FWIW, I think it's great. I very rarely see a movie in the theater more than once, and I've seen this one 3 times now. The people I've taken have been totally blown away by it too.
With Harry Potter coming up next week and gobbling up screens, this one may be gone soon. If you are in the Utah/Idaho area and want to see it, I'd suggest ASAP, rather than waiting too long.
Posts: 1323 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Well, since I'm not in UT/ID I guess I'll wait till it comes out on DVD. I hope Neflix carries it (unlike Brigham City, which is in sort of indefinite limbo).
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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You know, to this point, I have happily avoided seeing any 'Mormon Cinema' whatsoever.
This, however, looks pretty amazingly well done. Too bad I live in an area that has pretty much zero chance of allowing me to support it.
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Taalcon, I've tried to avoid a lot of it as well--but I did really like God's Army, and I will watch this next one when I can. And Saints and Soldiers, while not blatantly LDS, was excellent.
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Actually, the Richard Dutcher films and Saints and Soldiers, have actually been the only LDS-esque cinema I've thus far been all that interested in seeing.
Funny enough, umm, I actually read the God's Army novelization a while ago. And only 'cause Geoff wrote it. I did enjoy it quite a bit, actually.
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Realeses of Dutcher movies are the only times I wish at all to live in Utah. Oh, when shall the DVD be released?
Posts: 152 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Well, according to the page on the variety.com site, it will be released "nationwide" in 2006 sometime. How well it does/did in UT/ID will probably determine how many screens it gets when that time comes.
Wonder if they'll play it up that the main character is played by a soap opera star? Of course. . .he filmed this before he got on General Hospital, so maybe the angle would be "see what he did before he went into soaps" or something.
There hasn't been a whole lot of people talking about it around here that I can tell. It does seem that most people have been turned off of "Mormon Movies" by all the Halestorm and Excel garbage. The showings I've gone to have all been at least 3/4 full, yet on boxofficemojo it's not showing as doing very well at all. That's too bad, becuz this is really an excellent film.
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Magson, I just searched and found this thread. I asked OSC a question related to it on the "other side". I loved it!
Posts: 231 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I read reviews of it and it sounds really good. Not simplistic at all. Powerful and real. I would love to see it, but I'm in a part of the country where it's unlikely to be.
How much translation would non-members need to know what is going on? We LDS seem to have our own language sometimes. Can I take a friend who's not a member and have them understand and enjoy it without having to fill in too much background information? I'm afraid too much exposition might kill the enjoyment of a good story.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Okay, I never, never, never watch movies by myself, but I made an exception for this one. It's really amazing. I heard Serenity Valley over in the bloggernacle tell how she felt compelled to return to the church after an experience watching a Dutcher film, and I ordered "States of Grace", "God's Army", and "Brigham City" right then. So the night before last, I watched SoG. (I watched it first because the buzz on the bloggernacle was that SoG was really good.) Then last night I wanted more so I watched GA. Tonight I may watch BC. (Before that I had watched 2 movies in 2 years. Now I'm on target to watch 3 in 3 nights.)
I loved this movie. I highly recommend it. Elder Lazano was wonderful. I'm in love with him now. The movie is unabashedly Mormon. (I don't have any idea how someone who isn't Mormon would respond to it. I think they'd probably either hate it or convert, maybe.) It does a good job of portraying honestly missions, membership in the church, and the redemption that's there for every one of us in Christ. My own redemption, and the change in my life, is no less dramatic (to me) than that of the street preacher, or the gang banger, but in people who led marginal lives before, it shows more externally, I guess.
The thing I love about Dutcher's Mormon view is how grown-up and unsanitized it is. To me sometimes lifelong members of the church almost miss the point. We don't have to gloss over anything, to pretend that people don't fall, or make mistakes, or that everything is perfect in Mormondom. The power that's in the restored gospel is its own advertisement, its own PR. There's not a thing the movie showed that doesn't happen in real life.
So I love Dutcher as an artist. His movies tell a powerful reality of life, they tell the truth. It's sort of a shame that so many Latter Day Saints were offended at how honest and unsanitized they are, while people outside the church may be turned off by how positive they are about the Mormon experience. I think it's a terrible shame that he left the church and he's not going to make more LDS films. I really hope he does anyway, and I think these two movies are both wonderful. I hope other Mormon artists pick up the slack.
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I looked for a thread to tell my thoughts about God's Army, last night's Dutcher movie that I watched. I didn't find one on search, so I thought I'd just add them here.
After watching States of Grace, I wanted more of the transcendance and beauty the following night, so I put in God's Army. (I was hoping, actually, that some of the same characters would be featured.) GA was funnier and generally more fun to watch. I can see why it was the more popular of the two. For an independent, low budget film, the acting was wonderful and the storytelling was great. I loved Matthew Brown, the actor who played the main character, Elder Allen. He was an excellent actor. Elder Allen's experiences were based on Dutcher's own missionary experience. His stepfather was a pedophile, etc. I was pleasantly amazed at the story of Benny, and what happened there (trying not to spoiler it). I think most RMs (returned missionaries) have stories like this to tell. Miracles are not so rare as we think.
I love how it showed one missionary losing his faith, deciding the church was all lies. We know that happens in the real world plenty of times. I just love the honesty, and the power that it showed. I think the acting is great, the story is great, and the subject matter is incredibly important. Every RM should see this movie, as well as everyone who is thinking of going on a mission, and all Latter Day Saints, and everyone who is investigating the church and wants to know more about it. I can't wait now to see Brigham City. I might watch that one tonight.
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Can someone explain to me what made Saints and Soldiers exclusively Mormon (as one of the reviews say, 'made by, for, and about Mormons'), other than the fact that the film makers were mostly Mormon?
I remember that one soldier who regularly read his bible in his foxhole, and the crisis of conscience he was having, but I didn't think that was even communicated very well, or with any emotional power.
That said, it's been a while since I last saw it.
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I think, additionally, that it was originally a short produced for BYU "Final Cut" and that the full lenghth film grew out of that. However, I would call it exclusively Mormon the same way I would Napoleon Dynamite, ie not-very-much-at-all.
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Okay, I just watched Brigham City to complete my Richard Dutcher film festival. I really enjoyed it. The final scene was very moving. I don't usually watch serial killer movies but this one was special. Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?
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I've found a problem with the final scene is that unless one has a testimony of the Atonement and the Sacrament, it doesn't work. I've had friends who got really mad at me after that last scene, because it didn't give them the same sense of hope and closure I got.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Yeah, I'm sure that people who aren't Mormons would have to be translating a lot, trying to understand what it was about, and finding it hard to figure out at times. I do the same thing when I watch Miazaki or read books outside my culture. But even though the movie was intended for an LDS audience, I think the themes of community, of provincialism, and guilt and redemption are universal. I'm thinking that a sensitive viewer who was willing to stretch a little should be able to feel what's going on.
A non-LDS friend has said he wants to watch States of Grace with me. I hope it's not an unpleasant experience for him. I think since he loved the movie Crash that he might really like it, as it has some of the same themes.
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I didn't mean "Non-Mormons" so much as people who don't think the redeeming power of Christ means anything.
"Crash"? Uh...isn't that the movie about people who crash cars for their...*ahem* jollies? Or am I thinking of the wrong movie? Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Wrong movie. This one was about grace and redemption and racism. There was a magical feel to it, and when it was done I said "You see? I totally believe in the cloak!" and I was amazed that my friend said he did too.
Since you haven't seen the movie you won't know what that means, though. I wish there were a way to explain other than just telling you to watch the movie.
Oh, and I see what you mean about someone needing to believe in the the redeeming power of Christ to enjoy Brigham City. But just being willing to suspend disbelief, as one would for any story, would be enough to let it be enjoyable, I hope, to someone who appreciates movies and art. Maybe it would be enough just seeing that the people in the movie believe it, and so it changes their lives.
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I wish there were a way to explain other than just telling you to watch the movie.
