Catching Caught

The ending of any Billy Graham film is predictable, of course: someone commits his or her life to Jesus Christ. But World Wide Films’ most recent release, Caught, provides some surprises within the plot. In fact, thoughtful American Christians will see an effective and credible irony: a converted Hindu Indian, now a Christian evangelist, brings an unbelieving American to Christ in Amsterdam. Indeed, if Raj (Amerji Deu) were American instead of Indian, viewers would find him too giving a Christian to be believable. And though American missionaries have in real life made great sacrifices for the cause of Christ, viewers would find it difficult to believe an American Christian would give the shoes off his feet to an acquaintance who, partly due to his own stupidity, has just had his boots stolen.

Because conversion comes from the working of the Holy Spirit, non-Christian viewers will, of course, likely find the conversion of Tim (John Shepherd) unbelievable, for, as this movie also suggests, the Spirit’s working is mysterious and seldom credible to persons who have not experienced it.

A Model Evangelist

But other viewers will benefit from this movie. Christians who are tired of seeing film characters whose lives seem uninformed by any values or religion can learn from the childlike faith of the Indian evangelist Raj—a believer truly caught by the Spirit of Christ to live and love as Christ would have him do. Christians may also appreciate seeing a young man grow steadily more aware of the dead-end road that he is traveling in the underworld of drugs.

Young people who are searching can also benefit from this movie. As those for whom this film was made, they may identify with Tim’s frenetic search for his father, and when he says in anguish, “I don’t know who I am.” Though Tim is searching for his blood father, he is—on another level—searching for a spiritual father. Viewers may empathize with Tim if their blood father is only as real as the coach of the Chicago Bears—on the sidelines of their lives.

Raj, as evangelist, is as concerned to help Tim in his literal search as in his spiritual search. In that, he is a model for all evangelists in meeting the sinner where he is; he may prod some searching soul to look more closely at the Christian faith. Rather than preach pat answers, he shows a better way. Watching him is like seeing the child—the one Jesus said we must become like if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven.

In a world where schools may not teach what Christianity means andwhere too many homes don’t demonstrate it, this movie may awaken some searching soul to the real nature of Christian love, and it may awaken nominal Christians to what belief in Christ should compel them to do.

To a world where docudrama, concocted to serve some writer’s ends, can pass itself off as a new art form, I would say, watch Caught as “evangel-drama.” I think it’s good enough to be an effective ally.

By Mike Vanden Bosch, professor of English at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa. Adapted with permission from The Banner (Nov. 2, 1987); copyright ® 1987, CRC Publications.

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