THE HIDING PLACE (2023)

Here is the decision, and it's a happy one. This is a filmed theatrical production of Corrie ten Boom's memoir, and it does something rare: it lets a real Christian be an authentically imperfect human being — full of courage, but also doubt — rather than a mouthpiece. The result is a witness far more powerful than easy piety.

Yes, it deals frankly with the harsh reality of Nazi persecution, and yes, at 152 minutes it runs a bit long. But there is no foul language, no sex, no nudity — only the true cost of faith under evil, and the harder still cost of forgiveness afterward.

So: if you and your family can sit with hard history handled honestly, see it. Viewers of all ages will walk away fed. This one is worth the trip.

Corrie ten Boom is the daughter of a Dutch watchmaker. When Hitler's forces come for the Jews of the Netherlands, Corrie, her father, and her siblings turn their quiet home into something dangerous — a hiding place that would help more than 800 people escape capture.

The play follows the ten Boom family from the first days of that clandestine work, through the shadow it casts over all their lives. What it asks of them, and what Corrie must choose when the war is over, is where the real story lives.

Four stars, and they're earned. For the video recording of a stage play, this is a striking piece of craft — the cinematography and editing are remarkable, and the producers and directors clearly set out from the start to make something that is theatre and cinema at once.

The small cast delivers beautiful performances that let the light of Christ, which indwelt the whole ten Boom operation, shine straight through the dialogue. The one real flaw is length: the play is a bit overlong. But playwright A.S. Peterson's decision to let Corrie be human — to face hope, doubt, and forgiveness honestly — pays off in a heart-wrenching final half-hour that justifies everything before it.

This is a story soaked in a very strong Christian, biblical worldview, and it never apologizes for it. Because most of the play is lifted straight from Corrie ten Boom's own words, looking back on her life, her faith is not layered on top of the narrative — it is the narrative.

What the film exalts is exactly what Scripture exalts. A healthy, faithful family. Faith that is tested and stays faithful to Jesus Christ. And, at its center, the near-impossible obedience of forgiving one's enemies — Corrie's decision, after Ravensbrück, to forgive the very people who inflicted her suffering. The film shows plainly what she is up against, too: it depicts the evil, godless worldview of National Socialism and Hitler's Germany, and it explicitly condemns it, including the racism directed at Jewish people.

What makes the witness land is honesty. Corrie is not a plaster saint set up to preach at us. She wrestles with having faith in God as she endures the camp. That imperfection is the point — it lets her become a genuine testimony to the strength of God's mercy and protection.

The longing underneath it all is for refuge in a world that has none to give. Scripture names where it's finally found: "You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble" (Psalm 32:7).

Some films strengthen you just by watching them. This one lets a real woman doubt, endure, and finally forgive — and in her honesty you'll find courage for your own. It runs long and it doesn't flinch from hard history, but there's nothing here to fear and much to gain. For your family or on your own: worth the trip.