to those shows. And that, as much as anything, is what this documentary is all about—making sense out of Dylan's turn into Christian music, and making a case for his stunning bravery in the face of an audience that, by and large, resented him for it.

It isn't until the final few minutes that the film takes a disappointing turn, essentially saying that Dylan's conversion was nothing more than an artistic stage in his career that he quickly abandoned—an observation that seems at odds with earlier statements about Dylan's sincerity. For those who follow Dylan's music even today and continue to hear the ring of biblical truth in his songwriting, it's a frustrating coda to an otherwise fine film.

On a purely technical level, Gilbert's movie is very rough; the transitions between topics and interviews are not always smooth, and a Dylan tribute band plays cover songs in the background throughout the entire picture, which grows tedious and distracts from the seriousness of some of the subject matter. But as a picture of a man of music and a man of faith—a pilgrim who's still making progress—this is a frequently riveting historical document, and proof enough that, for Christian and secular audiences alike, Bob Dylan remains both as elusive and as inspiring as ever.

For more info about the film, click here.

Talk About It

1. Fans have often speculated about whether or not Bob Dylan's conversion to Christianity was sincere. Does this film provide any answers? What perspective does it seem to be coming from?
2. Some of the interview subjects talk about "Christian music" versus "secular music." Is this a helpful distinction to make? How would you define the two terms?
3. Many of Dylan's original fans felt betrayed by his move to Christianity. What reasons might there be for this?
4. Can music and art be used as effective tools of evangelism?

The Family Corner

Inside Bob Dylan's Jesus Years is not rated, but there is nothing objectionable here except for a handful of cases of mild language.

Photos © Copyright MVD Visual

© Josh Hurst subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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