Those same filmmakers have followed up with another gem in Christian family fare... Facing the Giants. The story involves a high-school football coach who battles six years of losing football, a car that won't run, a house that smells and a marriage in which he and his wife are unable to have any children.
When the coach turns to Jesus, things start to fall into place. He changes his approach to a very simple one... If we succeed, we praise God. If we fail, we praise God. We must give our best in all we do to honor God. This philosophy bleeds through to the players and the people around him and their fortunes begin to change.Granted, Facing the Giants travels over familiar cinematic ground and there are not a lot of real surprises as the story unfolds. But, the journey is exceedingly satisfying. Why? Because we all want Jesus to be that obvious in our lives. We want to see such clear cut tangible results from our faith. So, when the team improves and other minor miracles occur, we’re glad, even if we're not surprised.
The writing is clever, moving and often times quite funny. The actors, all of whom are volunteers, do a very good job and the end result is a film that pulls at the heart and the spiritual strings... sure we've heard the song before, but we don't mind because it sounds so beautiful.
With Flywheel (made for $20,000) and Facing the Giants ($100,000), the folks at Sherwood Baptist Church have made films with more substance, depth, weight and emotional impact than Hollywood movies made for 100 times their cost. These guys believe that Jesus is the best screenwriter, director, editor, cinematographer, etc. and that their job is to offer the film up to him and he'll make the magic happen. And, with Facing the Giants, they've created another piece of Christian family magic.
This is one film my kids have demanded we add to our DVD library. I'm only too happy to oblige.
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