A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy

Of the recent faith-based documentaries about Martin Luther, director David Batty's A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy—narrated by Hugh Bonneville—is a particularly striking effort to present the 16th-century disrupter of sin-obsessed Christianity in a warmly human light. The film offers a balanced hybrid of insights by experts and compelling dramatic re-creations of scenes of Luther's life from childhood to death. Viewers will see the young Luther wrestling with the problem of sin and out-of-reach absolution in Catholic doctrine. Over the ensuing years, Luther experiences a series of epiphanies that lead him to believe the Church has things backward: it's not that we have to make ourselves perfect (impossible) for God, but rather that God gave us Jesus so that we can partake of a love that is waiting for us. As much personal as theological, A Return to Grace also features scenes of conflict between Luther and his father, as well as a sequence in which Luther meets his wife-to-be, happily raises a family, and is his wife's partner in helping victims of a plague outbreak. So, while all of the usual history is covered—from Luther being declared a heretic to the outbreak of wars between Lutheran sects—this film excels in sharing the lesser-known details of Luther's life. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)