5 Pro-Family Movies Worth Seeing

Hollywood is not my favorite - nor any traditional Christian's favorite - place today. With the long history of left-leaning politics going back to its beginning (even almost to the point of government intervention at one time - see the Hayes Code), it's never been a sterling place, but, today, it's especially hard to find a film that not only doesn't have some unnatural ulterior agenda, but also has a good one in its place. However - Hollywood has had a couple golden moments in the past concerning this, and I intend to explore them. In the future, I shall do a few more of these posts (for the sake of both the avid movie watcher, and because I have really slacked off on doing any Rebellious Writing posts, which these shall hopefully count for) - I shall list five movies of a certain genre, all within the realm of morality, and I shall summarize and rate them for the convenience of the viewer. As a note, any opinions expressed will always be my own, but all ratings expressed will always be laid upon fact. (Another Note: While most movies I watch are old movies, I shall endeavor to include newer movies within these posts to the best of my ability and knowledge. That being said, some genres will have more newer movies than others. I will try to arrange the posts chronologically to help.) And with that said, I intend to start the feature up with a collection of movies bearing a particular pro-family strain in them.

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

This is the one starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is the sequel to the first Banderas Zorro movie, The Mask of Zorro (1998), but I have reasons for not including the first one on the list (among which is the fact that it does not follow the theme of the post, but I shall elaborate in a later post on the first movie's flaws). The story tells of how Zorro, now with his wife and son, struggles with being bored as the father - family life as a whole is not fulfilling enough, and he goes away to be Zorro often, despite his promises to his wife, Elena. All the while, Elena herself struggles with the fact that people need Zorro - after all, doesn't his son need him too? Their son, Juaquin, is unaware of the identity of his father and thinks his father a distant and unmasculine fop - a terrible example, in short. Then all three problems collide when Zorro and Elena separate, only to be pushed back together by a threat to their son and the bandit himself, in the person of Elena's sinister new suitor.

The movie definitely has a pro-family theme, with the mutual support and discipline of one another being the focus, as well as getting over what one wants for oneself. Juaquin wants to be rebellious because he can - he wants to be the man he thinks his father isn't. In the end, he is reprimanded for his rebellion - ironically enough, by the allegedly spineless father himself. Zorro wants to continue to wear the mask, even if it means spending more time on himself and less on family, but the end of the movie sees him willing to give it up for Elena and Juaquin. And finally, Elena wants to end the career of Zorro, having her husband all to herself, but, at the end of the movie, when it is Zorro himself who offers to give up the mask, she hands it back to him, freely giving this aid to the people even against her own will. Divorce, and especially its effect upon children, is viewed with unapologetic harshness in the movie, and traditional gender roles, particularly in the realm of parenthood, are played to be absolutely necessary to the family in the movie. Religious themes (this is Catholic Mexican California, after all) run through the movie as well, and, with a counter-theme to the first movie, declares that following one's heart can only be fulfilling when it is with a steady guide and goal beyond oneself (such as a splendid scene where Zorro kneels to pray to the Madonna for guidance in his mission).

There are a few random words of bad language in it, but, if my count is correct, it totals to about four counts of swearing in the whole movie (two of which are by the villain, and one of which is debatably legitimate use of the Lord's name rather than swearing, but mentionable nonetheless). Other than this, and one small innuendo which is quite subtle (it would completely go over a child's head), it is family-friendly. The costumes are historical, so mostly (aside from the inaccurate cover pic) pretty modest. And, while a rather strong anti-Protestant theme does come through (due to a Baptist-esque villain), the general Christian theme (and the pro-Catholic theme) is quite discernable. 

The Patriot (2000)
This one's a Mel Gibson movie with a quality even beyond the commendable acting and direction. The Patriot tells the story of exactly what it sounds like - a patriot in the Revolutionary War for the American side. What the title doesn't tell is the story of some boys growing up with the aid of their father, and eventually braving even death for their family. Now, I'm no Mel Gibson fan - pretty much this and his direction in The Passion are where I cut off - but his acting in this was absolutely superb. I must say, the overall quality of this movie was ten times the average recent release. The music, the acting, the costumes and sets, the story, and all the characters reflected the time period and the theme to perfection.

As to the theme, more on that... The story tells of a widowed father of seven whose oldest two sons - the younger of which being only around fifteen - wish to join the American Revolution against the British. The father Benjamin Martin, remembers losing his wife and so does not wish to split the family up further. But, eventually, he allows the oldest son to join when their state revolts, staying home with the rest of the family himself. When British invade their estates, though, and kill Martin's second son, it's much harder to remain passive. With this, Martin and his younger two sons (neither older than twelve) are forced to fight their way out of the town to family safety, and Martin afterwards has to bear with vengeful feelings and fear of cowardice over the loss of his son. When the oldest, Gabriel, and his new wife, are also cruelly offended by the British, Martin has to choose to be the patriot his sons were - fighting for freedom and for his family, and not for revenge. Overall, the theme is absolutely beautiful, portraying amazing masculine fatherhood, the beauty of marriage and children, the profundity of fear, and many other wonderful things. (My only note is that the movie contains a couple swear words and is pretty bloody.) The movie would be well summed-up in that wonderful Chesterton quote: "A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968)

Starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda, this movie is pure comic genius at its best. The plot concerns a widowed mother of eight and a widowed father of ten meeting and getting together, to the chagrin of both Fate and their wayward children. Throughout the movie's various screwy events, the hilarious craziness (and fun) of large family life is portrayed ingeniously, as well as the point of family. The movie is definitely for teens and adults, but the reason for that is that is speaks very frankly (and sometimes quite satirically) about the real point of family and sexuality - it discusses such topics as birth control, large families, and love and marriage with a perspective quite refreshingly down-to-earth (for instance, when asked whether she really wants another baby, the expectant widow says rhetorically that, if she were to answer that, she would have to answer which child she would rather not have - who would she skip over if she had to do it again?). The only cautions morally are a depiction of a Catholic nun as rather rude (but it is just the one, and not nuns in general) and then, like I said above, very frank and open mentions of more mature topics.

The Thrill of It All! (1963)

This movie stars Doris Day and James Garner. It chronicles the story of a happy housewife being recruited by a soap company for advertising after an accidental pitch to the company's boss (one of her husband's, an obstetrician, patients). At first refusing the gig because she prefers her husband and kids to the idea of a career, she is eventually brought in by flattery and the prospect of a huge salary, despite her husband's dismay at it. When the career begins consuming her life, though, and causing her to see little of her children and nothing of her husband, he starts to get irritated. Eventually, their dual work schedules cause neither of them to ever meet on a daily basis. The movie resolves with the poor housewife having to help deliver the baby of her boss when her husband doesn't come in time, and her realizing that that's all she wants - a baby. She just wants to go back and be a wife, and a mother again. She doesn't care about salary, or fame, or career, or anything - she just wants to do what she did before and loved before.

With a romantic, hilarious, and stunningly pro-life climax, the movie was definitely above-par when it came to a pro-family, having what my best friend calls the "pro-life, pro-wife" combination. The affirmation of traditional gender roles and of the need for mothers was unanimous, from the poor, frazzled housewife's need to see her kids to the rich boss-lady proclaiming that the company couldn't matter less when compared with motherhood. While the movie was definitely more for teens and adults (since the main couple was married, it had a lot more, eh, mushy of romantic scenes) due to both mature romantic scenes and mature jokes, it didn't really contain anything objectionable other than a couple immodest costumes/settings. As a whole, it was a splendid movie both morally and comedically.

Children of Divorce (1927)
This one's a silent movie starring Gary Cooper, Clara Bow, and Esther Ralston. I must confess that my original reason for watching this movie was rather shallow - though the plot sounded good and all, I mostly watched it for the promise of a clean silent movie, safeguarded by the name of Gary Cooper (and... for Coops' acting). However... in the movie, I found a gem. While it was a silent movie, it had considerably better make quality than is generally associated with that genre. It had its own soundtrack (rather than dismal, faint Bach organ music, as many have), had top-notch Golden Hollywood acting (and actors - just wow to both Miss Ralston's and Miss Bow's performances), and the sets were actually quite cinematic and un-stagelike, being larger in proportion and fairly detailed. (I know that many people dislike the cheesy-seeming make of many silent movies, which is why I bring all this up, to the contrary.)

As to the theme of the movie, it was most certainly not comical, like most of the movies on this list up to date. It was a drama, and a smashing good one because, like all good tragedies, it was based on a sad truth of life - the wrecked lives that divorce produces. All three of the main characters, Ted (Cooper), Kitty (Bow), and Jean (Ralston), had had their parents divorced, and all of them grew up practically in confinement because their parents couldn't (or wouldn't) take proper care of them at home. And their separate levels of involvement in divorce developed even further their reactions to it: Ted's father remarried once, to a woman that expected Ted to pretend his real mother didn't exist, and so Ted resolved never to marry unless it was absolutely for keeps; Jean's parents divorced, but neither ever remarried, so she remained a tragic heroine, saddened by the fact, but still morally against divorce and not ruined by that history; Kitty's mother remarried five times and divorced every husband, three of those husbands during Kitty's young childhood, and, due to this, Kitty's views of love were very open, and slightly licentious, and she had no respect for marriage or committal love. The plot concerns what happened when all three of their love lives are thrown together after not seeing each other for years, and when a ruinous marriage between Kitty and Ted (against Ted's will) disrupts their friendship. The ending is actually a twist ending, and, while it was sad, it did resolve the plot pretty well.

The view on divorce and the breaking of the family was viewed with unapologetic harshness in the movie, which was refreshing. (It spoke of it with a bitterness that, to my mind, speaks almost of personal experience in the makers of the movie - and in that day and age, I would not be surprised if divorce had affected many of the makers of the movie.) As a note, though, they did approach the question more from a secular rather than religious angle (meaning, things like "divorce is wrong because it messes up a marriage and hurts the kids," rather than "divorce is wrong because Christ said so in the Bible and because the Church teaches so"); I didn't really mind this, but it's worth noting. Other than that, my only moral cautions on it would be an occasional slightly immodest costume. The moral value of the movie was much greater, and I could easily write a post on this movie alone (and perhaps will at some point).

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That's all I have for the moment, though I would love to add onto the list. Hopefully this feature takes hold! Have you seen any of these movies? Would you? Do you have any favorite family-themed movies?