The Other Side of Heaven

My one liner says that this is an inspiring movie. Unfortunately, some of the other reviewers feel pretty uninspired by it. I guess their "a priori" hatred for the protagonist and his religion are the predicate for these feelings. This film is based on true events. It is not " Mormon propaganda" as suggested by many. The missionary happens to be a Mormon but the story would be as moving despite the denomination. It is the story of a young man on a religious mission to the Tongan people. His companion is a native and his mission is characterized by a love for this people, not condescension to them. How anyone could watch this film and come away with bad feelings is beyond me. The whole point of the film is about loving our fellow man and giving them due consideration. The protagonist has his detractors in the film also that he eventually wins over with his sincerity and goodness. If some one does not like this film--fine--but to use these pages as a canvas for painting one's hatred demonstrates the need for films of this kind. There is a lot of hatred and bigotry in the world that needs to be done away with. This film demonstrates one example of how understanding and respect develops between people. I'm sorry members of the "new inquisition" missed this point. I give it an 8 out of 10.

It is truly a rare thing to see a film that contains a show of true strength and bravery without excessive violence...tenderness without overt sexual content...emotion without dysfunction...humor without making someone the victim. It's the best kind of drama - not white hat versus black hat, but a cast of nothing but ordinary people doing their best to do right by their loved ones, themselves, and yes, their faith. It's exciting in the way that life itself is and should be exciting - it's an adventure with a purpose, driven by the heart, and for that reason, just about unstoppable!

There are those, of course, who dislike anything that portrays a character of Mormon faith, or of any religious faith, in a positive light. For them, there is no point in seeing such a film. For the rest of us, Mormon or not (I am not Mormon myself), it's a wonderful story of human determination, and an inspired young person with a full, multifaceted life, living out an amazing, eye-opening adventure.

It does an excellent job reflecting and honoring Polynesian culture as well. As someone who has taken much time to study and experience Polynesian languages and traditions, I can tell you that there are no cheesy stereotypes here, which is great because for me, a poor representation of any indigenous culture is a total deal-breaker. This film brought me back to some island adventures of my own.

In short, if I had kids, I'd definitely want them to see this movie...but since I don't, I really enjoyed it all by myself!

I really did enjoy this film, although it is certainly no cinematic masterpiece, however I do think it would be of fairly limited appeal to a non-Mormon audience. It is a fairly slow and simple story, done fairly simplistically, but not without its charms. To really appreciate it I suspect one would need to have some background knowledge of the key elements of the movie. I was certainly surprised to see it as a Disney movie and was mortified to see other posters suggesting that the advertising for the film was less than forthcoming on the true nature of the storyline. For what it is, its very entertaining and uplifting, but I would strongly suspect that this film will not appeal to a wide audience. My Vote 7/10 (although I unashamedly admit my own bias)

I'm sorry that the adolescent ravings of the previous reviewer appear first. His profound failure to "get it" is an embarrassment.

First of all, this is about a young man of "white-bread" heritage casting aside all he has and all he is, even leaving the love of his life for two and a half years, in order to immerse himself in a culture about which he is totally ignorant so that he can offer them the greatest gift he has to offer: His faith.

Rather than "looking down" on the people he has come to SERVE, he bears great hardships, and exerts himself in ways he could never have conceived, in order to connect with these people. He comes to love them, profoundly.

And their love for him in return, even those who have reason to be suspicious of him, is a testament to his sincerity.

Please recall that this is a TRUE STORY. Whatever you might think of John Groberg's religion, or his motives, the fact is that these things actually happened in just this way. He DID travel from Idaho to Tonga, he did live among the people there, he did come to gain their trust, he did bring to them a precious gift of faith, and he did return often throughout the rest of his life, with his wife and family, to be among these people whom he loved.

That anyone could be so callously dismissive of this truth is a sad commentary on our "post-Christian" society.

But I found this film to be deeply moving and very satisfying, and I recommend it highly to those who enjoy inspiring film.

There takes something to make a good movie that well represents the feelings that come through special experiences. I am well familiar with the LDS mission experience. To people of the LDS faith this can be one of the most special experiences of their lifetime. The Other Side of Heaven portrayed that better than any other film I have seen. God's Army, a movie that was also made to depict the life of an LDS missionary, was good at introducing the LDS culture to those who do not share that faith. But it lacked the spiritual feelings that also come from such an experience. The Other Side of Heaven was more successful at portraying the spiritual feelings that come from serving an LDS mission. Feelings are big for me, when I watch a movie that is what I look for most. In a scary movie I want to feel scared. In a comedy I want to feel happy. In a film that is suppose to represent a spiritual experience I want to feel a spiritual experience. God's Army didn't do that, The Other Side of Heaven did.

The Other Side of Heaven also did a good job at portraying what it is like for a person from a different culture and lifestyle clashing with a new culture for the first time. The things that happened to the main character, Elder Groberg, while getting to know the people from the new culture are very similar to others who have done the same. God's Army was did well at showing what LDS missionaries serving in the U.S. would go through. The Other side of Heaven did a good job at showing what LDS missionaries on a foreign island would go through. Although many may not experience all the extremities Elder Groberg went through, much of his interactions with the people are similar.

I hope to see more movies based on true stories do their best to portray the feelings and experiences that come from the story of what actually happened. The Movie Gandhi and Seven Years in Tibet did that. The film The Other Side of Heaven is right there with them.