Critics Divided Over Max Lucado's Christmas Candle

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Nov 26, 2013

Critics Divided Over Max Lucado's Christmas Candle

Critics are divided over new book-turned-movie, Max Lucado’s The Christmas Candle.

The film so far has had a modest opening, generating about $1.6 million at the box-office in its two weeks since it opened.

The film, set in the 1890s, tells the story of David Richmond, a minister who has given up the pulpit to work with the Salvation Army. After a request, Richmond takes a job as reverend of Gladbury Church. The town of Gladbury boasts a tradition that every 25 years an angel gives a candle in the town the power to grant a Christmas prayer. New Pastor Richmond isn’t convinced. The rest of the film follows the debate over miracles and God’s work.

The Huffington Post reviewed the film as “a far cry from becoming a Christmas classic.”

“It needed a bit more depth to reach that goal,” writer Jackie K. Cooper said.

The New York Daily News said the film was “artless as the setup is muddled.”

The Los Angeles Times, however, said the movie “reminds you of the true spirit of Christmas amid the overwhelming consumerism of holiday shopping.”

The Christmas Candle is the newest release from Rick Santorum’s faith-based studio, EchoLight.

The movie starts Hans Matheson (Clash of the Titans) as Richmond, Samantha Barks from Les Misérables and singer Susan Boyle.



Critics Divided Over Max Lucado's Christmas Candle