I watched Lars and the Real Girl last night; which I can best describe as a simply beautiful film.

Without giving too much of the plot away, the film is about Lars who develops a relationship with Bianca, a doll that he orders from the internet. Lars takes Bianca to parties and to church. The film outlines how the relationship develops between Lars and Bianca, but more crucially, it shows how the people of the town react and relate to the relationship.

It is the way the people of the town act towards this delusional and awkwardly shy character of Lars that I thought made this film particularly beautiful to watch. It is a great and challenging example of genuine loving community, and more than once throughout the film I wondered what would the world be like if people really could, and did, act like this.

This is not just an example of what honest loving community could look like, it is also an example of what real church could be …. actually is there a difference?

(Thanks Meghan for drawing my attention to this film … if you had not guessed, I enjoyed!)