Stories are powerful. The stories we tell each other, the stories we create to help us make sense of our lives, the stories we hear or read from others. Stories are powerful because, I believe, we are narrative beings – we make sense of and share our lives through the concrete plots and characters of stories. Even though the scenes of most stories we tell or hear are not exactly the same as events in our life, the are like elements of our life, and that similarity connects us not only to the story in question but to each other. Stories are powerful. Which is probably why film is such an incredible medium. It allows artists to take a story...

I realize that there is no category at tonight’s Academy Awards for “Best Film Dealing with Theology ,” but I can’t help wonder who the winner would be if there were. Now, I should be clear: by “theological” I don’t mean “religious.” We all have our favorite religious movie, I’m sure. But what I’m interested in here are the movies that delve into questions of life, death, destiny, meaning, and faith in an interesting and engaging way. Would it be The Descendants with its description of the broken and poignant relationships that are part and parcel of the human condition? Or perhaps The Help with its portrayal of the...