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Though occasionally punctuated with big-budget blockbusters like Dune: Part Two, springtime is usually a sleepier season for new-release movies. But it can also be when lower-profile, hidden gems sneak into theaters (or onto streaming platforms). This includes movies that’ll appeal to Christian viewers looking for more edifying fare than what’s typically offered.
As I did in the fall, I’ve compiled a list of current or upcoming movies you might consider watching either at home or in theaters. These selections aren’t all mainstream, and a few might feel slow or artsy to some viewers. But they’re all thoughtful, well-made new releases that model virtues worth celebrating. Three of these films explicitly celebrate advocacy for vulnerable children—certainly a theme Christians should embrace in movies. Take a look at the list below and see if something here might bless you or your loved ones.
Arthur the King
When he’s not promoting prayer apps in Super Bowl commercials, Mark Wahlberg seems to be carving out a niche for himself as a family-friendly leading man. Several of his recent movies even have “family” in the title (e.g., last year’s The Family Plan or 2018’s Instant Family). The outspoken Catholic and married father of four recognizes the scarcity of life-affirming, noncringe entertainment in Hollywood—and he’s trying to fill the gap.
His latest, Arthur the King, dramatizes the true story of an adventure racer who puts together a team to trek across the Dominican Republic—and the stray dog named Arthur they pick up along the way. Based on a 2016 book, it’s an inspiring adventure tale of friendship, compassion, and perseverance. Rated PG-13. In theaters now.
Cabrini
Following up last year’s surprise hit Sound of Freedom, director Alejandro Monteverde again explores the valor in advocating for suffering children in his latest, Cabrini.
The Angel Studios film, set in 1880s New York City, tells the story of Frances Xavier Cabrini, a Catholic missionary to the Five Points neighborhood in lower Manhattan—at the time one of the most crime- and disease-ridden urban slums in the world. With excellent period production values and sweeping music (evoking Wagner), the film feels like an old-fashioned biopic.
While overlong and sometimes slow, Cabrini is a generally compelling portrait of one heroic woman’s faith-infused passion to love and protect “the least of these” (which Italian immigrant orphan children certainly were in 19th-century Manhattan). It’s not a perfect film—some of its “female empowerment” one-liners feel cringy and anachronistic—but I was impressed with its scale and elegance and especially with the lead performance by Italian actress Cristiana Dell’Anna. Rated PG-13. In theaters now.
Irena’s Vow
Set in World War II, this Canadian-Polish production tells the inspiring true story of Irena Gut, a Polish nurse (and faithful Catholic) whose life is changed when she witnesses the horror of a Nazi soldier killing an infant. Committed to countering the Nazi culture of death with pro-life efforts to protect Jews, she risks her life to hide 12 Jews in a secret cellar of a Nazi officer’s villa, where she works as a housekeeper.
The drama is harrowing and hard to watch at times, as Irena suffers much for the sacrifices she makes on behalf of her Jewish friends. But it’s a powerful reminder of the beauty of sacrificing your comfort—even your life—to serve and protect others. The sanctity of life is on full display in Irena’s Vow, an elegant depiction of Holocaust survival and heroism that reminded me at times of The Pianist. Pair this film with One Life (see below) and discuss the lessons of valor and compassion depicted in each. Rated R. Showing in theaters April 15 and 16, 2024.
One Life
Similar to Irena’s Vow, One Life depicts a true story of one person sticking their neck out to save others during the Holocaust. In this case, the hero is Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, a young London broker who helps rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia as the threat of Nazi invasion looms. The film alternates between the civilian heroism of young Nicky (Johnny Flynn) and the memories—and guilt that he couldn’t save more—of older Nicky 50 years later (Anthony Hopkins).
The story, a sort of British Schindler’s List, is refreshingly earnest and morally clear. Like Irena’s Vow, it shows the legacy of heroes who champion life’s dignity in a world that often cheapens it. Rated PG. In theaters now.
Perfect Days
The Christian faith of German director Wim Wenders has long shaped his work (e.g., Wings of Desire, Land of Plenty, The Salt of the Earth), though often not in obvious ways. His latest film is no exception.
Set in contemporary Tokyo, Perfect Days centers on the aging Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) who lives alone and cleans toilets for a living. The film basically follows him around Tokyo as he cleans architecturally pleasing public restrooms, takes photographs of trees, and interacts with family, coworkers, and strangers. It sounds boring and depressing; it’s anything but.
In Wenders’s Christian worldview, there’s beauty and common grace everywhere for those with eyes to see—even in the mundane. The “drudgery” of toil becomes an opportunity to choose gratitude and joyful service. Habitual or chance encounters with others are opportunities to brighten someone’s day. Perfect Days doesn’t paint a rosy picture of a falsely “perfect” world; it models a way of seeing the world that finds joy in the hard, the easy, and everything in between. Rated PG. Available to rent.
The Taste of Things
This is one of the best food movies I’ve ever seen (up there with Babette’s Feast and Ratatouille). To watch the film’s long sequences of lovingly prepared feasts, intricately choreographed in a rustic French kitchen, is to see something of the genius of humanity’s God-given, image-bearing vocation to bring order out of chaos.
Written and directed by Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Trần Anh Hùng, The Taste of Things focuses less on plot than on the sensory encounter cinema can offer. The 1889-set movie brings us into the kitchen to the extent that we can almost smell the mushroom vol-au-vent and taste the Baked Alaska that nearly makes one character cry.
But beyond its sumptuous culinary pleasure, the film ponders the way love finds sublime expression in hospitality and service. As we watch Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) and Dodin (Benoît Magimel) take turns making each other meals, outdoing one another in the TLC of French country cooking, we’re basking in the beauty of mutually self-giving love. Rated PG-13. In theaters now.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Acclaimed director Wes Anderson’s signature aesthetic and quirky storytelling style perfectly fits Roald Dahl’s fiction (as we learned in his 2009 adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox). His recent short film (39 minutes long) inspired by Dahl’s 1977 “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” is visually captivating and narratively brilliant.
Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, the fanciful tale is a moral fable of sorts, showing the beauty of one self-interested man gradually recognizing the emptiness of greed and possessions and the beauty of living generously. Anderson won his first Oscar for this movie (best live action short film), and it’s much deserved. Rated PG. Watch on Netflix.
Wonka
Roald Dahl is having a moment. In addition to Anderson’s superb Henry Sugar short, the Christmas-released Wonka (starring Dune’s Timothée Chalamet) explored the backstory of Dahl’s iconic chocolatier, Willy Wonka. I was skeptical about the premise going in, but the film—from the director of the Paddington movies—far exceeded my expectations and ended up making my best movies of 2023 list.
Wholesome, nonwoke, high-quality, watch-it-with-the-whole-family films are all too rare these days, and yet Wonka (which was a huge box office hit) shows there’s audience hunger for this kind of fare. Here’s hoping Hollywood pays attention. Rated PG. Available to rent.