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A Lenten and Easter JOURNEY THROUGH FILM BY AARON LAMBERT Writer from Denver
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he Lenten season is a journey. As we offer up our penances and take up almsgiving, we unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross — a sacrifice that altered the course of history and marked the beginning of the pilgrim Church’s mission here on earth. Indeed, we are all pilgrims in the Lenten season, trekking through the desert for 40 days as Jesus did in preparation for his death and resurrection. There are so many ways to intentionally participate in the Lenten season, and one way is to abstain from TV shows and other forms of media that are perhaps not the most spiritually wholesome or edifying. Now, if your knee-jerk response to that is something along the lines of “But most Christian and spiritual movies are cringe-inducing cheese fests!”, then this writer would be inclined to agree with you in many cases. However, it would be a mistake to write off all movies that deal with the biblical story of salvation and related narratives as unwatchable rubbish. In doing so, you’d actually be depriving yourself of some rather uplifting and powerful films that are well worth your time; some even rival the staying power of Mel Gibson’s masterpiece “The Passion of the Christ” (which is one film that should certainly be watched every year on Good Friday). Much like the Israelites, we too journey as God’s chosen people from a sort of slavery into freedom during the Lenten and Easter seasons. To help recall this journey that is so crucial to the Christian life, here are four films to watch during these most important liturgical seasons that loosely retrace, in one way or another, our own spiritual pilgrimage
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Much like the Israelites, we, too, journey as God’s chosen people from a sort of slavery into freedom during the Lenten and Easter seasons.”
as we move from death in our humanity to abundant life in Christ. A small disclaimer: While the following films are not necessarily historically accurate, the themes each convey are universal and say something profound about what it means to be a follower of Christ. “THE PRINCE OF EGYPT” We begin our journey into the wilderness with something of a modern classic. Aside from the memorable visual effects that were cutting edge for animated movies at the time, most will also remember the song “When You Believe” performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, which ended up taking home the Oscar for best original song in 1999. Based partly on the 1956 film “The Ten Commandments,” “The Prince of Egypt” is a familyfriendly take on the Book of Exodus, albeit with some creative liberties taken. Despite the historical and biblical APRIL 2022 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
