There’s a new kind of film coming to a cinema near you: a film that is Christian, made by Christians, but (proudly) not part of the “Christian film genre.” “Blue Like Jazz” is rated PG-13 but was almost rated R because of its “realness” with regard to campus life. Lots of language and mature themes. Director Steve Taylor won’t let his own 15-yearold daughter see it yet. “Blue Like Jazz” is about a young Christian man, Don Miller (Marshall Allman), who, for various reasons, is disgusted with his Christian faith, and opts for a wild, radically secular party college far from home where he hides his faith and tries to assimilate. Isn’t this the path so many young people take? If someone is unaware of what regularly transpires on today’s college campuses, or has never seen a “college campus” movie, “Blue Like Jazz” might be shocking. Otherwise, it’s the same old debauchery with the reality of God and faith added, for the first time. Catholics may be offended by the heavy use of Catholic imagery, but we shouldn’t be. It’s actually honoring our symbols and bringing them to life, albeit in a very unorthodox way. It shows the hunger young people (and our world) have for God, religion, ritual, etc. Contemporary sexual issues are dealt with in a fragmentary way. They are more like a sad, true-to-life backdrop. There is no “resolution” to the sexual stuff, so this is not a theology of the body movie. “Blue Like Jazz” concerns itself with the “Does God exist?” question. Is the crudeness in “Blue Like Jazz” lowering the bar and capitulating to the corrupt culture? No. I think it’s rather going there to shed some light. How might “Blue Like Jazz” actually help young people? 1. Preparation. “Blue Like Jazz” takes a young Christian through the college experience and raises lots of questions that would be good for young people to get a handle on before heading off to college. 2. Christians showing their “dark side.” I’m not sure when Christianity became all about saving face and not about saving grace, but spiritual progress requires that we be realistic (at least to ourselves) about our individual and communal failings as a church. We Christians are the only ones that have the solution to sin — the atonement, sacrifice, mercy and forgiveness of Christ, most especially in the sacrament of reconciliation. 3. Faith and reason. We must encourage our Christian young people to think. They must be allowed to ask the Big Questions so they can own the answers.