Home » News & Views » Culture Connectionsfilm-media}">Film and Medialatest-news}">Latest News
Courageous Film
Courageous (M, 2011)
Integrity, Strength, Love, Forgiveness, Faith.
All the elements of previous Sherwood movies like Fireproof and Facing the Giants come to the fore in Courageous. Previously the characters were primarily concerned with their own occupations and lives, the characters in Courageous are often dominated by the lives of others; that is, until a tragedy impacts on them. Co-Writer and Director Alex Kendrick stars in the film as Sheriff Adam Mitchell.
He and three other officers are continually confronted by questions arising from their public service, and increasingly see the connections arising from a broken world in which teenagers move into gang-related and petty crime, with the gang leader often seemingly taking the role of the father they never had.
This will be a helpful and challenging movie for many people, and encouraging for men (who are fathers) to consider what it is to be a father, especially to their sons. How do you bring up boys today? How do we address a society in which many fathers have abnegated their responsibilities?
Courageous had a limited commercial release in Australia in November 2011, following the American release in late September, where it performed well at the US box office, being the highest grossing new film release and fourth overall on its opening weekend. The film has had substantial media contact, including help from the now well-known Duggar family, some of whom were extras in the 5km race.
I have mentioned before that the acting in Sherwood films is mainly non-professional, and there are some parts in Courageous which illustrate the limitations of this approach. A tighter script and editing down to about 100 minutes (approximately 130) would help this to reach a broader audience (especially if it appears on cable or TV). The Christian theology presented by Sherwood Pictures is conservative, and no doubt there will be questions over the occasional male headship reference. It does not centre on this, and is similar to the first film Flywheel, which is referenced in Courageous in a minor way, as Adam Mitchell's pickup truck carries a Jay Austin Motors license plate. Alex Kendrick played Jay Austin, the Zacchaeus like used-car dealer.
The theme of fatherhood, and the questions that this often raises can be challenging. There are some scenes and comments which for some people may be emotionally confronting. If you have a group see the film, it would be worth ensuring there are some members available for counselling. A related group of resources has been produced, based around the resolution that the men in Courageous agree to jointly take and hold themselves accountable to. Overall, Courageous wants to call men, and particularly fathers to take their part in the raising of children, and hopefully to raise a new generation which respects women, and themselves.
