For a More Impactful Christian Film Industry

The market for Christian films is exploding, they say. The Passion of the Christ. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Nativity Story. Classic stories with big budgets, all. And in the cases of the Passion and TLTWTW, big box office returns, too. Now, from reclusive Christian billionaire Philip F. Anschutz, producer of TLTWTW, comes Charlotte’s Web, which isn’t exactly a Christian film, but is a morality tale, nevertheless.

This is all good news.

But too many of us—including me, I confess—are too ignorant of Christendom’s history. Unfortunately, when Hollywood studios use Christian history as a backdrop for their releases, as with last year’s Kingdom of God, they ruin the stories with contemporary, politically correct narratives. Meanwhile, children’s allegories on the silver screen are great and provide wholesome entertainment for families. But how about using the medium to reclaim the history of our faith? Christian filmmakers with deep pockets should consider flooding the thirsty Christian film market with big budget productions that not only entertain adults, but educate viewers and even contextualize our current international situation.

I just completed H.W. Crocker’s piece in the current print edition of Crisis, titled “Lepanto, 1571: The Battle That Saved Europe.” It is a great story; one I was only vaguely cognizant of before reading Crocker’s piece but by which I am now sufficiently inspired to track down a book or two on the subject. But books aren’t enough. Nor is Chesterton’s moving poem. I want this story made into a film.

Lepanto was a decisive battle between Christians and Muslims over control of Europe; so providing enough action to fill movie theaters would not be a problem for a skilled filmmaker. The hero of the battle, Don Juan de Austria, is a character with enough complexity to carry a major motion picture. Through the use of time compression, a savvy filmmaker could easy write an ill-fated love story into the script between Don Juan and Marguerite de Valois. Juicy subplots would emerge from the machinations behind the formation of the Holy League and Pope Pius V’s choice of the 24-year old Don Juan to lead it. And, of course, this story has a happy ending—the good guys won the battle of Lepanto.

Crocker concludes his piece by pointing out, “Today, Christendom is even more divided, and certainly more deracinated and less confident, than it was in Don Juan’s time, but there are still fighting men, the valiant core of that civilization, who even now patrol the dusty villages of Afghanistan and the dirty streets of Mesopotamia.”

Couldn’t they, couldn’t we all, use a bit of inspiration in our current struggle? Wouldn’t a retelling of the battle of Lepanto—this time on the big screen—have a rallying effect on our collective Christian psyche? Crocker clearly thinks so. And so do I. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if Philip Anschutz (or someone else; anyone, really) took it upon himself to reclaim our Christian history and tell an important story of our Christian forefathers who fought back against an aggressive Muslim onslaught.

It would take courage to make such a film.