FIVE STAR!
Added 11/13/2009
Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose." He, and 4 others, gave up everything to reach the Waodani tribe. They were killed and their wives went to the Waodani tribe to live among them. Watch the powerful story of what God did! (p.s. This is my favorite movie.)
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A Powerful Story
Added 7/14/2009
This is a compelling movie about agape (Christian love)and redemption in very extreme circumstances.
It is based upon the true story of five American missionaries who were murdered by the Waodani tribe in Ecuador in the mid 1950s. This account is primarily based on the perspective of Steve Saint (who was the young son of one of the victims) and Mincayane (Louie Leonardo). Saint who is played as a child by Chase Ellison and as an adult by Chad Allen has an incredible story.
After the tribe killed his father, his mother and aunt continued to attempt to establish a relationship with the primitive people and share the Gospel of Christ with them.
Later on as an adult, Saint returns to the Amazon region to work with the tribe including the murderer of his father who has since had a conversion experience. The unconditional love given by these Christian workers is a great testimony to the love of Jesus Christ.
I highly recommend this film.
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amazing movie
Added 3/27/2009
This film is based on a true story about 5 missionaries who were murdered in Equador by the people they were sent to help. The film was produced by the son of one of the five. It's very well done, well acted, and the photography is exceptional. Even though the subject matter is unpleasant (murder), it's not maudlin in its presentation. This is a story that grips the viewer from the get-go.
I can't imagine anyone not appreciating this wonderful story.
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"Waengongi had a son. They speared him but he didn't spear back, so the people spearing him would one day live well."
Added 3/20/2009
I don't think I've ever heard such a concise distillation of the Gospel as my title line, spoken midway in this film by a native Waodani woman who had grown up among Christians. It's really John 3:16 in terms the primitive tribe in Ecuador would understand, given as an answer to an Indian's question as to why martyred missionaries hadn't shot the Indians when they could have. It's the powerful turning point of the movie.
I cringed during the first half of this film, awaiting the massacre that I knew would come. But though the anticipated scene was brutal, ethereal background music gave it spiritual overtones that prevented it from descending into sensationalism.
If anything, this movie understates the Gospel. One would be hard-pressed to know the five men going into the jungle are missionaries at all. One pronounced indicator of the spiritual theme is the dramatically changed countenance of the first Indian brave that believes in Waengongi's Son, as he becomes caring and peaceful. Toward the movie's end we see a homemade translation of the Gospel into the Waodani language, and finally there's a flashback to a heavenly vision at the time of the missionaries' deaths. On first viewing, that seemed to be about it.
But as I watched a second time, a lot of things hard to absorb the first time around became clear, and I saw that the Gospel is really what this movie is sublimely all about. The stone age Waodani were very concerned, indeed, about eternal life. It actually was their theology, of all things, that drove them to their fierceness, as they believed they had to become strong warriors in order to "jump the great boa" that guarded the way to heaven upon their dying. Otherwise they would fall to earth and spend eternity as termites. Theirs was a dramatic form of fear-based works salvation.
So when the tribal leader, Mincayani, loses his young daughter he despairs. How could one so small have any chance of jumping the great boa? Mincayani was out of answers and full of despair.
But in his antipathy to the missionary families now living among his people, Mincayani was also working hard to suppress a witness that had been made. When the missionary he had speared, Nate Saint, had lain dying, the entire war party, along with Saint himself, had seen a vision of heaven opening up to welcome home the five martyrs in Christ. (Manifestations like this are relatively common in unreached cultures. See Don Richardson's awesome "Eternity in Their Hearts"). With his own eyes Mincayani saw that Saint, in a scene reminiscent of the stoning of Stephen in the Book of Acts, had "jumped the great boa" even while he was still alive. This was the power Mincayani sought, the power that could give even someone as weak as his daughter eternal life.
It was just a matter of time before the truth and the love of Christ won out. At the end, when Mincayani eventually confronts himself about his guilt in the murders, he becomes free. And so does Saint's son Steve, as he realizes that, as it was with Christ, no one took his father's life; rather, he gave it.
This is one beautiful movie. The first half was hard for me to watch, because of the anticipation of the massacre. But the second half redeems it all. Superb.
And I found the acting to be very good. It's refreshing to see other than the designer-label Hollywood elite on the big screen. Especially considering the low budget, everyone involved here should be gratified to know they have produced such a beautiful and effective film. In that sense it reminded me of Chariots of Fire. And for its setting it reminded me of The Mission. And all three films share similar spiritual themes.
That simple distillation of the Gospel gets to me every time: "Waengongi has a son. He was speared, but he didn't spear back..."
The Waodani were on the verge of self-extinction due to their warlike theology. Because of the sacrificial faithfulness of some followers of Christ, they have indeed learned to live well.
This movie shows that there sometimes is loss in Christ, but the gain far outweighs it. The missionary families here lost loved ones, but they gained an entire tribe as beloved family in Christ. The Kingdom of God prospered, and eternal rewards were secured. This is a very heartening movie about triumph in Christ.
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End of the Spear
Added 3/6/2009
After hearing about this film on the radio, I was disappointed when it did not show in my town. I have read books by Elizabeth Elliot and was interested in how a book on this event would come out on film. I was pleased. It was neat to see the story through different eyes, this time the nephew of Elizabeth's co-worker Rachel. The character development focuses heavily on the native individules involved in what took place, and although the massacre of the five missionaries was tragic, it shed light on how it could be sensible to this culture. It was also a striking story of forgiveness and redemption. The segment on the end where the viewer gets to see the actual folks and hear a bit of chat gave it very nice closure. Still, one wonders, how did his wife and kids adjust to living in the jungle after Rachel died?
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FIVE STAR!
Added 11/13/2009
Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose." He, and 4 others, gave up everything to reach the Waodani tribe. They were killed and their wives went to the Waodani tribe to live among them. Watch the powerful story of what God did! (p.s. This is my favorite movie.)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A Powerful Story
Added 7/14/2009
This is a compelling movie about agape (Christian love)and redemption in very extreme circumstances.
It is based upon the true story of five American missionaries who were murdered by the Waodani tribe in Ecuador in the mid 1950s. This account is primarily based on the perspective of Steve Saint (who was the young son of one of the victims) and Mincayane (Louie Leonardo). Saint who is played as a child by Chase Ellison and as an adult by Chad Allen has an incredible story.
After the tribe killed his father, his mother and aunt continued to attempt to establish a relationship with the primitive people and share the Gospel of Christ with them.
Later on as an adult, Saint returns to the Amazon region to work with the tribe including the murderer of his father who has since had a conversion experience. The unconditional love given by these Christian workers is a great testimony to the love of Jesus Christ.
I highly recommend this film.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
amazing movie
Added 3/27/2009
This film is based on a true story about 5 missionaries who were murdered in Equador by the people they were sent to help. The film was produced by the son of one of the five. It's very well done, well acted, and the photography is exceptional. Even though the subject matter is unpleasant (murder), it's not maudlin in its presentation. This is a story that grips the viewer from the get-go.
I can't imagine anyone not appreciating this wonderful story.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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