Things We Lost in the Fire

Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) has just lost her husband Brian (David Duchovny) , he was killed while helping someone on the street. In the midst of her grief she must reach out to tell Brian's best friend Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro). Jerry is a heroine addict, but Brian was a faithful friend through it all. Brian reached out to Jerry in friendship no matter what, even when Jerry was making no effort to get clean (see 1Cor. 13 for a more complete description of this commitment to someone else). Yet, this friendship had caused strain on the Burke's marriage. Audrey was jealous of Brian's time, maybe rightfully so.
But when Brian dies, Audrey and Jerry reach out to each other and help one another. Audrey lets Jerry move in to the garage and live with the family (they have two children, 6 and 10). The kids get understandably confused, thinking Jerry is there to replace their father.

Sometimes tragedies strike, and life is incredibly hard. We are left vulnerable, hurt, pained, and in need of the Healer of our souls. Everyone in this film was rocked by the loss of Brian. Stuffing down the hurt and pain would not help anyone. The film does a great job in investigating grief. Audrey had to hold it together for a while, for the sake of her kids and for continuing to move forward. But in her own time, she broke down in a healthy way. Grief must come out. Jerry dealt with the loss in his own way. He started going back to his Narcotics Anonymous meetings, which is a great picture of communal accountability, love, and support. He wanted to help out Brian's family, out of love and maybe out of repaying a debt. You see, Brian never gave up on his friend, and never put ultimatums on his love. We do that a lot, I know I have. We must figure out a way to love those around us no matter what they do. We have to encourage our friends in the right way, not enable them to continue to hurt themselves or those around us. But true love never fails. So let us strive for that delicate balance, but attempt to push forth (God-willing) with God's completely unconditional love.

One thing that stuck out to me was the healing process for Audrey. The themes in this film are ones of great importance to me lately, necessitated by my own life experiences. Audrey began to heal when she reached out to help others. Isaiah 58:9-12 says:

⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

God will satisfy us, strengthen our frame, restore us and heal us. But so often this can happen
by us spending ourselves on behalf of others, the poor, oppressed, hurting, disillusioned, etc. We heal by being a healing agent in others' lives. But we must always remember that ultimately, Jesus Himself is the Healer, the one to restore our lives from brokenness.


Things We Lost in the Fire is a fantastically acted picture of grief and healing, one that requires courage to delve in to. It is a depressing film, and so often those are the best kind.