... and good secular ones.
From Places in the Heart to The Apostle to Dead Man Walking, secular filmmakers have continually shamed us by treating Christian themes and subject matter with grace and depth, while our filmmakers have been too busy making apocalyptic schlock to notice. If we, as a community, can embrace and learn from what non-Christians are doing with the art form, then perhaps our next generation of filmmakers will be different. They will have to learn to make films for the mainstream, to embrace metaphor and eschew propaganda, and to be more objective observers—to wrestle with tough questions and to portray sin as it really is. If they do not, we will continue to be scandalized by the fact that heathens make the best Christian films.
Some of my favorite mainstream movies with Christian themes:
The Matrix (ONLY THE FIRST ONE) - Despite the violence (and other philosophical problems), you've got freedom from sin, self-sacrafice, and resurection.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 - Yeah, I know. Lots of people get their heads cut off and stuff. That stuff is part of the style of the film. If you look past all the outrageousness, you have the story of a woman who gave up her life for her unborn child. Then, at the end of the second installment, you have a beautiful portrayal of "hating the sin, loving the sinner." Seriously.
Batman Begins - The only Batman movie that actually showed morals (let alone humanity). Let's see, there's justice, redemption, mercy, and acting.
Lord of the Rings - They can try to hide Tolkien's Catholicism ... it won't work.
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