While some movies are made for the sole purpose of entertainment, others tell stories with deeper meanings.
Here are five films that tell a story with deeper meanings:
“The Lord of the Rings”
As CNN explained, “Lord of the Rings” is “the story of unlikely heroes who rise to the occasion, who give up the joys of first and second breakfasts to do what’s right. Theirs is a world of hobbits and elves and orcs and Ents and the Nazgûl and humans who do terrible and beautiful things.”
Drawing parallels to the pandemic, the outlet wrote, “We who have lived through a pandemic that’s irrevocably changed the world as we knew it, forcing us to make choices and upend our lives in ways we likely never considered.”
Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in the film, told the outlet the story and characters “tell the truth about what it means to be human.”
He added, “The journey is an immersive and complete tour through the spectrum of ideas and emotions we all share.”
Corey Olsen, a scholar known as the “Tolkien Professor,” said fans, by reading the story, “do for a time escape from our own world and our own troubles, but then, of course, we may also return to them better equipped to handle them; strengthened by the respite and perhaps even inspired to face the difficulties and evils that confront us.”
Tolkien began writing while recovering in the hospital from an illness he contracted in World War I, as CNN pointed out.
“The Truman Show”
The 1998 film starring Jim Carrey tells the story of a man who spends his life not knowing he is a subject of a reality show.
The official poster for the 75th Annual Cannes Film Festival paid tribute to the film.
An official statement from the festival explained, “Peter Weir and Andrew Niccol’s ‘The Truman Show’ (1998) is a modern reflection of Plato’s cave and the decisive scene urges viewers to not only experience the border between reality and its representation but to ponder the power of fiction, between manipulation and catharsis.”
It continues, “Just as Truman escapes falsehood as he rises, the festival, with its famous ascending red carpet, offers viewers the truth of the artists when they enter the theater.”
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
The film, released in 2005, tells the story of four siblings who discover the magical world of Narnia through a wardrobe.
Led by a wise lion named Aslan, the children lead Narnia in a battle against the evil White Witch.
C.S. Lewis wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia” series in the 1950s.
In one of Lewis’ last letters, he revealed the deeper meaning behind the story.
“The whole Narnian story is about Christ. That is to say, I asked myself ‘Supposing that there really was a world like Narnia and supposing it had (like our world) gone wrong and supposing Christ wanted to go into that world and save it (as He did ours), what might have happened?’ The stories are my answers,” Lewis wrote.
He added, “Since Narnia is a world of Talking Beasts, I thought He would become a Talking Beast there, as He became a man here. I pictured Him becoming a lion there because (a) the lion is supposed to be the king of beasts; (b) Christ is called ‘The Lion of Judah’ in the Bible; (c) I’d been having strange dreams about lions when I began writing the work. The whole series works out like this.”
“The Lion King”
The beloved 1994 Disney classic follows the story of a lion prince named Simba who must deal with the loss of his father and his evil uncle Scar.
The Hollywood Reporter pointed out that the film “includes multiple Biblical themes in the story, including a prodigal son who returns home; a father dying for his son; the fight over good and evil; questioning purpose; and sacrifice.”
Additionally, there is a scene between Simba and his dead father Mufasa where he tells him, “Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.”
“Unbroken”
The Angelina Jolie-directed movie was released in 2014 and tells the heroic story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini.
Zamperini was captured by the Japanese and sent to a series of prisoner of war camps during World War II.
Variety explained the film “doesn’t shy away from showing Louie praying his way through much of his ordeal, at one point promising to dedicate his life to God in the unlikely event that he survived. (He did, and he did.).”
Additionally, according to the outlet, the movie “is not above turning its subject into a sort of 20th-century Christ figure, namely when the Bird forces Louie to lift a heavy beam over his shoulders and hold the position for what feels like hours on end.”
After his return home, Zamperini became a Christian at a Billy Graham event.
He later made a career out of becoming a Christian inspirational speaker.
