Placing a spotlight on the complex role between church and state during a time of murderous tyranny, Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin is an incredibly inspiring true story of faith, resistance, and the cost of discipleship.
There has been much debate about what role the Church in Europe had in combating the rise of the Nazi party leading up to and during WWII. While there is no denying that more should have been done by the Church as a whole, also undeniable is that many Christians – clergy and lay – fought the good fight against Hitler and his murderous regime in various ways, sometimes resulting in their martyrdom.
One of those Christian figures was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and pastor whose active resistance against the Nazis (as well as the Lutheran church that goose-stepped to Hitler’s beat) led to a vital protestant movement during the 1930s through the establishment of The Confessing Church. The result was a legacy of Christian resistance that still resonates to this day.
Bringing Bonhoeffer’s story to the screen is Todd Komarnicki, whose previous writing credits include true-life stories Sully and The Professor and the Madman. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin marks Komarnicki’s second directorial feature and it is indeed a handsomely made biopic that focuses on the subjects of religion and nationalism, and the challenges that befall Christians when the two intertwine to destructive results.
Komarnicki knows for Bonhoeffer the movie that work we must buy into the portrayal of Bonhoeffer the man, and thankfully German actor Jonas Dassler portrays the Christian driven righteousness of Bonhoeffer’s preach with convincing authenticity.
Bonhoeffer’s stern belief that to fight against a corrupted church and tyrannical state with the philosophy of “faith without action is not faith at all” is one that is inspiring and frightening. Too many Christians is the modern world sit comfortable with the belief that their faith has no need to be battle hardened; that to be a Christian is to comply to a world that has strayed from Christ’s path.
“God has not given us the spirit of fear” is what Bonhoeffer declares to a packed church of worshippers. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin is not only a timely reminder of Bonhoeffer’s own spirited faith-driven defiance, but to also be ready to use our own when called upon.