END OF THE SPEAR
—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Current Films)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
I am a graduate of Wheaton College, the same college attended by Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youdin, five missionaries who gave their lives for Christ in the jungles of Ecuador in 1956. Therefore, I naturally had a great interest in viewing their story as depicted in the movie END OF THE SPEAR. I was dismayed, therefore, when my zeal and anticipation for a great story were usurped by the realization that this movie suffers on several fronts. The movie may inspire some of the faithful, but may confuse and let down most attendees.
Here’s the story as told in the movie. The five aforementioned American missionaries and their wives and kids set up camp in remote Ecuador. A pilot, Nate Saint (Chad Allen), flies over the jungles looking for a warring tribe of indigenous people, the Waodani. Led by the fierce Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), the code of this people is to spear or be speared. After Nate makes contact and delivers a few gifts to the Waodani, the American men land on a sand bar in a river near the Waodani village. Mincayani thinks that the Americans are cannibals who kidnapped a female tribal member, Dayumae (Christina Souza). Dayumae, however, lives safely among the Americans as a sort of assistant and tutor on Waodani culture. Mincayani and other Waodani approach the men and spear them to death. Even though the Americans have guns, they don’t use them. The wives and children are informed, and continue to show non-violence to the Waodani. Decades later, the Waodani are slightly “Westernized� and Nate’s son Steve (also played by Chad Allen) discovers who killed his father.
By shying away from understanding the real motivation of the missionaries, namely Christ, the movie seemed to loose punch by making their mission more of one of “peace� than bringing Good News. At the very end, during the credits, the real Steve Saint tells about taking the real Mincayani on a tour of American fast food restaurants and supermarkets. I left feeling like perhaps they only ended up Americanizing these natives, rather than introducing them to the Prince of Peace. This is no indictment of missionary efforts. It’s a rebuke of this movie, and perhaps of Steve Saint who might have lost his father’s objectives
Another thing the movie lacked was visual artistry. The photography, color, lighting, and composition, must add to the action on screen in conveying emotion, poignancy and strength. While its hard to mess up picturesque jungle vistas and rivers, cinematography seemed merely serviceable and by the numbers. The most power films thrill us with beautiful shots, cleverly composed.
But, what I’m really asking is, “What will non-Christians, who don’t understand the real story, think of this movie?� Will they ask, “Uh, what do missionaries really do?� Will they merely shake their heads and say, “Stupid Americans. They should have stayed home.� Or, will others mention, “If only today's Christians preached non-violence." Only the last question has value, but they all miss the real point. These missionaries came to preach Christ and Him crucified, and the movie hardly mentions that and its implications.
In one brief scene, Christ is mentioned, but is it enough? Dayumae briefly tells others about a God who had a son who was speared and didn’t fight back. The ramifications of Christ’s non-violence run much deeper. These deeper spiritual questions go unasked and un-answered. I’m not advocating for a movie that preaches more, I just want a better, richer one with more truth in it.
Director Jim Hanon has only directed one other film and that’s a documentary on the same subject called BEYOND THE GATES. I saw that documentary, and lacked a certain power and inspiration too. Perhaps I’ve got that “The book’s better than the movie� syndrome, but the beset telling of this story so far is in Elizabeth Elliot’s book THROUGH GATES OF SPLENDOR.
Having ripped on this movie long enough, I’m very glad it was made. I applaud that it had as large a budget as it did and that it had as good of talent as it had appearing in it. Success and progress come by inches in the world of Christian filmmaking and I think this movie is a step in the right direction. It had echoes of the superior TO END ALL WARS, directed by David Cunningham, son of YWAM founder/missionary Loren Cunningham. Both films have themes of spiritual restoration, a topic that needs more exploration in major filmmaking. Hopefully, long gone are the days of LEFT BEHIND films and other apocalyptic low budget flops. I pray END OF THE SPEARE becomes a success because every time a movie with a Christian theme earns money, Hollywood listens. And if they listen, they’ll want to know why.
— Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Current Films)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads
I am a graduate of Wheaton College, the same college attended by Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youdin, five missionaries who gave their lives for Christ in the jungles of Ecuador in 1956. Therefore, I naturally had a great interest in viewing their story as depicted in the movie END OF THE SPEAR. I was dismayed, therefore, when my zeal and anticipation for a great story were usurped by the realization that this movie suffers on several fronts. The movie may inspire some of the faithful, but may confuse and let down most attendees. Here’s the story as told in the movie. The five aforementioned American missionaries and their wives and kids set up camp in remote Ecuador. A pilot, Nate Saint (Chad Allen), flies over the jungles looking for a warring tribe of indigenous people, the Waodani. Led by the fierce Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), the code of this people is to spear or be speared. After Nate makes contact and delivers a few gifts to the Waodani, the American men land on a sand bar in a river near the Waodani village. Mincayani thinks that the Americans are cannibals who kidnapped a female tribal member, Dayumae (Christina Souza). Dayumae, however, lives safely among the Americans as a sort of assistant and tutor on Waodani culture. Mincayani and other Waodani approach the men and spear them to death. Even though the Americans have guns, they don’t use them. The wives and children are informed, and continue to show non-violence to the Waodani. Decades later, the Waodani are slightly “Westernized� and Nate’s son Steve (also played by Chad Allen) discovers who killed his father.
By shying away from understanding the real motivation of the missionaries, namely Christ, the movie seemed to loose punch by making their mission more of one of “peace� than bringing Good News. At the very end, during the credits, the real Steve Saint tells about taking the real Mincayani on a tour of American fast food restaurants and supermarkets. I left feeling like perhaps they only ended up Americanizing these natives, rather than introducing them to the Prince of Peace. This is no indictment of missionary efforts. It’s a rebuke of this movie, and perhaps of Steve Saint who might have lost his father’s objectives
Another thing the movie lacked was visual artistry. The photography, color, lighting, and composition, must add to the action on screen in conveying emotion, poignancy and strength. While its hard to mess up picturesque jungle vistas and rivers, cinematography seemed merely serviceable and by the numbers. The most power films thrill us with beautiful shots, cleverly composed.
But, what I’m really asking is, “What will non-Christians, who don’t understand the real story, think of this movie?� Will they ask, “Uh, what do missionaries really do?� Will they merely shake their heads and say, “Stupid Americans. They should have stayed home.� Or, will others mention, “If only today's Christians preached non-violence." Only the last question has value, but they all miss the real point. These missionaries came to preach Christ and Him crucified, and the movie hardly mentions that and its implications.
In one brief scene, Christ is mentioned, but is it enough? Dayumae briefly tells others about a God who had a son who was speared and didn’t fight back. The ramifications of Christ’s non-violence run much deeper. These deeper spiritual questions go unasked and un-answered. I’m not advocating for a movie that preaches more, I just want a better, richer one with more truth in it.
Director Jim Hanon has only directed one other film and that’s a documentary on the same subject called BEYOND THE GATES. I saw that documentary, and lacked a certain power and inspiration too. Perhaps I’ve got that “The book’s better than the movie� syndrome, but the beset telling of this story so far is in Elizabeth Elliot’s book THROUGH GATES OF SPLENDOR.
Having ripped on this movie long enough, I’m very glad it was made. I applaud that it had as large a budget as it did and that it had as good of talent as it had appearing in it. Success and progress come by inches in the world of Christian filmmaking and I think this movie is a step in the right direction. It had echoes of the superior TO END ALL WARS, directed by David Cunningham, son of YWAM founder/missionary Loren Cunningham. Both films have themes of spiritual restoration, a topic that needs more exploration in major filmmaking. Hopefully, long gone are the days of LEFT BEHIND films and other apocalyptic low budget flops. I pray END OF THE SPEARE becomes a success because every time a movie with a Christian theme earns money, Hollywood listens. And if they listen, they’ll want to know why.
— Overview
9 Comments:
I would not go to see this movie. The movie star who played Nate Saint in this movie is gay. Thinking about that ruins the movie. DK
Did you see the movie CHARIOTS OF FIRE? Many Christians love it. The lead actor is gay, the other main actor is Jewish, and the producer is Muslim. I reccomend judging a movie on the merits of the story, not on the lifestyles of the participants.
I planned on seeing the movie with a precious friend who is very interested in God, and is currently pursuing Him in a rather new-age/pantheistic manner. I told her the plot up front, not concealing anything, and she was receptive and very willing to see it with me. I was really looking forward to our outing, and hoped it might even provide a mutually interesting platform for us to talk about Christ in the future. But now, wish I had read more reviews first. I'm dismayed to see so many negative ones, including yours. I'm the type of person who would see it anyway; it's so important to support Christian film-making, a developing art which gets better by the year. The Passion and Visual Bible's word-for-word gospels were inspired and unforgettable. But I do worry that my friend will be more put off than intrigued, if this is a truly poor film.
Dear Anonymous #2:
I reccomend you go see the movie with your friend anyway. If they like it, great! If they don't, you can explain another truth: Christ can show up in the lives of all people - in good filmmakers and bad. You can further explain that Christ remains true despite how His stories are respresented. In other words, don't judge Christ on Christian movies, judge Him on his Word and how he is showing His love them them - through people like yourself. If you go with your friend, post me another note and let me know what they thought and how your conversation was following it.
"The End of the Spear" was an inspiring movie. I'm so pleased that Christian themed movies are being given an opportunity in Hollywood.Hopefully the story will touch the hearts of the Waodani we have with us today
(Follow-up from Anonymous #2)
My friend and I did go -- and she was completely enthralled. She thanked me over and over. She has studied alternative healing and some versions of spiritualism in South America, and is fascinated by their indigenous cultures and by the rainforest. It was the first movie she had seen in over a year, and she felt that it designed just for her.
Honestly, I had no complaints at all about this film; I was riveted from beginning to end. I particularly loved Dayumae's brief, simple, moving interpretation of Christ in a Waodani framework. I was inspired by the tremendous courage of the women of both cultures. I developed an emotional connection to the characters and could see development in many of them. I thought Chad Allen was a marvelous and sensitive actor. Louie Leonardo was gorgeous...oh, sorry, I mean talented. :-) I found the visuals stunning, and I appreciated the minimization of the actual graphic violence; I felt that it was well done, and that the effect was not lost.
Afterward, my friend, my cousin, and I explored the thought that perhaps not any and every path leads to God. We all found Mincayani's explanation of his belief regarding prolific killing as a means of attaining heaven very telling. Here, for example, was someone who was actually trying to get to God, but going about it in a horribly inhuman way, at total and complete odds with God's true nature, plan, and commandments.
Every person is made differently, with something very specific that will reach them. "End of the Spear" was right for my friend, and I can only conclude that God orchestrated the opportunity for us to see it together. I don't know what additional trails she will still choose to explore during her spiritual quest, or for how long. I pray earnestly for her, because I believe there are dangerous paths which can lead to great harm, and like Mincayani, she seems unable to discern them. But I do believe that "the one who did not fight back" drew her a bit closer to Himself today. And if His attractions were strong enough to win the Waodani, I know that He can win my friend -- whom His loves -- as well.
I have been encouraging just about everyone I know to see this film. I brought my family to see it and was highly inspired. Sure the movie may not have presented the "Gospel" the way most of us hard-core, sold-out saints would have liked, but it does inspire, it shows courage, it shows compassion, it shows caring for our fellow man, particularly when there is a quarrantine that demanded so much additional sacrifice. Despite living in the Northwest, where several of the missionaries lived, it broke my heart that the theater was so poorly attended. I wish to God that the Body of Christ (the people called by His Name) would wake up, get on their knees and adopt Hollywood-type culture influencers. (See http://www.mastermediaintl.org/ for a prayer guide) and then support movies that strongly emphasize Christian values. God bless us everyone.
As I watched this movie, knowing the story, and as a Christian, I found it an indictment on me. I can't speak for other Christians, but I realized that for years I have been missing the whole point! The story has always inspired sympathy in me...for the missionaries who died and their families, not the people they were going to! How stupid and backward is that? That certainly wasn't Jim Elliot's or Nate Saint's take on the gospel or they might not have died. I left feeling ashamed of myself. We spend more time praying for missionaries in China who are willingly going there to present the gospel, and, yes, dying! than we do for the people who need the Good News. What is wrong with this picture or am I the only one who has thought this way?
What you wrote is how I feel about the Christian response to Hollywood. Hollywood needs our prayers, not our condemnatioin. The people who live and work there are made in God's image too.
Post a Comment
<< Home