Love is the most powerful, transformational power in the universe. But while love is patient and kind, it also keeps no record of wrongs. That's where forgiveness comes in. Champion (2017) is a powerful story of forgiveness.
One of the movie's main characters, Jack Reed played by Gary Graham, begins with a surface level forgiveness that appears genuine, until it's tested. The story's most impactful scene is when Jack learns what real forgiveness is, and most importantly its source.
I really don't want to give away too much of the plot, but do want to convey that it's a credible story with good acting and production values even though it was the first project by most of its principles. It was filmed in Georgia, near Atlanta.
As a Christ follower, I'm always looking for Christian-themed movies, and I've seen a lot of them over the past 7 years. While Alex and Stephen Kendrick's Sherwood Pictures may be considered a sort of "gold standard" in the faith-based genre (especially in the South), this one is on par with theirs and even the brothers' War Room (2015). But Champion's producer-director Judd Brannon's approach is more subtle.
While many faith films feature characters that are quick to quote scripture, this one closes with a verse from Ephesians as its first and only overt Bible reference. Yes, people are shown to pray and there are characters that openly profess their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and Jack even cries out to God at one point. Also, the Bible is present in many scenes, e.g. being read, without its being the focus.
But the Christian characters act "naturally" - their faith is a part of them, it's who they are - and it's their actions, the way they lead their lives, the things they do and how they treat other people that makes an impact on the unsaved characters in the story, and I hope on the audience of this film.
