Of course, this list reflects my own bias and readers would likely formulate a very different list.  Once a month, my church advertises a pot luck dinner and movie night and draws a large crowd to see the movie and participate in the discussion of its historical roots and spiritual issues.  My first 3 movies are based on a true story.

(1) "The Mission" (Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons):
A British consortium of movie critics recently rated this the best movie ever on a spiritual theme.  The most moving movie conversion story ever.  The Jesuits try to convert the Waorani, an Amazon Indian tribe, at the same time the Spanish and Portuguese are trying to enslave them.  The moral dilemmas faced by the Jesuits are truly profound and heart-wrenching.  Warning: very sad and violent!  The musical score was voted the 17th best in the history of cinema.  I cried.

(2) The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (Ingrid Bergman):
The true story of the life of Gladys Aylward, the most effective female Protestant missionary ever.  Many critics consider this Ingrid Bergman's greatest acting performance. The events happen in northern China in the early 1930s when Japan is invading China.  Gladys's achievement at the end of the movie is still studied by military experts as an impossible feat.
My eyes were very moist throughout, but I didn't cry.

(3) "Amazing Grace" (an all-British cast):
This deeply moving movie tells the true story of William Wilberforce's role in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.  He is inspired by ex-slave-ship captain, John Newton, the author of the famous hymn for which the movie is named.  

(4) "Friendly Persuasion" (Gary Cooper):
The Civil War is the setting for this movie.  The rivalry between the Quakers and the Methodists is very funny.  The movie is a good comedy which is surprisingly profound in the way it poses the question of pacifism.  The most strident pacifist proves the least pacfistic and vice versa.    

(5) "It's a Wonderful Life" (Jimmy Stewart)
I'm sure you have all seen this movie.  A comedy with a profound lesson about the chain- reaction effect of our lives.

(6) "Amadeus" (won the academy award for Best Picture)
Mozart's jealous rival steals the show and sharply poses the question of the criteria used by God to bestow genius on the crude and not others who imagine themselves more spiritual.
(
7) "Les Miserables" (Liam Neeson)
A period piece based on the most famous French novel by Victor Hugo.  The movie has a moving conversion story and explores the hero's compassionate relationship with a destitute prostitute and her oppressed young daughter.  Liam Neeson's spirituality is fascinating.  

(8) "Shadowlands" (Anthony Hopkins)
The true story of the romance of famed Oxford professor and author, C. S. Lewis.  The best and sweetist treatment of the grief process in cinema history.

(9) "Gandhi" (won academy award for Best Picture)

(10) "Chariots of Fire" [also won academy award for Best Picture)
True story about British track athletes in the early 20th century.  An interesting study of the conflict between athletic and spiritual conviction.  

Don

It might be unusual for a documentary to be included in a list such as this, but I nominate a recent indie film that many here might especially like:


"Into Great Silence"

Shot high in the French Alps at a famous monastery of silent monks, the film which is a kind of meditation in itself, took 21 years to make, including 16 years for the monastery to give permission for the film maker to shoot there - by himself. There is no voice-over or soundtrack. This film has won numerous awards and blows people away - the reviewer from the NY Times said it was "the antidote to all the other films" when asked if it was the best of the year in which it was released.

In case you haven't seen it or heard of it yet, it has already made the rounds at smaller 'arty' theaters in the US. You can get the dvd at the website (very reasonable) - just google the title and/or 'Zeitgeist Films'(?). There you can read the reviews, see trailer, etc.

It is highly recommended to see the film uninterrupted on a larger screen (larger home theater, etc.) vs at home/small tv/dvd with the usual interruptions, so Don, your church venue is perfect, besides the obvious content affinity.


- u