After seeing a trailer forMirror, Mirror I chalked it up to another one of those "feminist" movies. You know the ones where the guys (I didn't say men) are all lame and the women are strong and independent and don't need a man. I mean there is a whole sub-category on Netflix with Strong Female tacked on at the end, like Drama or Comedy or Action with a Strong Female Lead. That kind of film. I went to the theater anyways to see it. My boys and I needed to see a flick and that was the best thing playing.

While I have to admit, my intuition was mostly right, I will say the film still surprised me. I mean the main character, Snow White, did go to fight the beast by herself saying something like, "I've read all those tales where the man saves the woman. Isn't it time to change all that?" This is just normal in these types films these days. I will say that they didn't make the male lead wimpy and they did work together in the end to save the kingdom. In fact, other than the Queen's spineless assistant most of the men were strong characters. So that takes care of my prejudice for the film, but that isn't what surprised me.

I honestly believe it is difficult to completely ruin fairy tales. In my opinion, they will always come back to good vanquishing evil against seemingly all odds. Which at its essence is the gospel.Mirror, Mirroris no exception.

This adaptation has the evil Queen taking over the kingdom after Snow White's mother has died and her father mysteriously disappears and is presumed dead also. The Queen actually keeps Snow White locked up in her room all the way up to her eighteenth birthday. The Queen has Snow believing that she is weak, frail, and unable to rule. It takes Snow's eighteenth birthday and a little push from one of the kitchen staff for her to venture off and see what has become of her beloved father's kingdom. She doesn't find anything good and is devastated by what she witnesses in town.

In the meantime, a very cunning and handsome prince (Alcott) arrives in the realm. He is robbed by dwarves and ends up in the Queen's palace. At first Snow tries to get him to help her in rebelling against the Queen, but the Queen finds out and has Snow killed or so she thinks. Instead Snow ends up with the dwarves, where she leads them to become heroes of the people rather than thieves. She learns that she is stronger than she was led to believe by the Queen.

The final showdown is with the Beast, who happens to be Snow's father under the Queen's spell. Snow, Alcott and the dwarves valiantly fight the beast, but are no match for it. Snow realizes that it is her father under a spell, because of a necklace it is wearing that matches the Queen's. Snow cuts off the necklace, breaking the spell, and her father reappears, simultaneously defeating the Queen who shrivels up into the old witch she really is. Alcott and Snow marry and there is prosperity in the land again.

I hope you saw the gospel in that. We are just like Snow White. We and our world are under an evil spell. Our enemy (Satan) wants us to believe that our messed up world/life is just the way it is and will be forever and we cannot do anything to stop it. We are too weak and feeble. The thing is Jesus has already defeated our enemy. He died on a cross, rose from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. In that time, he defeated the enemy. It is just a matter of time until we see the completion of that defeat. In the meantime, Jesus offers us abundant life.

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