Film Critic & scholar Abby Olcese looks at Films for All Seasons of the Church Calendar

"Films for All Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies" by Abby Olcese (IVP)

For liturgical churches the church calendar is a discipline, a way of ordering the year for believers to more involved in all the aspects of Christ's ministry: Advent-Christmas-Epiphny-Lent-Holy Week-Easter-Ascension Day-Pentecost-Ordinary Season-All Saint's Day. Why not take a deep dive into movies which include those that are not normally seen as religious but still contain deep truths: hope, joy, repentance, resurrection.

You might not have thought that "the Iron Giant" has themes of sacrificial love and resurrection, but it does. Or that "The Last Jedi" is filled with hope, "Barbie" and "Shazam!" address becoming fully human and unexpected heroes. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is ideal for Good Friday, as it teaches sacrifice for a Higher Purpose, and "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a great metaphor of the early disciples after Pentecost.

Watch movies to find the "deep magic" of the Christian faith embedded in them.