End of the Spear (C or 2/4 stars)
Directed by Jim Hanon, 'End of the Spear', a historical documentary, of sorts, tells the story of Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), a Waodani tribesman from the Amazon basin in 1956 Ecuador. When 5 missionaries (including Chad Allen as Nate Saint) are 'speared' to death by members of this tribe, it is up to the missonaries' families to persevere, mend bridges, & teach the Gospel to these savages.
It is well-known that the crux of this film revolves around the metamorphosis of the Waodani people becoming Christians. And even if you did not know this, you look forward to seeing how the story evolves. However, much time is spent meeting the tribe, hearing their language, understanding why they fear the white man, etc. Mincayani is protector of his large family and is naturally fearful of the white man. But we don't learn who the missionaries are, how their surviving families taught Christianity, & how Mincayani is able to deal with it ... until the end of the film. I kept waiting for this to unfold, and it barely did; no good.
The actual story from which the movie is based and the movie itself doesn't match up. The real life missionaries spread the Gospel. The original 5 missionaries are integral to the story. The struggle for understanding, camaraderie, forgiveness, and knowledge of Christianity is what's most important here. However, we, as viewers, would have had no idea what the film is about had we not been privy to this factual information. 90% of the movie is about the tribe and their encounters with the surviving missionaries. I wanted to see Mincayani learn from his mistakes, learn some English and accept God in his life. We see none of this!!
It seems like an unfinished project. The lush cinematography is beautiful. And the actual story is touching, heartwarming, even eye-opening. I figured I would give this one a shot and see if I were pleasantly surprised as to how it received such lukewarm reviews. But truthfully, the direction is so poor. There are no big names (which ordinarily, should not & does not matter to me). But really, Chad Allen? There's one climactic scene involving him in the last 5 minutes that is so melodramatic and so overdone, that I couldn't believe my eyes. Why does the film focus on the tribe and barely on anything else? Why not provide the necessary exposition of other characters (who weren't Waodani). There was no incentive to care much about anyone's fate because we only see one side of the equation.
Like most movies lately, this one starts with promise. I am aware of and interested in the story, & before long, I start saying to myself, "surely this can not be it?" We barely get to meet the missionaries' wives/sister/sons, we barely see a Bible. We see no effort to wean Mincayani away from his culture & into another one. There was a lot of criticism, and rightly so, that this sort of transformation is highly politically incorrect & difficult to watch. People should not be forced to change their ways. But since it appeared the be the film's initial intent to show us this transformation (through epilogue and other narrations) ... it fell short and annoyed me when I waited 105 minutes to see nothing of the sort. The film did not complete what it intended.
It is well-known that the crux of this film revolves around the metamorphosis of the Waodani people becoming Christians. And even if you did not know this, you look forward to seeing how the story evolves. However, much time is spent meeting the tribe, hearing their language, understanding why they fear the white man, etc. Mincayani is protector of his large family and is naturally fearful of the white man. But we don't learn who the missionaries are, how their surviving families taught Christianity, & how Mincayani is able to deal with it ... until the end of the film. I kept waiting for this to unfold, and it barely did; no good.
The actual story from which the movie is based and the movie itself doesn't match up. The real life missionaries spread the Gospel. The original 5 missionaries are integral to the story. The struggle for understanding, camaraderie, forgiveness, and knowledge of Christianity is what's most important here. However, we, as viewers, would have had no idea what the film is about had we not been privy to this factual information. 90% of the movie is about the tribe and their encounters with the surviving missionaries. I wanted to see Mincayani learn from his mistakes, learn some English and accept God in his life. We see none of this!!
It seems like an unfinished project. The lush cinematography is beautiful. And the actual story is touching, heartwarming, even eye-opening. I figured I would give this one a shot and see if I were pleasantly surprised as to how it received such lukewarm reviews. But truthfully, the direction is so poor. There are no big names (which ordinarily, should not & does not matter to me). But really, Chad Allen? There's one climactic scene involving him in the last 5 minutes that is so melodramatic and so overdone, that I couldn't believe my eyes. Why does the film focus on the tribe and barely on anything else? Why not provide the necessary exposition of other characters (who weren't Waodani). There was no incentive to care much about anyone's fate because we only see one side of the equation.
Like most movies lately, this one starts with promise. I am aware of and interested in the story, & before long, I start saying to myself, "surely this can not be it?" We barely get to meet the missionaries' wives/sister/sons, we barely see a Bible. We see no effort to wean Mincayani away from his culture & into another one. There was a lot of criticism, and rightly so, that this sort of transformation is highly politically incorrect & difficult to watch. People should not be forced to change their ways. But since it appeared the be the film's initial intent to show us this transformation (through epilogue and other narrations) ... it fell short and annoyed me when I waited 105 minutes to see nothing of the sort. The film did not complete what it intended.