I will come right now and say that I have never been one for watching those low budget independent flicks. I have viewed some, but mostly go out of my way to avoid such material. Call me uncultured, closed minded, or whatever you will, I like to know what I am getting for the hour and a half to two hours of my life I am giving up for a film. Needless to say, my wife asked to view a film entitled End of the Spear last night. I had heard a little about it and was intrigued by the plot and story line, yet never pursued the film. You guessed it...INDEPENDENT film. I decided to go ahead and give it a shot...
Based upon a true event, the film addresses the Saint family and their friends as they struggle to make contact with an elusive Waodani tribe, known for their violent history, and bring the word of God to them. After making contact by plane on several occasions, Nate Saint and five other men land their plane near the Waodani village and begin their witnessing process. This is where things go horribly wrong as all five men from the aircraft are brutally speared to death, leaving their loved ones behind.
Though this part of the story is intriguing in itself, the real story begins from here. The widowed wives of the slain missionaries, along with their children, return to the same Waodani village to pick up the job of their fallen loved ones. Thus the true tale begins as the wives and their children struggle to overcome their own grief and loss to help the Waodani people change their ways for a better life and future through the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I admit, the film was a bit hard to follow at times. I am no lover of subtitles and there are a great deal of them within this film. Yet as the movie progressed, I found the reading of the subtitles to come naturally and I hardly had to work at them anymore. The subtitles play a key role in the development of the conflict, showing you the miscommunication between the Waodani and the original five missionaries that were killed.
The only actor you might be able to recognize is the great child actor Chad Allen from the old television show Our House. He plays the role of Nate Saint and later the grown up entity of his son Steve Saint. He narrates the film as well.
The film itself is truly inspirational. After viewing it I found myself asking out loud, "Would I be able to do that? Could I help out a group of people that killed my own father?" These people do and they do so unselfishly. Powerful stuff.
The climax comes nearly at the end of the film. You watch young Steve Saint live with the villagers, leave, and then come back as a full grown man. It is at this time that the truth about what happened to his father is revealed, and Steve comes face to face with one of the individuals who actually speared his father. This encounter is a truly a classic moment in cinema and was well worth watching an INDEPENDENT film to experience.
Though the film has not gotten a great deal of mainstream attention and probably won't, you should not pass this one up. Yeah, you probably can find other movies that may make you laugh, cry, and scare the hell out of you for your $2.50-$5.00 movie rental depending where you are when you read this, but I doubt any of these other films will touch you quite like this one. Nor will they make you think...think about yourself and what you are doing to make this world a better place.A great line comes from Chad Allen's character Steve in the climax of the movie when he states, "No one took my father's life...he gave it." What are WE giving?
I'm thinking...JM
Originally Posted 04/03/2006 at http://jmhentertainment.blogspot.com/
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