Praise for Catching Light: Finding God in the Movies

  • “excellent”

    Craig Detweiler, co-author of A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture

  • “superb”

    “the depth…displayed is so exquisite as to muffle any criticism of his approach”

    “Anker’s thick readings of more than a dozen film classics set a critical benchmark for its close “textual readings,” for its care in unpacking cinematic stories”

    Robert Johnston, author of Reel Spirituality and Reframing Theology and Film

  • “This fascinating, beautifully written, and moving book is a must-read for anyone interested in film and the light it sheds on the profound joys and strain of human existence”

    Adele Reinhartz, author of Jesus of Hollywood

  • “his analyses reveal a profound understanding of Christianity, one that ventures beyond the doctrinal peculiarities of this or that church.

    Catching Light is not only brilliant, however, but also beautifully written….Anker writes about movies in which characters experience the joy of discovering hope in the midst of despair, but he creates joy in his own right by—apart from anything else—using language so evocatively”

    Paul Nathanson, McGill University, in Implicit Religion

  • “most perceptive in its film critiques but also undoubtedly the best organized and most richly designed text for courses on spirituality and religious experience in film of any that I have read. Anker’s central metaphor brilliantly links the source of film’s art with the core of religious experience—Divine Light itself.”

    John May, author of Religion in Film and Image and Likeness

  • “remarkable” “superb” “A splendid and creative book full of rich insights”

    Bill Romanowski, author of Eyes Wide Shut

  • “rich and thought-provoking” “Of all the books mentioned so far, Anker’s is the richest and most challenging….He interprets the film as a whole by paying attention also to the visual dimension of the film—to the way the camera works, to the way shots are set up, to the interplay of light and shadow”

    Gordon Matties, Direction