Five Films to Watch While the World Slows Down for Holy Week

Holy Week is observed across the globe as a time of reflection, reverence, and retreat—but in the Philippines, it also marks a cultural pause. From April 17 to 20, much of the country slows to a contemplative stillness, offering a rare chance to step back, unplug, and exhale.

Businesses close, cities quiet down, and people retreat to their homes or hometowns. It’s a rare kind of silence, one that invites reflection—on faith, life, and everything in between.

This is not your typical summer vacation. It’s a time for stillness, introspection, and for many, a spiritual reset. In that spirit, I’ve curated a selection of five films that demand your attention—and reward it.

These are not background-noise movies. They require you to lean in, reflect, and sit with the questions they raise. They challenge, they move, and, most importantly, they give you space to think.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

This is the film that redefined religious cinema for the 21st century. The Passion of the Christ remains a profoundly visceral depiction of the final 12 hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life.

Its power lies not just in its brutality, but in its unflinching commitment to portraying the physical and emotional weight of sacrifice. Mel Gibson’s direction is stark and intense, while Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Christ is dignified amidst the suffering.

Whether you approach the film as a believer, a curious viewer, or a student of cinema, it is a harrowing yet stirring experience—one that, especially during Holy Week, feels deeply fitting.

Silence (2016)

Martin Scorsese, a lifelong Catholic and a master filmmaker, poured decades of spiritual exploration into Silence. Based on Shūsaku Endō’s acclaimed novel, the film tells the story of two Jesuit missionaries who journey to 17th-century Japan in search of their missing mentor.

What they encounter is a land where Christianity is outlawed and faith comes with a brutal price. This is not an easy film. It is slow, meditative, and morally complex.

Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver deliver restrained, deeply introspective performances, and the quiet, often brutal beauty of the cinematography mirrors the silence of God that the characters wrestle with.

For those who appreciate cinema that doesn’t provide easy answers, Silence is an essential watch.

A Hidden Life (2019)

Terrence Malick is no stranger to existential cinema, and in A Hidden Life, he tells the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler. What follows is a radical portrait of personal conviction and moral resistance.

The film unfolds like a prayer—lush, poetic, and achingly intimate. Terrence’s signature visual style is at full force here: sweeping landscapes, hushed voiceovers, and sun-drenched fields frame a narrative that is both deeply human and spiritually profound.

It’s a film that whispers rather than shouts, but in that quietness lies incredible strength.

First Reformed (2017)

Ethan Hawke’s performance in First Reformed is a masterclass in internalized anguish. He plays Reverend Ernst Toller, a Protestant minister in upstate New York whose crisis of faith intersects with his growing despair over the environmental catastrophe facing the planet. It’s a psychological thriller wrapped in a theological meditation.

Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, directs with icy precision. The film is spare, deliberate, and explosive.

With themes of guilt, redemption, and spiritual reckoning, First Reformed is one of the most haunting portrayals of modern existential dread—and possibly one of the finest films of the decade.

The Tree of Life (2011)

Yes, another Terrence film—but The Tree of Life couldn’t be left off this list. A sweeping, impressionistic meditation on existence, grief, and grace, the film juxtaposes the intimate story of a family in 1950s Texas with the grandeur of cosmic creation. It’s bold, poetic, and, at times, baffling—but that’s the point.

Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain bring gravitas to the family dynamic, while a young Sean Penn searches for meaning amidst the ruins of memory and time.

This is not a film to understand—it’s one to feel. If you’re open to cinema as a spiritual experience, The Tree of Life will move you in unexpected ways.

A final note

Holy Week offers something rare: time. Time to slow down, to think, to be still. In a world addicted to movement and noise, these films offer the antidote. They won’t provide easy entertainment—but they will give you something richer: a chance to feel deeply, to reflect honestly, and perhaps to walk away just a little more aware of yourself and the world around you.

So, whether you’re observing the week through prayer or simply taking the time to unplug, consider these films as companions on the journey. Pour a glass of wine, dim the lights, and let the stories unfold. You might just find a kind of peace you didn’t know you needed.

Photos courtesy IMDB