Who's in It: Chad Allen, Louie Leonardo
The Basics: Missionaries go to South America to convert a very violent tribe of Ecuadorians. Naturally, they are killed. Years later, the son of one of the missionaries (Allen, who also plays his own father at the beginning) returns to the tribe. This time it all turns out OK.
What's the Deal? A couple months ago, I wrote a review of a movie called Ushpizin. Oh, you didn't see it? That's because it was a small religious film about Orthodox Jews who are tested by God and whose faith is rewarded at the end. That movie presented the world as a place that always conforms to the tenets of Orthodox Judaism because obviously Orthodox Judaism is the Number One Religion. Well, this movie presents the world as a place that always conforms to the tenets of Evangelical Christianity because in this movie's economy, Evangelical Christianity is the Number One Religion. The "savages" get saved, and everyone's happy at the end.
"Based on a True Story" Those five words, as any reasonably sophisticated filmgoer knows, mean almost nothing. And they never mean that the people involved in the movie have automatically made a good one. So, as a tract, this is a fine piece of inspirational uplift for people who already believe in it. But the rest of you will roll your eyes. A lot.
Never Kill a Nonbeliever: From watching this movie, I learned that it's wrong to kill someone who's not a Christian yet because that person's soul is "not ready for heaven." (Yes, actual dialogue.) Now, after they've converted? Well, then it's Hostel time!
Real-life Controversy! For funny, ridiculous debates, simply Google this movie, and you'll find all sorts of folks who are hopping mad that the filmmakers hired openly gay actor Allen to play the main missionary.