(Part 3 of an ongoing series, and a second look at a Southern morality tale.)
At what point does your past keep you from doing what the will of God has for you in your life? Even when others work against you, will you be held responsible for your reaction to their sin, that you cannot grasp with the shame of what you’ve done? Can God still work within you if you still have an unanswered sin left somewhere in the background of the path you walked to get here? Robert Duvall’s Southern drama, The Apostle, addresses these questions with a firm eye for detail, and besides being one of Duvall’s more praiseworthy film roles it also this film gives its viewers a chance to question the strength of one’s faith in God amid the turmoil of unanswered sin.
In this film Duvall plays a Texas-based charismatic Pentecostal minister named Sonny, a man who has had a lifelong commitment to spreading the Word of God. Farrah Fawcett plays his wife, who has begun an affair with the youth pastor of her husband’s church, a man named Horace. When his wife and a sizeable portion of the church remove him from power, Sonny flies in a rage and beats Horace with a baseball bat, sending him into a coma. He runs to Louisiana, sheds any identification he has, and rededicates himself as the “Apostle E. F.” He goes on to start a racially diversified charismatic church, and his ministry grows with passion and the full force of the Holy Ghost—but nobody’s sin goes unpunished, as Sonny must learn to take responsibility for his past just as he has for his present.
This is a fantastic view of Christianity, told through cinema in a fashion that has been praised in the secular and the religious worlds in unison. But what makes this film a Christian masterpiece? Here are some answers as to why:
1) How does the content of the work reflect a Christian worldview?
In the opening scene Sonny sneaks into the middle of a car wreck to ensure that the souls of the young couple inside are saved; this sets the tone for the spirit in which the gospel is shared throughout the film.
Sonny, Robert Duvall’s character, does not back down from a challenge; later he manages to save the soul of a virulent racist set on destroying the church he built (the character of the young man played by none other than Billy Bob Thornton). This is the sort of spirit in which we as Christians are called to spread the Gospel, and we should be proud to be so forthcoming with our words and actions.
How many of us as Christians are so bold as to face off with a violent racist and oppose his horrific and sinful ways? Or how about when we first approach a place and see a failing ministry—do we put our hands to it and build everything back up from scratch? Pastor Sonny does this and so much more, and he does this so selflessly. We as viewers could learn a thing or two from him.
2) How does the style of the work contribute to its message?
The film is shot and executed in a straightforward fashion, showing the warts and all of the Bible Belt in America. Though the characters in these communities all cuss, and drink, and smoke, and engage in extramarital affairs, they are just as real as your next door neighbors, and they are needing of the saving grace of the gospel.
Movies like God’s Not Dead depict the world as if it is bubblegum; the filmmakers behind these kinds of movies do not seem to realize that real people do not behave like cardboard cutouts. Robert Duvall realizes this, and he creates imperfect characters with whom we can relate and with whom we can find a way in which to meet with Christ in our natural fashion. That is the mark of a true art piece that will also proselytize.
3) How does the artist handle the unique challenges of the artistic form?
Robert Duvall, who writes, directs and stars in this film, faces the challenge of meeting people where they are with a modern day parable of Christian truth. His character of Sonny is clearly a man of faith, but he is also a man of the flesh—he has his demons just as anyone else, and he is forced into fighting them until finally he is put up with the rest of the chain gang, where he must work off his punishment while continuing to share the gospel.
As was discussed in the previous question, this film is far more realistic in its depictions of Christian struggles in the real world than other Christian films had displayed. Just because we believe in Christ does not mean we are perfect, one-dimensional creations; we are also of the flesh just as secular men and women are. It is time that we recognize this, and use this information to better reach the world with our artwork.
4) What in the craftsmanship or execution of the work reflects an understanding of art as a gift from God?
The use of Southern gospel music for the soundtrack and an insistence on depictions of church services keep us as viewers closely inspecting the nature of worship. Robert Duvall wants us directed to the Gospel with every minute of the film.
Duvall’s character speaks on almost everything with the filling of the Spirit; he speaks of God directing him to the people he meets along his broken spiritual journey. He doesn’t just offer the viewer a world filled with sermons, but rather his entire life is one big sermon in and of itself. Duvall wants to make the viewer engage in an intense and powerful journey of faith, one tinged with struggle and sin. That is the true power of Robert Duvall’s masterpiece.
5) Are there any aspects of the work that you question given your own understanding of the faith?
This film challenges my faith in that it shows me that for all the fervor and connection to the Spirit, I cannot shake the sins of my past of I don’t take them to the foot of the Cross. Even the best servants of the Lord, the ones depicted in the Bible, were not able to shake their sins.
King David was a murderer and adulterer. King Solomon had 700 wives. Peter denied his Savior 3 times. Each of these men were used by God in various capacities, but they had to submit to God and let of of their sins in order to do so.
This film spoke to me in a very real way, and it helped to shape my heart towards developing realistic characters as they work in their spiritual journey, which is no easy feat to be sure. With this film I have learned how to make better art that can be true and Christian at the same time.
I would recommend this film to anyone; it is well worth a watch.
