I had the chance today to watch the new Christian movie, Return to the Hiding Place today, and wanted to write a quick review of it. The movie is about the work of Corrie Ten Boom and the underground resistance in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation in World War II. Corrie was a watch maker, and used her shop and home to hide jews and help them escape the Nazis. She was helped by an underground railroad organized by college students who were an important part of the resistance. I believe Corrie Ten Boom to be one of the great pillars of Christianity, so was eager to watch this movie.
What I liked about the movie is that it presents a more accurate picture of the Christian experience than most of the recent popular Christian movies. The theme of so many of these movies is a rather simple presentation of a very complex truth. In most movies, God ends up intervening to provide the desired circumstances for the obedient Christian. In reality, sometimes the obedient Christian is Martyred. In the end we win, but God does allow us to face trials. He is sovereign and He does not always heal us, and He does not always spare our lives. He does, however, always give us the strength we need to face the trial. I would put it this way. He does not always remove us from the fire, but He is always with us in the fire. What I liked about this movie, Return to the Hiding Place, is that it shows this truth. Some of the characters in the movie who risk their lives to stand firm in their obedience to God and in serving Him by saving the Jews do pay the ultimate price and are killed for their work. The movie does brilliantly capture their bravery, peace, and steadfastness as they faced the punishment for their “crimes” against the Nazis. The message of the movie is that as Christians we may lose the battles, but we will always win the war in that we receive eternal rewards.
What I did not like so much about this movie is that I got the impression that they were trying to make the movie acceptable to a broader secular audience by not more clearly showing that the people in the movie were overtly Christian, and the foundation of the work they were doing was based on their faith in Jesus Christ. I might be mistaken, but I never remember the words “Jesus” or “Christ” being used in the movie. In several places maybe there was a veiled reference to “Him”, but not so much as to offend a non believing audience. So, I give them pretty low marks for not more clearly presenting the importance of the characters Christian Faith in the brave stands they were taking in fighting the Nazis.
Bottom line is I do recommend you see the movie. I enjoyed watching it and I do plan on buying the DVD.