It's so awesome to see the Kendrick Brothers' excellence in filmmaking increase with each film they've made. The fact that they commit their work, in every stage and every detail, to God's leading and strive for His blessing is evident. Their 5th film, War Room , is no exception. It's definitely a movie you should take the time to see and think on.
I had high expectations for this film, and was not disappointed. I was both challenged and greatly encouraged. As usual, I so appreciated the natural, non-scripted feel of the dialogue and the fact that the filmmaking team obviously worked hard to get rid of any "cheese" they and the other people giving them an honest opinion could spot throughout the film. Plus, the double-dutch scenes were pretty spiffy, and not a sport we get to see much of on the big screen. :D
And while there was plenty of action and the film wasn't boring in any way, it was really nice not to have some tragic, physical event to drive the story; the action here was in the characters, their internal struggles, and in the fact that the way that you deal with your struggles leads directly to your actions, which either help to heal or decidedly hurt those around you.
It was a relief not to be jumping out of my skin in a dozen perilous scenes for just one movie, and because of that, being able to really focus in on what was going on with the characters.
Of course I don't want to give the storyline away, but I thought I'd go in an entirely different direction with this post and talk about something that comes up almost immediately with any God-honoring film, which came up with this one, and bothers me greatly.
Shortly after War Room's opening weekend, a couple different people made comments that I felt I couldn't let slide without a response.
The first was our pastor, who while encouraging the congregation to go see War Room, added a comment along the lines of; "I really enjoyed the movie. Christian movies tend to be really cheesy, but this one was good."
I really respect my pastor, and he has so much wisdom and humility, and I see him working on his personal relationship with God just as much an more than he does on his sermons. But my immediate thought in response to his comment was, 'Where have you been in the last 10 or 15 years?' He may have seen some very cheesy movies in the past, but that doesn't mean there's enough experience in those few to make such a sweeping statement, particularly since a few films he's recommended over the years contain things that are...less than clean. Though everyone has to make their own movie choices, and it has to be between them and God.
The second one was from a some Christian radio personalities discussing the movie. One woman mentioned that a family member or friend had encouraged her to see it because it was "the best movie she'd ever seen." This radio personality then went on to say that after seeing it she was quite disappointed, and it wasn't "as good as I thought it would be." Of course it's totally fine for this woman to like or dislike the film -- but the conversation after that really bothered me, as they started applying [though obviously without knowing it] a standard of perfection to this movie that no man-made film could reach. So I felt I had to write a quick note to ask them to consider what it was they were really disappointed by; the over-promising recommendation they'd heard, or the film itself, judged on a level playing field with any other film, regardless of whether it was made by Christians or by mainstream Hollywood.
So, instead of writing a more in-depth review, I'm putting the letter I wrote to the radio hosts below. If you have thoughts in regards to this subject, comment on this post. :)
'Hey guys--
You are so enjoyable to listen to on the radio, & so often make me laugh. Just a thought I wanted to share with you in regards to what you mentioned today about the new War Room movie not being "as good as you thought it would be."
I don't want to rant at you or anything, I just thought I'd share something with you since I'm on the "inside" of the independent film industry myself. ;)
I totally get what you mean by getting your hopes up too high -- I would have to put the fault for that on the people who were over-recommending to you; it's a terrible idea to say that any movie is "the best you've ever seen". (I realize they were probably just super excited, but that makes for impossible-to-meet expectations - what a bummer for you, then!)
I personally had the bar set very high for War Room, since I know what the Kendrick Brothers have made before, where the quality-level was set for this film, etc. And I was not disappointed. It's a beautifully shot, beautifully scripted piece, & there's only one line I personally could see as possibly being taken as "bad acting".
The reason I felt I should e-mail you guys today was to point out two quick things;
--First, that if an independent film isn't a chase-'em-down-beat-'em-up piece where something explodes every other scene, more often than not it gets called boring or cheesy or a dozen other things. War Room kept the audience engaged the entire time, & I appreciated the authenticity of what was said and when. I wouldn't say it falls into any of those categories. I also understand that people have different genres they prefer, but if a film isn't part of their favorite genre, that doesn't automatically make it not a good movie, as I'm sure you guys totally understand. ;)
--And secondly, when the words "Christian" or "independent" are attached to any film, people immediately start judging that film by a standard of absolute perfection. But we never judge the other films we watch by that unreachable standard! Secular films get away with poor acting, cheesy scenes, terrible dialogue, cheap special effects & lousy stories at every turn, & we still tell our friends it was a "great movie". I'm not saying that Christian films don't do things wrong, I'm just pointing out that secular films do the same things all the time too, we just don't judge them with such severity & we're willing to overlook almost anything in them because we want to enjoy ourselves.
Of course War Room is not 100% perfect, but what movie -secular, made by Christians, or otherwise- is perfect??
Anyway, it's heavily on my heart as someone working in this industry to remind fellow Christ-followers to do their best to judge each film they watch fairly, no matter who made it or what label is attached. If we don't do our best, we end up playing right into the hands of the Enemy, who would like nothing more than to lessen the impact, great or small, that a God-honoring film (no matter its imperfections) could have on people's lives. :)
Hope that didn't seem like I was ranting. :P Thank you for hearing me! Blessings to you guys & WayFM, & keep up the great work! :D '
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