Film Review: Jesus Revolution

 

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable

Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy No Objection

Jesus Revolution is unlike most Christian films I have seen in that it shows you the darker side of the religious revival.  

And this is not a deconstruction of the Christian faith.  It is a Christian film in the truest sense that its ultimate purpose is to evangelize.

Jesus Revolution takes place in the late 1960's California.  The hippie movement of counter-culture has taken much of the country by storm, especially among the young.  Adults have a hard time relating to those who would see the world so differently.  This is especially true of Revered Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), who has a aging and dwindling congregation who listen to his milquetoast Sunday sermons.  His daughter Janette (Ally Ioannides) one day picks up a hippie Christian hitchhiker named Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie).  She brings Lonnie to meet her father to open his eyes to ways in which he can reach the young.  Lonnie's ways are radical, yet he is clearly moved by a spirit of love and peace.  Chuck brings more of these hippies into his church, which leads to conflict but also growth.

There is a parallel story that takes place.  Greg (Joel Courtney), is a young man who is lost.  He falls for Cathe (Anna Grace Barlow) and they both embrace the hippie lifestyle of drugs and pleasure.  But eventually find their way into the Jesus Revolution and struggle to find where God is calling them.

It is this second story that actually takes up most of the film's run time, even the first one is more interesting.

When the movement really takes off, we only reach the half-way point of the film.  This surprised me, because I thought the story-lines had been resolved in a satisfactory way.  But the movie wanted to go further, particularly with Lonnie.  Throughout the first half, he is intuitively spiritual, compassionate, and insightful to the point of possibly being mystical.  But then cracks begin to form in uncomfortable ways.  It starts when he is being interviewed and he calls the congregation, "my church."  It is a small and subtle shift, but there is something important changing in him.  I will not spoil the rest, but I was shocked to see how the movie explored this aspect of ministry: the temptation to see yourself as the savior and not Christ.

The movie is beautifully shot by directors Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle.  Their visual representation of what Baptism does was very touching.  The acting is also very good.  Grammer knocks it out of the park with Chuck's slow changes.  Roumie is allowed to play both the saint and the struggler in ways I have not seen before, and both sides of him are incredibly charismatic.  Courtney and Barlow have good chemistry with each other, so you want their relationship to succeed.

The writing is decent, though the script could have used a bit more of a polish.  There are side plots that don't really need to be there.  Thematically, it is right on the money.  The movie is clearly meant to be an alegory to the modern divide between boomers and millenials.  We don't seem to be able to talk to each other, so someone has to reach out.  Chuck is written as someone who yearns to do the right thing.  One of my favorite moments is when one of the members of his church says that the hippies have to leave because their dirty feet are ruining the church carpet.  Chuck's solution is simple and powerful.

I also love that the movie is not shy about warning us about putting too much faith in men.  Lonnie may be sent by God, but he is not God.  Greg's faith is tested because of the faith he placed in Lonnie.  Those of us in ministry must always guard against this temptation of pride because of the way it can hurt so many people.  It reminds me of the words of St. Paul  "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. " (1 Corinthians 9:27) 

Jesus Revolution doesn't shy away from the darker side of ministry.  But it is an uplifting film that reminds us that Christ is greater than our own failings, if we let Him lift us up.