Top ten filmic Christ figures

At F&T, Kim Fabricius has posted a list of his twelve favorite filmic Christ-figures. While the list is solid (I’ve kept two from Kim’s list), I think there are a number of important characters that are often overlooked. I offer here my list of the top ten filmic Christ figures, listed in order of significance rather than in order of film release. Also, the list of rules is extensive and specifically excludes violent, religious, historical, and animated characters. I will do my best to abide by these.

I should note that most of these films are very modern, and that simply reflects my youth. There are certainly a number of much older films that deserve to be on such a list. I welcome suggestions from others.

1. Ofelia – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
2. Kanji Watanabe – Ikiru (1952)
3. Damiel – Wings of Desire (1987)
4. Babette – Babette’s Feast (1987)
5. Mateo – In America (2002)
6. Theo Faron – Children of Men (2006)
7. Phil Parma – Magnolia (1999)
8. Andy Dufresne – Shawshank Redemption (1994)
9. Lena Leonard – Punch Drunk Love (2002)
10. El Chivo – Amores Perros (2000)

If the rules permitted religious figures, then the following two would be my first choices (they would actually be much higher than 11 or 12, but I’ve listed them this way for continuity):

11. Priest of Ambricourt – The Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
12. Sister Constance Lazure – The Barbarian Invasions (2003)