Reflections For Movie Lovers

Review by Kevin Miller

Author: Matt Kinne
Publisher: CLW Communications/AMG (August 25, 2004)
Amazon link


Reflections For Movie Lovers is a collection of 365 devotionals inspired by 365 classic films. The reflections are grouped into 52 weekly “film festivals� according to genre or theme; including romance, action, fantasy, sports, sci-fi, foreign, and so forth. Each entry contains basic information about the film (title, MPAA classification, and any awards the film has won), a brief summary of the film’s plot, a scripture reading, a short reflection inspired by the film, and a suggestion for prayer. While author Matt Kinne focuses primarily on films rated PG-13 and lower, he does wander occasionally into R-rated territory when he feels that the spiritual significance of a film, such as Chinatown, outweighs its morally challenging content.

Overall, Kinne’s devotionals display a sincere if somewhat simplistic approach to both film and faith. To his credit, it is difficult to summarize a film’s plot and seriously engage the spiritual questions raised by each film in six paragraphs or less. But perhaps Kinne should have focused on fewer films and done a more thorough job on each. As it stands, what he has managed to create is a cinematized version of Our Daily Bread—spiritual milk for the movie-loving soul.

Kinne’s case is not helped by the distasteful foreword penned by well-known conservative Christian film critic Ted Baehr. In two venomous pages, Baehr manages to dump on anyone and everyone who doesn’t share his version of Christian film criticism—which basically consists of rating films according to how much or how little they agree with his particular point of view. After reading Baehr’s foreword, the only thing that compelled me to keep going was the fact that I happen to know Kinne’s mother. Even then, I balked. Thankfully, Kinne’s obvious warmth and enthusiasm stand in stark contrast to Baehr’s acerbic tone.

If you’re looking for a daily dose of brief, movie-inspired spiritual thoughts, Reflections for Movie Lovers is the book for you. But if you desire a weightier theological engagement with the films you love and the medium of film in general, I advise you to seek out deeper waters.

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