Seven Days in Utopia is the first movie that I’ve seen in a long time that I would recommend to a Christian audience because it is encouraging, inspirational and worthwhile. To be fair, there are other movies that I might tell a Christian audience are interesting, entertaining and ‘not that bad’, but Seven Days in Utopia is actually inspiring.
Based on a book by sports performance expert Dr. David Cook, this movie uses golf (not my game, that’s for sure) to teach timeless lessons about life that end up in a Resurrection Sunday worship service. With that said, the thing that I found particularly interesting about this film is that Cook has crafted a story that demonstrates active discipleship in a way that isn’t overtly “Christian” in the sense that there isn’t any preaching or clichés that might turn off a non-Christian audience. In doing this, he has made a story that is so compelling that he can teach real Christianity to people who might normally turn it off before they get very far. He never actually comes out and says so in the movie, but the conclusion that Christ is very busy in the story is, in the end, unmistakable. In short, it is a present-day parable.
One last thing: This is a “real” movie with a “real” production team and “real” known actors, not a corny low-budget affair…
Please check out the trailer, sorry there’s a commercial, and check out the movie; it might just be a way to reach someone who needs to hear the story!