Orla Zuniga
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Stephanie
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
schuchd-1
I was spellbound as I watched this story unfold. A terrible tragedy that was national news headlines, was turned into an unbelievable triumph by the complete forgiveness of the wronged parties, and the power of God to truly transform the minds and hearts of everyone involved. After five missionary men were murdered by tribesmen in the rain forest of Ecuador, their wives and children went back to the tribe and lived with them. Strengthened by God and dependent upon His protection, they taught the people of this culture the power of forgiveness, love, and compassion. In the words of the tribesmen themselves, if the missionaries had not come to them, they would have continued to kill each other to the point of extinction.
jantoniou
This documentary is not a sermon--it is about Christians living out their faith. For those that complain about the politically correct approach to the documentary, I'd have to disagree. The faith of those involved is self-evident by their actions.We sometimes forget all but one of the original 12 disciples was martyred for their faith--and even then John barely escaped a pot of boiling oil.The wives of the men slain could have easily--many would have said should--walked away from the Waodani. Instead, they stayed and they've returned with subsequent generations of the same families. Over the years they all had contact with and spent many months in the Waodani villages, among the same men who had killed their husbands. Their children--the grand-children of the men who were killed--now call the man who killed their natural grandfather grandfather. It is truly amazing.One of the most compelling statements made in the movie was that of one of the children of the men slain--she wanted to be baptized in a place and among people that meant the most to her. She was baptized by the same men who killed her father, in the same river her father's body was dumped. If this is not a statement on the power of forgiveness, nothing is.The men who first approached the Waodani and paid the ultimate price said a very simple thing when asked why they shouldn't bring guns "just in case." Because they were ready to go to heaven and the Waodani were not. These were men who lived their faith, simply, easily, and actively. This is a superb document to not only their living faith, but that of their wives and family who are also living it out, not by slamming Christianity in our faces, but by living as Christ did--by relationship and teaching.
mcnulty
I agree with film lover that this is an amazing film about an amazing group of Christians who really "walk the walk" when it comes to loving and forgiving enemies. The widowed Elizabeth Elliott and her aunt not only forgave the Aucas who killed her husband, but went out and lived among them with the help of some Auca women. And she took her two young children with her! This DVD goes beyond a previous film, "Through Gates of Splendor," to show the children and the grandchildren's experience over many years living with the Aucas. Kathy, a daughter tells how she chose two of her father's killers to participate in her baptism, the ceremony held in the river near the grave of her father and his four colleagues. There's more to this inspiring documentary, ably edited from home movies, newsreels, photographs, and on camera interviews with Aucas and members of the missionary families. And by the way, there is a feature film coming, based on this story. Entitled THE END OF THE SPEAR, it's due out in January 2006. A neat double meaning to the title, the five men losing their lives at the end of a spear, and the coming of the missionaries bringing an end to the era of endless cycles of murder by the spear that threatened the Aucas with extinction.
movielover-23
This is the most compelling documentary and story I have ever experienced. I was only vaguely familiar the story. The idea of going to live with people who killed one of my loved ones is difficult to understand. Even the idea of why the families were there in the first place is foreign to our American culture. The music in this documentary sounds like movie music, and the people in the story are amazing, the north and south Americans.Clearly this amazing tribe would have wiped themselves out if it were not for the missionaries. They should make a feature film about this story.
