'For those willing to look, Gospel values are easy to see' My five favourite films

After Pope Leo XIV announced his favourite films, including ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, Youth Minister Jack Regan shared the films which have entertained, inspired and moved him.

If you're a movie fan, then you'll have been really excited to hear Pope Leo talk about his favourite films. There were some absolute classics in there, although to be honest, I did wonder if that was the sanitised list? I wonder if maybe he had a guilty pleasure that he left out. Maybe Top Gun? The Godfather? Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? The Muppets Christmas Carol? We’ll never know.

Most of us who enjoy the cinema started watching movies for fun, but then found that actually movies have a real depth to them which can show us something about life, something about the beauty and complexity of the world that God created. Like any art form, movies can really move us. Here are some of the movies that have really moved me over the years

Scent of a Woman (1992) Once you get past the rather weird sounding title of this movie, (which, by the way, portrays nothing of what the movie is actually about) it's a really beautiful story about an older man and a teenage boy who are thrown together by random circumstances and who end up impacting each other in ways neither could have imagined. The boy helps the man to realise that life is worth living with his hope and innocence, whilst the man, with his experience and jaded courage, gets the boy out of a difficult situation he could not have managed by himself. The two are played by Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell, the former earning an Oscar for his performance - in particular for the speech he gives towards the end. In my opinion, one of the best scenes in any movie and one of the best individual performances by any actor. 

Amazing Grace (2006) This movie was made to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, an event it marks rather well with some brilliant performances, retelling a beautiful story of courage and Christian values at work in society. The title of the movie is a nod to John Newton, the former captain of a slave ship turned Christian preacher, who wrote the timeless hymn.

In Time (2011) This movie seems to have been largely forgotten in history, which is a shame because for me, it's one of the great social justice allegories of our time. Justin Timberlake stars alongside pre-Peaky Blinders Cillian Murphy and others in a dystopian future movie, with some brilliant sci-fi themes and twists. Everyone has a clock in their body that starts ticking as soon as they hit twenty five years old. They never age, but they have to keep topping up their clocks. Time on their clocks is the currency that drives society and life. If it runs out, you die. Naturally, it's far easier for the wealthy than it is for the poor, and the movie addresses that challenge as the lead character meets a wealthy girl from a forbidden district. 

The Last Samurai (2003) This Tom Cruise movie is another forgotten gem. It focuses on an American cavalry officer in the 1800s who is asked to go to Japan essentially as a mercenary to put down an uprising among the samurai. Captured by the Samurai, he gets to know their charismatic leader, played by Ken Watanabe, and he comes to respect their culture and the beauty of their values. Eventually, he joins them and fights against the modernising Japanese forces. Japan as a country underwent a massive culture shift around the same time as they were forced to open themselves up to the outside world. Almost immediately, new values and traditional values came into conflict, and they continue to co-exist today, albeit with tension at times. The Last Samurai, albeit fictional, gives a good insight into what was going on at that time. 

Dave (1993) It's all been a bit serious so far, so I'll end with a more light-hearted film. Again, another forgotten gem. 1993's Dave, which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver, focused on the rather outlandish plot of a President suffering a stroke and a look-alike being asked to stand in and pretend that he was the real deal. I won't give away the plot because you really should watch it. It's available on streaming services fairly cheaply, and there are few films out there with more heart.

I've described all of these films in fairly secular terms but, as somebody once said to me, any serious conversation is only a hair's breadth away from the gospel. What we find in these films are courage, integrity, honour, friendship, loyalty, standing up for what you believe in, and so much more. None of these films would claim to be particularly overtly Christian, but for those willing to look, the Gospel values are easy to see.