YOUR LIST OF CHRISTIAN FILMS....WITH BALLS

No perfect hair. No cheesy villains. Just films worth your time

A couple of days ago, I stumbled across a film called Unplanned. It was based on the true story of a Christian woman, Abby Johnson, who worked at Planned Parenthood for the best part of a decade.

She was a clinic director, organising abortions and offering pills and pregnancy tests, certain that she was helping women in crisis…sure she was a part of reducing abortions in America. One day, well into her career, a doctor came to work at the clinic. He used ultrasounds in his work to ensure that he removed the entire foetus.

Abby was asked to assist in one of these procedures. She had to hold the ultrasound wand. As the doctor’s suction tube came closer and closer to the 13-week-old foetus…she saw the baby move, desperate to escape death.

She was never the same again. Having had two abortions herself and assisting in over 22,000 abortions in her career, this one moment completely changed her mind about her profession and worldview

This is a massive story. Stories don’t get much bigger than this - Life and Death. A human who has to look themselves in the face and change an entire way of seeing, even if that new way of seeing shapes them as something sinful, something scary.

We wait for stories like these. These stories are what move us forward, and we have a never-dying ache for improvement.

It was a Christian film. And what I mean by that is…everyone had a great car, perfect hair, and fantastic manners. The good guys were always saying sweet things, and the bad guys had dark eyebrows and zero redeeming qualities. This story, if told well, could have been riveting and changed the minds of millions. But that overt Christian tone almost put me off…and I’m a Christian who had started the film already pro-life.

It got me thinking about Christian films, made by Christians, and as someone who has recently converted to Catholicism and someone who has studied film and storytelling for my entire life, I know how the other side thinks.

Many are put off Christianity altogether because it just doesn’t seem true to life. When I came to this faith, it wasn’t suddenly all sunshine and rainbows, and everyone with perfect manners. Life was alive and vibrant, and there was a push for all positive life forces and a gentleness, but this whole way of living and thinking is anything but Little House On The Prairie.

Even though I strive to be, I’m certainly not “good.” I’m ordinary, my hair is a mess, and I look tired - I don’t even own a car, let alone a flash one. My teeth are okay, I guess. My friends who aren’t Christian don’t look like Satan, I know, I know, it’s absolutely insane! You would think they’d come with a halo of hell around their heads like in all sickly sweet stories made by Christians who are so sure of their own sanctity.

Am I saying I don’t want Christian stories? No, not at all. Just the opposite, I just watched two episodes of Lena Dunham’s Too Much - that mess of a series, is what happens when a culture throws the wisdom of their spiritual story straight into the trash. We get a whole lot of icky nothingness. A whole lot PC-look-at-me and my diverse friends, people who speak explicitly about sex ENDLESSLY while they cry about their careers and why no one loves them right. Yeah, no thanks.

One of the main steps that got me to the Christian faith was through my study and obsession with Story. Why was I telling stories? Like, really, why? And what makes a great story? What moves us? If you go down that hole, like really go down there without any prejudice, just never-ending curiosity, I will be VERY surprised if you don’t arrive at the feet of Jesus Christ.

So I ache for these stories. My need and curiosity for these stories have steered me away from any conventional career and all the way to Abi, you must learn how to tell a story that has the bones of Christ, that is the only way you will be satisfied. So I hunger deeply for these stories, I’m starved of them right now as I scroll through streaming channels filled with fluff.

I mentioned this in a Note on Subtack… asking for Christian stories… with balls. It got a bit of backlash because it’s true, I could have said grit…but a flawed human says balls…and that’s why I like it.

I was offered, by commenters, a great list of films I’d never heard of. I haven’t seen most of these, so I can’t be sure they will be the gritty goodness that I’m so boldly promised in the title of this post, but these will be what I try out over summer in my search for meaning, in my ache to be moved by humans.

Here is our collective effort of a list of Christian films with balls.

I’ve put a ✅ next to the films I have seen.

1. The Passion of the Christ (2004) – Dir. Mel Gibson

A deeply visceral and reverent depiction of the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life. This film is a direct portrayal of the Gospel narrative, emphasizing atonement, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the love of Christ through His suffering and crucifixion.

Watch on: Netflix (Standard with Ads), available to rent/buy on Fandango At Home and Apple TV.

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2. The Chosen (TV Series, 2017– ) – Created by Dallas Jenkins

The first multi-season show about the life of Jesus, seen through the eyes of those who followed Him. It explores the humanity and divinity of Christ, discipleship, and the personal transformation He brings to each life He touches.

Watch on: Official The Chosen app or streaming platforms (subscription-based).

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3. The Mission (1986) ✅

Jesuit missionaries in 18th-century South America worked to protect an Indigenous community from colonial exploitation. With a powerful blend of faith, redemption, and moral conflict, the film dramatizes Christian sacrifice, evangelism, and the ethics of violence versus peace.

Watch on: Prime Video (rent/buy), Apple TV, YouTube TV, Kanopy, Plex

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4. Of Gods and Men (2010)

Monks in Algeria must decide whether to flee or face death amidst extremist violence. Their choice to stay and serve exemplifies Christian martyrdom, love for enemies, and commitment to Christ above personal safety.

Watch on: Netflix, rent/buy on Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango.

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5. A Hidden Life (2019)

A portrait of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian Catholic who refuses to fight for Hitler. A quiet but profound testament to moral courage, Christian conscience, and the cost of discipleship.

Watch on: Streaming platforms like Prime Video (rent/buy).

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6. Calvary (2014)

An Irish priest receives a death threat in confession and continues to minister to his flawed town with forgiveness, grace, and resigned courage, reflecting Christ's journey toward the cross.

Watch on: Internet Archive - HERE

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7. Ostrov (The Island) (2006)

A guilt-ridden monk on a desolate Russian island lives a life of penance, miracles, and holy madness. The film beautifully explores Orthodox Christian spirituality, repentance, and humble sainthood.

Watch on: Youtube - HERE

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8. A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The true story of St. Thomas More, who stood against King Henry VIII for the sake of conscience and Catholic faith. A powerful exploration of moral integrity, martyrdom, and the sovereignty of God over earthly power.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

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9. Babette’s Feast (1987)✅

A French cook transforms a Danish religious community through a lavish feast. This Eucharistic parable celebrates grace, sacrificial love, and the transformative power of beauty and generosity.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

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10. Silence (2016)

Jesuit missionaries face persecution in 17th-century Japan. The film wrestles with apostasy, suffering, and God’s silence, reflecting the pain and mystery of faith under trial.

Watch on: Netflix Amazon Prime

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11. The Apostle (1997) – Dir. Robert Duvall

A raw, unvarnished portrayal of a deeply flawed Pentecostal preacher who flees after a crime and starts a new church in the South. It’s about grace, redemption, and the messy middle of faith.

Watch on: Netflix Amazon Prime

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12. The Iron Giant (1999)

A giant robot learns to choose peace over destruction and sacrifices himself to save a town. His Christ-like self-giving mirrors the themes of redemption and voluntary sacrifice.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

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13. Bella (2006)

A tale of unexpected friendship and choosing life amidst crisis. With its strong pro-life and forgiveness messages, the film offers a quiet witness to compassion and healing through love.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

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14. The Children of Men (2006)

In a world without children, the miraculous pregnancy of a refugee woman brings hope. Echoes of the Nativity, protecting life, and sacrificial guardianship are central to the film’s vision of redemption.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

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15. Spitfire Grill (1996)

A woman seeks a second chance in a small town, slowly finding grace and healing. A tale of forgiveness, community renewal, and quiet redemption, in the spirit of Gospel transformation.

Watch on: Netflix, Amazon Video

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16. Angela’s Christmas (2017)✅

A sweet animated short about a girl who brings warmth to baby Jesus in a nativity scene. A child’s innocent compassion brings a message of incarnation and divine tenderness.

Watch on: Netflix

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17. Signs (2002)

A priest loses his faith after tragedy, only to rediscover divine providence in the smallest of details. Themes of reawakening faith, family, and God’s hidden hand unfold through sci-fi mystery.

Watch on: Disney Plus, Amazon Prime

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18. High Plains Drifter (1973)

A mysterious Stranger delivers justice to a town complicit in a crime. While ambiguous, the character evokes Old Testament judgment, vengeance, and the wrath of a returning Christ-like figure.

Watch on: Netflix, Amazon Prime

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19. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

An alien arrives with a message of peace and delivers a death-and-resurrection arc. His Christ-like demeanor and redemptive mission invite reflections on divine warning and grace.

Watch on: Disney Plus

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20. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)✅

George Bailey sees what life would be like had he never existed, realizing the value of sacrifice and community. A classic parable of incarnate goodness, divine purpose, and redemptive suffering.

Watch on: Amazon Prime Video (Free with Ads), The Roku Channel (Free with Ads), rent/buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.

Like I said, I haven’t seen most of these movies, but I will be getting through them slowly but surely.

There are other films that you will know of that also have very strong Christian undertones that aren’t outright explicitly Christian, The Lord Of The Rings, written by devout Catholic Tolkien, The Chronicles of Narnia, E.T., The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Bruce Almightly, and many more.

These are classic films that stay with us…because they show us how to be saved.

They're stories that echo the Gospel, whether they mean to or not, because they reckon with love that costs, with sacrifice that saves, with grace that doesn’t feel deserved. They're stories that look you in the eye and dare you to become someone better.

I don’t want Christian stories that pretend life is easy. I want Christian stories that tell the truth — about sin, about shame, about beauty, about hope. About how God breaks into the most ordinary, flawed, exhausted places and makes something eternal out of dust.

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