Christian cinema and Christian filmmakers continue to grow and mature in the quality of their film making and in the range of subject matter they’re prepared to take on. Recent Christian box office and DVD hits, ‘Fireproof’ and then ‘Courageous’ raised the bar on production values, while big success of 2012 ‘October Baby’ opened the door on the deeply personal and broadly social issues that faith based movies haven’t touched before.
It was quite a revolution when Christian movies moved from essentially religious themes into areas where faith found made a practical impact on real life relationships. Entering the area of contemporary social ethics – which October Baby and now Paper Dream unashamedly does, is a revolution of cosmic proportion. And this is where Christian film makers need to be a little cautious.
It’s all well and good to have a world view. No great art – literary, graphic, theatrical or cinematic was ever made without one. And it’s right that the authentic view of the artist should show through. But that’s ‘show through’, not ‘blast through’, the work. This is especially hard for Christians, who tend to think that all Christians think – or at least should think, like they do.
If you don’t believe me, try telling a Christian who votes politically that you vote for the opposite party line. See how understanding they are… or aren’t. With moral, or ethics based films, it can be hard for Christians to admit that these are an area for debate and discussion rather than simply taking a stand or issuing a ruling.
Because, even where there is an unambiguous stand to take, there is still a persuasive argument to be made. Fortunately, the makers of Paper Dream, dealing with the moral and ethical problems of infertility and its impact on people of faith, are prepared to debate the matter. The central character, Christy Davis, struggling with infertility, also finds that she is struggling not only with her faith but with her ‘faith full’ friends.
This is a movie for Christians fed up with trite answers to hard questions. It’s also a movie for women, men, couples and anyone affected by issues of infertility, unfulfilled dreams of parenthood and even abortion or the loss of a child. But most of all, it’s a mature piece of quality independent film making with a view it’s prepared to offer up for discussion. And it will spark discussion, so let’s not be afraid of holding a point of view, and even less afraid of testing our view in the real world. - Les Ellison