Christian Film Review: Analyzing The Shack (2017)
Christian Film Review: The Shack (2017)
In 2017, Stuart Hazeldine’s subtle and yet powerfully personal faith-based film, The Shack, debuted. Spoiler alert! This review shares information about the significant moments of the plot. If you’d prefer, watch the film first and then read this to see if you agree with us.
The story begins by presenting a heartfelt average Joe, a protagonist named Mack. He grew up with an abusively alcoholic father who used the Bible as a source of punishment—and, as a family man himself who goes about the motions of life, marriage and church, Mack’s relationship with God is put to the test. Then, after the kidnapping and death of his of little girl during a camping trip, Mack’s faith in God became virtually inexistent and what remained was driven by guilt. He then mysteriously finds himself venturing through spiritual rites of passage, which rekindle his relationship with the Holy Trinity.
We can witness this in the scene where Mack returns to the shack where his daughter died. There, through a motherly form, he is invited by God to help cook dinner. Mack takes this opportunity to share his belief that God is abandoning him. God wasn’t there to stop Mack’s father from beating him as a boy, God wasn’t there to stop the pedophile who took Mack’s daughter, and God wasn’t there to stop Jesus from being nailed to the cross.
God then looks at Mack and shows him the puncture hole on Her wrist as if to state, “I never left.”
We can also see how Mack demonstrates his character transformation through the garden scene, right before Mack decides to leave the villa. He follows Sarayu, the depiction of the Holy Spirit, into a chaotic field of wildly growing trees, shrubbery and flowers, which symbolically represents his life. In the center of the garden, he helps Sarayu dig up a huge plant and its roots, as to prepare for something new to be inserted. Through this, Mack learns about the aspects of good and evil, and how he wasn’t designed to be the judge of such events.
Internal growth is also demonstrated in the rowboat scene. As per Jesus’ instructions, Mack rows across the lake to meet the Son of God at the mountain but, in the middle of the water, Mack hears the voices of his distressed children. The boat shifts, breaks and takes on water. Mack panics as he sinks and is told by Christ that he’s doing this to himself. In other words, Mack is symbolically letting his past pain drown him and the only way to make it to the mountain is to keep his eyes on Jesus. When Mack sees the Son of God walking on the water towards him, he stops sinking.
What makes Mack truly transform into a man of deep faith are the choices he makes along the journey. He demonstrates this throughout the film in many scenes, but the most important moment to pay attention to is when his initial choice of healing takes place is in the dark cave. After he is shown his daughter in heaven through the waterfall, he steps onto the ledge and, through a symbolic baptism, he lets the water cleanse himself of the past. From this moment on, Mack learns to forgive himself, to forgive other— and to forgive God.
Who Should Watch The Shack?
People who are struggling with their faith should watch this film, especially those who are dealing with any type of loss or personal depression. This film is one of remembrance. It’s a reminder that, in the moments when we find ourselves surrounded by joyfulness and in those filled with sadness, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is always with us. This film is rated PG-13 for mild depictions of violence, use of alcohol and intense scenes.
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