Faith in Film 4, Week 1


The latest edition of Faith in Film begins tonight. As will be the pattern during this run of the course, I will post the worksheets for each session on Mondays and recap my speaking notes on this blog on Tuesdays. I look forward to seeing everyone tonight as we begin a fun, eight-week journey!


Title: “Atonement” (2007)

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightly, Saoirse Ronan, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Romola Garai

Synopsis: “Atonement” is a beautiful movie with a challenging concept that seems to have been overlooked by audiences. It was a great movie, and in most years would have been a prominent award contender. But the year it was released, it was eclipsed by an incredible field of films — including “Juno,” “No Country For Old Men,” and “There Will Be Blood.” Yet, years later, the central ideas and themes of the film continue to offer compelling fodder for discussion for those that see this film and love it. The film is based on a novel from Ian McEwen, and is largely regarded as one of his best. The novel was released in 2001 and was named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels of all time. The film was appreciated by critics as well and earned a number of award nominations. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Ronan. It won just one Academy Award, for Best Original Score. Again, it’s the themes that resonate most strongly for those that love the film. And these closely mirror Biblical ideas, primarily considering the way we attempt to atone for mistakes. It is human to seek to earn forgiveness and make amends, but as the story shows, we can’t earn our own peace and forgiveness.

Questions to Consider:
1. What do you think of when you hear the term atonement?


2. When you feel you’ve fallen short, what is your natural reaction?


3. The Bible makes it quite clear we can’t earn forgiveness through our actions, yet the human tendency is to try to do that. How do you struggle with this concept?

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