Top 10 Movies to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

ST. PATRICK: THE IRISH LEGEND presents the larger than life story of St. Patrick in a very humane and intelligent fashion without losing the power of God operating in his life. The greatness of this production is the character of St. Patrick, whose relationship with God is shown to be extremely vibrant and real.

The welcome return of 2000s comedy favorite Lindsay Lohan on Netflix continues with the new movie IRISH WISH, a fun and frothy romantic comedy/fantasy that has positive views of miracles, a Catholic saint, and a Catholic priest.

BELFAST is a beautifully crafted drama about the lives of a young boy and his Protestant family in the Northern Ireland town during the Fall and Christmas of 1969, in a time of social upheaval when tensions between Protestants and Catholics broke out into violence. Filmed in black and white, BELFAST is a brilliant, life-affirming, dramatic, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking movie with positive Christian, redemptive, inspiring content, but the movie contains some strong foul language, two scenes of rioting and looting, and a universalist comment that undermines the New Testament biblical warning against being unequally yoked.

I AM PATRICK: PATRON SAINT OF IRELAND is a docudrama that unpacks Saint Patrick’s life according to historical experts and his famous letter the “Confessio.” I AM PATRICK has a very strong Christian, biblical worldview and stresses the value of evangelism, ministry, confession, prayer, and trusting in God.

A bit of hilarious Irish blarney that gives a wonderful presentation of the give and take that a marriage needs to succeed. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara star as the reluctant ex-boxer and his feisty bride who have problems with their egos and with her mean-spirited brother, played wonderfully by the great Victor McLaglen Director John Ford shows his usual flair for comedy.

BRAVE is an animated movie about a princess who wants to change her destiny when her parents want her to get married, so she asks a witch for a spell to change their minds. BRAVE is a surprising movie for Pixar with a clear feminist message and a strong Romantic worldview with strong occult content, mitigated by a redemptive, moral scene of repentance and forgiveness. Strong caution is recommended.

In P.S. I LOVE YOU, a romantic comedy, a young woman’s dead husband has written her a series of pre-planned letters that help her cope with his death and move on with her life. P.S. I LOVE YOU is funny, heartwarming and therapeutic, but it avoids the deeper moral and theological issues contained in its story and has plenty of foul language and a scene of pre-marital sex.

THE SECRET OF KELLS is an absolutely fabulous, delightful, fanciful animated movie about young Brendan in the Abbey of Kells, where he becomes the great illuminator of the Book of Kells, a famous illuminated Latin manuscript containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. THE SECRET OF KELLS is one of the most uniquely animated movies of all time, informed by a full-orbed, inspiring Christian orthodoxy.

SONG OF THE SEA is an Irish animated feature about a young boy and his younger sister who go on a magical journey to return to their father in their home by the sea. Filled with Irish folklore and Christian references, SONG OF THE SEA is a beautifully crafted animated feature, but the story isn’t always clear, and caution is advised for the movie’s magical elements and pagan references.

In EVELYN, when a young Irish girl and her brothers are taken from her poor, single father and forced to be raised in orphanages, her father must tenaciously and miraculously prevail over deeply-rooted societal systems in hopes of eventual restoration. Showing the fallen human condition, EVELYN is a brave, Christ-centered movie with stellar acting and skillful storytelling that will delight, encourage and touch all who see it.