It's been a long time since I've seen a movie worth recommending, so I'm thrilled to be able to encourage you to find a way to see The Nines. (Rated "R" for language, some drug content and sexuality. I'm pretty sure there was no nudity, which may be a key point for getting some of my readers to see an "R" film.)

If you're in LA, New York, or Austin, you'll be able to see it sooner than most. Take advantage of that. This is a movie that can provoke some great conversations about life, theology, and creativity.

Need some help processing? Read this rest of this post for some hints based on my take on the movie. They aren't necesssarily spoilers, but I'd recommend watching the movie without bias first anyway.

**Spoiler-ish Warning**

1.) When looking at this movie from our world, a "Nine" and a "Ten" are really the same thing. Despite the claims of Hope Davis' character, God (as we think of him) is not really a "Ten." Our God is at least a 13 if we're going to use the movie's scale. The title "god" is, however, properly given to the person who is a "Ten" in relation to her and others like her.

2.) This movie has more in common with "Adaptation" than "The Matrix."

3.) John August is a "Ten." Or a "Nine," depending on who's perspective you're taking.

 

** Even More Spoiler-ish Warning + Theological Reflection **

While acknowledging that there are other, even better messages to be extracted from this story, here is my take on the message of this story for storytellers:

To create a compelling (self-aware?) world, an author must enter into the world of his story. But for that story to thrive, he must eventually leave it. This is the only way to create the best of all possible worlds.

Since our God is the Storyteller Of Storytellers, this is also an important point for Christian theology. The skeptic may say, "How could a supposedly perfect God create such a crappy world."

The answer comes from C.S. Lewis, if I remember correctly (paraphrased):

We may not live in the best of all possible worlds, but we live in the world which provides the best means for bringing about the best of all possible worlds, which is yet to come, but which began to come into being when the author himself entered into the story.