Two films: One controversial but both powerful

The Shack

Starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Graham Greene, Avraham Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara

In The Shack, Sam Worthington plays a guy named Mack, who, after a family tragedy, is angry at God while also not sure if God exists. I think plenty of people can identify with that feeling. When things happen to us that are hard to bear or don't make sense, our first reaction is to blame God. And God rarely comes to His own defense.

But this time God does show up. Mack gets an unusual invitation, to meet God-or somebody-in a shack in the woods. He's skeptical at first, and even when it does turn out to be the Holy Trinity-played by Octavia Spencer, Avraham Aviv Alush, and Sumire Matsubara-he's not sure he wants anything to do with them. But then, of course, he warms up, and they have deep, intense, healing conversations and experiences, and Mack is able to return home with his faith restored, and a lot of his questions answered.

As a religious film, The Shack has really flopped because too many religious organizations have taken issue with its theology, influencing pastors and leaders-the same ones who promote God's Not Dead and Left Behind from their pulpits and radio shows-to stay away from this movie. The same folks had the same issues with the book, but it was an underground hit that started out slow, spread by word of mouth, and just kept selling and selling. Movies don't have that kind of luxury; if something doesn't sell well its first week, it gets pulled out of a majority of theaters.

I saw nothing terribly heretical in The Shack. Its theology is imaginative and curious, filling in the gaps between doctrinal truths in ways they aren't usually filled in. So we have God represented onscreen as a black woman and later a Native American man (Graham Greene) instead of a white man. That's not heretical, that's refreshing. Nowhere does the Bible say God is a white man, and the people who are freaking out about this need to relax. The film isn't even saying God is white or black, male or female, just that God may appear to different people in different ways. And that is biblical.

I appreciate that The Shack takes on the issue of suffering, and does so in a way that isn't overly simplistic. Instead of trying to explain why there is suffering in the world, diving into sovereignty and free will and what not, the film powerfully makes the point that God is not far off during hard and heartbreaking times; just the opposite. She is nearer than ever, and experiencing the pain right along with you. Understanding why an all-powerful God won't or can't stop terrible things from happening is really difficult, and theologians have filled libraries with half-answers for centuries. Ruling out that it is because God is distant, uncaring, and spiteful, though, is an important beginning.

The Dark Horse

Starring Cliff Curtis, Wayne Hapi, James Rolleston

The Dark Horse is a combination of several different genres-it's part mad genius film, like Shine or The Soloist. It's part inspirational, a teaching film like To Sir With Love or Dangerous Minds. And it's part underdog sports film like Rocky or Remember the Titans. That's a lot of genres to balance, and James Napier Robertson does it so deftly.

Set almost entirely in a Maori community in New Zealand, The Dark Horse is the story of Genesis Potini (Cliff Curtis), a chess champion who struggles with mental illness and is in and out of the hospital most of his life. As the film opens, he's just gotten out, released to the custody of his brother Ariki (Wayne Hapi), who promptly gives him some money and tells him to get lost. Ariki is in a motorcycle gang, and his son Mana (James Rolleston) is about to be initiated into the gang, and Ariki doesn't want Genesis messing things up.

Genesis needs something positive to do, so he helps out-and basically takes over-a local youth chess club. He gets them excited about a chess tournament in the nearby big city, which feels like a world away for these small-town kids. Mana wants to join the chess club, but his dad is against it, and Gen is caught in a tough position.

Cliff Curtis (who recently played Jesus in Risen) delivers a fantastic performance. The Dark Horse is a powerfully moving film about the ways his own demons overlap the struggles of his family and his community. Is he stable enough to really lead this ragtag team to the tournament? Maybe, maybe not, but being around them gives him purpose and hope, and that aids his own stability.

I loved this film, and felt like it captured an important truth about broken, hurting people living in community together.

Willie Krischke lives in Durango, Colorado and works for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship with Native American students at Fort Lewis College. To read more of his reviews, go to http://www.gonnawatchit.com