One thing you have to give Rankin/Bass credit for is their creativity. Maybe it’s partly running out of Christmas stories to tell but even their Rudolph special (that review is coming on Christmas Day if you were wondering) they were very creative having plot points like an elf that wants to be a dentist. You can certainly see such creativity on display with their short Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. I mean have you ever seen a film about a long-eared donkey? I haven’t until this one!
No doubt taking cues from Dumbo, Nestor is a donkey during the time of the Romans with abnormally large ears that go down to the ground. For some reason they decided to give this story a folksy narrator donkey named Spieltoe voiced by Roger Miller. It never quite fits with the feel of the short.
As if having long ears isn’t trial enough things go from bad to worse for poor Nestor. The opening scenes soldiers come and take all the donkeys except Nestor including his mother. Then Nestor is thrown out by the farmer and he and all the animals are really mean.
Nestor and his mother are caught in a blizzard and the next morning his mother has died. (It really is quite a grim film for a Christmas special!).
Then Nestor meets an angel who tells him to travel to Bethlehem because “your ears can do wondrous things no other ears can do”. Then he and the angel travel across desert and have quite the journey.
When they arrive near Bethlehem Nestor is seen as unneeded so the owner sells him to Mary and Joseph for cheap so she can get to Bethlehem. It is a perilous journey but “he follows the voices of the angels” and Nestor helps them find the stable to have he Christ-child.
I expected the film to end with Nestor staying at the nativity stable but in an odd turn he goes back to the original stable where they were so mean to him and he is treated like a hero. This is strange because how would they know what he had done in Bethlehem and why would he want to go back there?
I give them huge points for creativity on this one and it’s harmless enough. The animation is quite good as it is one of their later films (1977). And I’m always up for stories about characters who fight bullies and come out on top.
However, the film is so gloomy for a Christmas picture. Almost nothing but death, rejection and persecution happens to Nestor until the very end. Also the ending didn’t really make sense to me. I also found he music, while pleasant to not really fit the tone and characters very well.
So over all I’d say see this as a curiosity and to see their creativity but it is not a favorite of mine.
Reviewing the new Christian film Woodlawn is tough. I was thoroughly entertained by it but it definitely has problems. It is also a marked improvement over many other Christian films such as the recent hit War Room (which I saw some value in). I went back and forth on what grade to give the film (how much to weigh the flaws vs strengths and my overall entertainment…). Finally, I decided I’m just going to present the strengths and weaknesses and you can decide if it sounds like something you’d enjoy.
Woodlawn is directed by the Erwin Brothers who had previously done October Baby (haven’t seen) and Mom’s Night Out, which I actually thought was funny despite the terrible reviews. The overall production values of Woodlawn is a large step in the right direction for Christian films. The football scenes in particular I thought were really well shot and staged. The acting was also a step up across the board. It isn’t nearly as compelling as Freetown from earlier this year but it is a solid effort.
In the film we get the story of Tony Nathan played by Caleb Castille who was one of first African American NFL players to come out of Birmingham Alabama and be a big name. It chronicles his junior and senior year at Woodlawn High School just after forced integration in both the football team and school. The team is led by Coach Gerelds played by Nic Bishop, who is a practical, sensible nice guy.
When racial tensions erupt at the school Coach Gerelds lets a sports chaplain named Hank played by Sean Astin (that’s right Rudy in a football movie!) encourage the kids. He delivers a sermon about how the love of Jesus can overcome all the hate they are seeing and help them play as a team. The team is moved by his words and they convert. A little later on Coach Gerelds also has a conversion and decides to be baptized.
They end up battling for 2 seasons becoming better and Tony becoming more of a star player until even Sports Illustrated is profiling him. It all culminates in a huge game that has to be in a giant stadium with their rivals from another high school.
Like I said, overall I was entertained by Woodlawn. I thought the acting was pretty good with Bishop and Castille being the standouts. I thought it looked good and had an inspirational story with a more toned down Christian dogma than some other Christian films. I don’t think it is a movie that non-Christians will enjoy but I think it is less objectionable than other entries if that makes sense.
That said, there are problems. It is one of those films that should have been 30 minutes shorter and yet certain subplots like a relationship between Tony and his girlfriend Johnnie. There were also characters and plot points brought up that we never hear from again such as a more militant black student at the high school who tries to intimidate Tony and yet we don’t hear from him again. Woodlawn has a ‘villain of the week’ problem where I felt like every 10 minutes a new character was being presented as the villain, then they’d convert and we’d get a new one. There is also a separation of church and state subplot that I felt was underdeveloped.
The music was also way over the top. For example, at the beginning of the film Tony and his Dad are driving and by the music you would think it was the climax of the film. When that happens you don’t really have anywhere to go with it making the climatic music in the actual climax underwhelming.
Certain character transformations I also didn’t buy like when Coach Gerelds converts seemingly out of nowhere and when the entire rival team also converts including their coach who had been previously presented as an antagonist.
But all that said I was entertained by Woodlawn. If Christian audiences want quality films they should support this film. It really is so much better than War Room that I’m a little sad to see it not doing as well although certainly respectable audience turnout. This is a movie not an inspirational Sunday School lesson. Both have value for me but I would much rather watch films like Woodlawn and I hope the Christian film community continues to up their game.
So what do you think of Woodlawn? Does it sound like something you’d like? If so, go see it and let me know what you think.
Here is my youtube review. Would love if you gave it a watch and thumbs up!
So my sister is in town so a little tight on time. Just doing 2 video reviews this week instead of written and video. I promise this will be the exception rather than the rule. This week I saw the Christian film War Room and the old people buddy movie Walk in the Woods.
Basically War Room is only for believers. I liked it didn’t atheist shame and until the end kept the issues small, every day problems. I also liked the concept of the War Room and am already thinking about applying it in my life. That said, aside from the lead performance the acting was weak particularly the child actors who I think were only gotten for their jump roping skills. It is also way too long and it kind of treats faith and prayer like a super power which I had issues with. Still, I’m glad I saw it.
Walk in the Woods is based on the Bill Bryson memoir, which I have read. It keeps the saucy nature of the book and I think that will turn off some viewers who are expecting a pure feel-good film. It also has a lot of sitcomy moments some won’t like but I enjoyed it. It’s the kind of charming movie about friendship and pushing yourself I’m a pushover for.
I did forget to mention in the review that Emma Thompson is great in her scenes but Mary Steenburgen is completely wasted in a part that did not need an Oscar winning actress to fill. But the movie looks beautiful and I liked the 2 leads. Like I said, in the end I was charmed by it.
As most of my readership is not Mormon you probably haven’t heard of the film Freetown which opens this week. It is the story of missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormons) in Liberia in 1990. At the time there was a brutal Civil War and a group called the krahn was systematically eliminated by the rebel forces.
This of course makes for a tense situation for the missionaries some of whom are krahn and it is determined by local leadership they must be taken to Freetown in Sierra Leone where the mission president is and things are safer. There are 6 missionaries and a member named Brother Abubakar played by Henry Adofo.
Abubakar is a man you don’t see often in faith based films. He has a strong faith but he is also extremely practical which makes him less optimistic than some of the naive young elders. Adofo is so good playing a well rounded man who is strong, scared, brave and weak all at the same time. On one hand it seems like he resents having to deal with the elders and put his life at risk but on the other you can tell it is a great honor and burden which he fears he might not succeed in. I really related to his character and can imagine that most members would feel exactly as Brother Abubakar does in such a scary time.
Nevertheless, he crams all 6 of the elders into his small car and they face one challenge after another. Whether its rebel base stops or running out of fuel I was completely engrossed in the journey.
The entire cast is native African actors and they are all fine. Some of the missionaries you can tell are new at acting but it fit their fairly innocent personas and didn’t bother me. As someone who was a missionary I thought they got the little details just right. It might seem hard to believe Elders would pass out pamphlets to people waiting for a fairy after such a trek and in such a tense situation but they totally would. The exuberance and faith in miracles they showed was just what such elders would do in the situation. I loved one of the elders when they are finally free the greatest joy is they can teach after 6 months! That long not teaching as a missionary would feel like an eternity.
Not to say that the elders were simplistic because they weren’t. They face a lot of tough questions of when to lie, when to be brave, when to expect miracles and when to use your head. It felt like the way missionaries would actually behave and there were soft moments especially with the krahn elders that were very touching.
I was surprised how gritty it got. It is not a movie for small children. Far too scary for them. The rebels are pretty terrifying and will shoot women, even old women without giving it much thought. I flinched more than once and had to look away (I’m a violence wimp in movies!). The missionaries come very close to being shot on several occasions and it is very tense.
It also can be a very hopeful picture with moments of joy. The missionaries are still 19 year old boys and the cast has a good chemistry together. It felt like an authentic group racing to get to safety while still maintaining their individual personalities and struggles.
Freetown is directed and written by Garrett Batty who did Saints and Soldiers and Saratov Approach and he does an excellent job crafting a story that should inspire anyone of any faith. The preaching and Mormon dogma is at a minimum. I really think the average moviegoer would find it a touching, gripping story.
It also looks great with wonderful cinematography by Jeremy Prusso where we get the grandness of Africa contrasting with the tightness of the compact car. I loved the music too.
I really loved everything about Freetown. It is a moving depiction of normal people of faith facing an extremely difficult situation in a real and honest way. If you can go see it!
Overall Grade A+ Content Grade C+
Here’s my youtube review if you want to check it out. Give it a thumbs up that would be awesome.
I debated about doing a review of the current Christian film from Pure Flix called Do You Believe because I honestly don’t want to spoil the rawness of the experience I was able to have. I normally don’t care about spoilers but I think in this case my not knowing much about the film really helped me to respond and be inspired by it. I hadn’t even seen the trailer but I liked Pure Flix last film God’s Not Dead so I went out to see it and left very inspired.
Enjoyment of this film goes back to my post entitled Consider the Audience. Currently Do You Believe has a low Rotten Tomatoes score with most critics calling it preachy and overbearing. My response to such critics would be ‘it simply wasn’t made for you”. There are some movies made for toddlers, some for teens, others for Mormons and some for Christians. Does that give movies made for a target audience a complete pass to be horrible? No of course not but it also means if you aren’t in that audience you will probably have a hard time relating to the movie just like adults have a hard time enjoying Barney or Dora the Explorer It isn’t made for you.
Basically Do You Believe takes the Crash approach telling 12 stories of faith with a strong cast including Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Ted McGinley, Cybill Shepherd and Lee Majors.
McGinley plays a pastor who is inspired by the question ‘do you believe and if so what are you going to do about it?’ and that kind of gets the story going for his congregation.
Alexa Vega is very good as a troubled girl who bonds with a returning marine.
Brian Bosworth is a man who sacrifices his own comfort to help those around him.
Mira Sorvino is a mother to an adorable little girl who is dealing with poor health and homelessness and Shepherd and Majors are a couple whose only daughter died tragically and they are unable to move on.
I particularly liked the story of Bobby played by Liam Matthews who talks about Jesus to a dying man as an EMT and is asked to apologize or lose his job. I thought that was very true to life and very moving. It asks the question ‘if you were put on trial as a Christian is there enough evidence to convict you?’.
The only storyline which didn’t work for me involved the African American characters who were very cliched street thugs with names like Nefarious and Kriminal. The performances aren’t bad but the writing could have been better for these characters.
I don’t really want to go into any more of the plot but it does get intense and could be upsetting for small children. I would recommend adults, older children and teens see it first and then decide if it is something appropriate for your younger children.
In some ways films about faith and romance have the same challenges. The true authentic experience of falling in love or being converted when not happening to you can seem trite, silly, one-dimensional etc. That’s why movies like Do You Believe get such bad reviews. I’m not trying to say it is perfect because it isn’t but the experiences of the 12 characters for the most part felt real and authentic to what it is like to be converted and face various challenges to faith.
I don’t know if there is much these films could do in order to not come off as preachy and simplistic to those who have not undergone a conversion experience. I guess you could have movies like Noah which I liked but most Christians disliked that tries to bridge the gap between believer and nonbeliever but it services the nonbeliever audience more. As far as a movie of faith and particularly conversion that resonates with all viewers it is tough. Chariots of Fire? The Mission? Do You Believe is certainly not on that level but it tells a satisfying, inspiring story of Christian life for its intended audience.
As far as comparing it to God’s Not Dead it is tough. Its 12 characters are much better than the side characters of God’s Not Dead. Sean Astin is an especially big improvement from Dean Cain. However, the core focus of the professor and the student in God’s Not Dead drew me in more than any of the 12 stories of Do You Believe. Part of that is because I had a similar experience in college and really related to what the student was going through. Do You Believe is way more of a Christian film where God’s Not Dead had themes anyone of faith could relate too as faith shaming happens whether you are Mormon, Evangelical, Jewish or Muslim. So, the appeal is more narrow but the overall movie is probably better in Do You Believe.
So if you are Christian and want to see something inspiring that could be a part of your family scripture study go see Do You Believe. I was really moved by it and despite what the critics say found it thought provoking and inspiring. If you are not Christian it is a definite pass. But again I don’t think that is a knock against the movie. It is made for a particular audience and that audience will enjoy it.
Hope I kept that spoiler free enough. If any of you do see it let me know what you think.
Yesterday I had the chance to see a special documentary at my theater called The Drop Box. This is a three day event movie that ends tonight at theaters sponsored by Focus on the Family. It tells the story of Pastor Lee Jong-rak who takes in abandoned babies in South Korea through a special mailbox of sorts called the ‘baby box’.
The idea for the baby box started when babies were left at the doorstep of his church, often special needs children and he heard about a baby box in Croatia that helped mothers when desperate to leave their babies rather than abandon or kill them.
Pastor Lee has also adopted 15 of the children and have 2 of their own, one named Eun-man who is severely disabled and cannot function beyond a smile. Yet in one of the most touching segments we learn that the son despite being a burden in a way is deeply loved and was in fact the inspiration behind the baby box and Pastor Lee’s ministry.
The film is directed by Brian Ivie who lived at the Lee’s orphanage for 6 months and converted to Christianity during the filming. He does a good job painting Lee as a normal man who saw a need and filled it. It is not overly aggrandizing, which I think actually makes it much more moving and relatable.
Director Brian Ivie
He also does include voices who see the baby box as a ‘too easy of an out’ for women who are merely scared of the challenge of a special needs baby but could do it. It also can be challenging for the caregivers who have no knowledge of the genetics or family history of the baby.
It would seem to me that putting your baby in a box would never been an ‘easy out’ but I thought it was good the movie at least acknowledged some of those concerns. Pastor Lee says many of the mothers are minors who are too ashamed to raise their baby or go through the lengthy process of adoption. He said many come to him umbilical cord still attached, only hours old. That kind of blew my mind.
The letters the mothers leave are so tragic and almost all start off with “I’m sorry. Please forgive me…” . It breaks your heart but at least there is somewhere for the babies to go to not die on the street or in a trash bin but to be loved by Pastor Lee. That’s pretty amazing. The orphanage also reunites some families who return for their child. I believe they said 145 in the segment after the movie.
The month they were shooting Pastor Lee had gotten a baby in the box every day for 8 days straight. He hadn’t slept because he didn’t want to miss the bell which signaled a new baby. It breaks your heart.
We get to learn about Pastor Lee’s family and have little vignettes about the children who are the sweetest boys and girls. I particularly liked his middle son Ru-ri who is missing some fingers and was mocked for it but then ran for class president and won the kids over with his charms. He loves taekwondo and wants to keep his father’s mission alive when he grows up. That was just lovely.
What impressed me the most is Pastor Lee’s unending ability to love everyone. When I think of my own squabbles with people (and I’m sure he isn’t perfect) but each time a new baby came or a child with severe problems was presented to him Pastor Lee loved that child. You could see it in his face, like he was holding the most perfect child he’d ever seen. That’s such a gift from God to love all things. My beloved Grandpa was like that and its what I strive to be like.
Pastor Lee’s wife is also wonderful- so positive and upbeat in the midst of what must be incredibly stressful. Just the lack of sleep and caring for an adult severely disabled son would be enough but she was a special lady. It made me wish we could get the extreme home makeover crew over there to make life a little easier for the Lee’s.
Some may wish that abortion and other birth control would be discussed but that is not my personal feeling and belief or the perspective of this movie or Pastor Lee. This worldview believes children are a gift from God and have divine value no matter how they are brought into the world but I don’t want to get into politics. It’s just simply the view of this movie. If you don’t like that view than the movie may not be for you but all movies can’t be everything to everyone, especially documentaries.
Maybe partly due to director Brian’s conversion while making the film it felt very personal and it made me feel like I could do something to help. Pastor Lee seemed like an ordinary man who decided he could help and then did it. It’s motivated me to look into how I could serve my community a little bit better.
In the live broadcast there was a segment from Jim Daly of Focus on the Family and his team which was a bit too long and will probably be better as a bonus feature on a DVD but the main point was to encourage adoption and foster care through their organization Wait No More which puts foster children with their ‘forever families’. It definitely had the feel of a 700 Club segment but I didn’t mind it because I believe in adoption and what they were sharing. However, some will definitely want to leave at the end of the film.
I really loved this documentary. I feel inspired by Pastor Lee’s example of service and love and shouldn’t movies inspire us from time to time? Especially if you are Christian I would encourage you to hunt the Drop Box down when it comes out on blu-ray and support the lifesaving missions of all involved. I’m certainly grateful I saw it and felt very close to God’s spirit while watching it. Can’t say that too often these days and it was a rewarding experience.
One thing you have to give Rankin/Bass credit for is their creativity. Maybe it’s partly running out of Christmas stories to tell but even their Rudolph special (that review is coming on Christmas Day if you were wondering) they were very creative having plot points like an elf that wants to be a dentist. You can certainly see such creativity on display with their short Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. I mean have you ever seen a film about a long-eared donkey? I haven’t until this one!
Nestor and his mother are caught in a blizzard and the next morning his mother has died. (It really is quite a grim film for a Christmas special!).
Then Nestor meets an angel who tells him to travel to Bethlehem because “your ears can do wondrous things no other ears can do”. Then he and the angel travel across desert and have quite the journey.
When they arrive near Bethlehem Nestor is seen as unneeded so the owner sells him to Mary and Joseph for cheap so she can get to Bethlehem. It is a perilous journey but “he follows the voices of the angels” and Nestor helps them find the stable to have he Christ-child.
I expected the film to end with Nestor staying at the nativity stable but in an odd turn he goes back to the original stable where they were so mean to him and he is treated like a hero. This is strange because how would they know what he had done in Bethlehem and why would he want to go back there?
