God in the grime of life

James Paul  |  Features  |  culture watch
Date posted:  1 Jun 2022
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God in the grime of life

Mark Wahlberg as Father Stu | photo: imdb

Some may disagree, but I don’t believe there is, or even should be, such a thing as a Christian film, especially if by labelling a film ‘Christian’ we mean to create a sub-genre of film that contains some special spiritual or moral attribute whilst ignoring its artistic quality.

But I do believe that there are films that tell stories which flow out of the gospel narrative of creation-fall-redemption. And in that respect, I commend to you Rosalind Ross’s directorial debut, Father Stu, as an absorbing and emotionally engaging film which centres around a the very human experiences of disappointment, fatherlessness, suffering, forgiveness and faith. It also includes one of the best cameos by a Jesus-like character that I have seen in a long while.

Mark Wahlberg stars in the title role of this ‘based on a true story’ biopic of Stuart Long, a foul-mouthed, washed-up amateur boxer and bit-part actor who falls for Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a beautiful Hispanic woman he meets while serving at the meat-counter in a Los Angeles supermarket.

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