Heartless (2010)
Philip Ridleys back catalogue is littered with Christian imagery, from Brendan Frasers warped fundamentalist in The Passion of Darkly Noon to the post-apocalyptic retelling of Eden in The Pitchfork Disney.
Heartless, like Angel Heart before it, reinterprets Faust for the 21st century, blending gritty visuals of Londons East End with fantastical imagery which is worthy of Pans Labyrinth. The final scene, involving a death-bed reconciliation between Jamie and his father, is both chilling and heart-breaking.
If. (1968)
Lindsay Andersons subversive masterpiece is another film in this list to take a stab at the institutions of the church without reviling the teachings of Christ. In a key scene about three-quarters of the way through, the chaplain of College School preaches about fighting the good fight and cowardice being an unforgivable sin. But he is soon forced to eat his words when confronted by Mick Travis (
Malcolm McDowell), carrying a loaded rifle. Andersons film demonstrates how once-noble ideals have been corrupted by institutions to the extent that they now mean the opposite of what was intended.
Logans Run (1976)
Most of
Michael Andersons camp classic is utterly silly hogwash, with
Jenny Agutter wandering around in next-to-nothing and future Basil Exposition
Michael York hamming it for all his worth. But the film picks up permanently with the introduction of
Peter Ustinov, a senile old man found wandering through the House of Representatives with hundreds of cats. With him on board the Biblical connotations of Logan and Jessicas actions become clear, culminating in Ustinov playing Moses and leading his people out of Egypt and a new life in the wilderness.
Metropolis (1927)
Fritz Langs masterpiece is Marxist through and through, with its brutal and shocking class analysis and poisonous view of both the workers city and the heavenly gardens of the upper classes. But its treatment of religion is a departure from the traditional view, with workers meetings being held not in canteens or factories but in catacombs surrounded by crosses. Marias observations are rooted in the idea that there has to be reconciliation between the classes, between the heads and hearts of civilisation to create a more fulfilling society for all.