Interesting piece !

In the Bourne Identity (2002) THE MAN, who is suffering from amnesia at the start of the film, is BOUND to his past as a violent assassin despite the fact he cannot remember anything from before he was fished out of the Mediterranean Sea. THE MAN's past follows him throughout the film. He gains an acquaintance with MARIE ("you need money, I need a ride") while dodging authorities, both official and 'black' across Europe. During their journey to and in Paris, to find out who he really is, THE MAN comes to realize that he has put MARIE'S life in danger and later, anyone she turns to for help. THE MAN and MARIE learn in Paris that he didn't work in shipping but was in fact a violent assassin. THE MAN atones for his past sins by saving Marie and her friends (Eamon and family) from the CIA's assassins. THE MAN achieves REDEMPTION by choosing who he will become and refusing to follow his 'CIA programming' to return to the fold once he begins to recover his memory, despite never learning his real identity. Dismissed as Robert Ludlum pulp, this classic is what you get when you cross 'Who are you?' with the Biblical story 'The Road to Damascus'.

Excellent analysis, Michael, and speaks to the fundamental point of the OP: Theological themes are EVERYWHERE in stories if we have the 'eyes' to see them, that is think of them as metaphors for secular life. Maybe I should re-run this series and add some to it. Plenty of themes to explore and analyze in movies. And the larger point, excellent resources for writers.

Yes, Scott I recently read an interview with Alex Garland, where the interviewer offered his thoughts on the themes in Ex Machina and Garland's answer was to the effect that the message in any film is 50% what the film maker puts in and 50% what the audience takes out, and often the audience (or interviewer in Garland's case) is extracting stuff that the film maker never comprehended. Similarly in the anniversary interview (video) of The Shawshank Redemption you posted recently did you notice how Frank Darabont never said what the theme of the movie was despite being asked directly what it was. Smart. The trick to good film making might just be not becoming too specific with your theme work and leaving space in the audience's imagination to add in their own interpretations.

I concur, Michael. Each moviegoer and script reader brings their life experience to the story experience, and they will zero in on this theme or that, perhaps even see themes which the filmmaker or writer didn't consciously intend. That speaks to two things: (1) The collective unconscious, how we all share in a swirl of archetypes we all share and can infuse our stories with common themes. (2) While there is an interactive component of what a viewer brings to a movie, it's STILL super important, I think, for a screenwriter to have a central theme in mind when working on a script and secondary themes. But yes, leave room for the magic of story watching and reading experience.