Ask enough people to name their favorite film franchise and odds are it won’t be long before Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy comes up.
The movies are sweeping and epic, beloved both critically and commercially. And they hold a special place in the hearts of many Christians moviegoers. Because even though The Lord of the Rings isn’t an explicitly Christian film series, the story that J.R.R. Tolkien crafted (and Jackson later adapted) is inextricably interwoven with the author’s Christian faith.
Christian-influenced themes of hope, friendship, perseverance and self-sacrifice shine as brightly as the Light of Eärendil all throughout the films—and they really hit home in the climactic finale, The Return of the King.
Kennedy Unthank and I rewatched The Return of the King before sitting down to dig into the deep-rooted spiritual messages it contains. The video of our conversation is below. We hope you enjoy it!
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My oldest is reading The Hobbit this year for literature and I’m hoping to use that as a bridge to introduce him to the LOTR series proper. I’ll be sure to come back to this for further discussion fodder.
Since you’re reviewing old(er) films, maybe consider adding the 2016 anime masterpiece Your Name to the list. It’s one of my favorites. There’s some Eastern spirituality in it (one of the main characters is a shrine maiden who gives offerings to a local deity and this has impact on the story) and there’s a running gag about fondling a girl’s chest that I could have done without. But aside from those, it’s a clean wholesome story about love and longing for something or someone you’re sure your heart remembers, even if your mind doesn’t. And it’s GORGEOUSLY animated. I’m still kinda miffed it got snubbed at the Oscars in favor of Boss Baby.