REEL Redemption: The Rise of Christian Cinema

MOVIE TITLE: REEL REDEMPTION: The Rise of Christian Cinema

The movie is currently available at https://faithlifetv.com/reel-redemption

It’s available on Roku where you can also get a free trial!

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 27 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Written and directed by Tyler Smith, this documentary offers a terrific look at Christianity in film over the years. Tyler Smith is also the narrator. As a Christian film critic, I thought it was really well done and fascinating. I have often been frustrated that Hollywood seems to be represent Christians as mindless drones who are the brunt of jokes in films. Movie-goers have often rolled their eyes at Christian films, dismissing them as blatant propaganda with cheesy dialogue and lazy film-making.

Tyler Smith does a great job looking at those issues and presents an unbiased look at how society and religion have influenced one another over the years. It also takes a look at whether movies reflect society’s values or changes them or both.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

There are some subtitles that require reading.
Kids will be bored. Movie lovers will think it’s interesting.
There is no profanity or inappropriate content for children.

THEMES:

Religion vs. Hollywood
History of film
Perception and prejudice

THINGS I LIKED:

I love the movie title!
The film shows TONS of video clips from movies.
You’re going to learn a lot about the history of film.
The information is presented in an unbiased manner. The documentary does not have a Bible-pushing agenda. It really just states the facts and shows what was happening in society over the decades and how Christianity was represented in film.
The film shares an interesting insight that Christian audiences want more feature films, yet are more supportive of films that reflect their values than ones that challenge them.
There is some humor.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Unlike a lot of documentaries, there are no interviews with people. Instead, it’s more like a video essay, similar to what you might find on an educational channel on TV or even YouTube
It’s pretty straight-forward. Some might even call it dry.

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