One Man's Treasure

Although the plot is somewhat hokey, I rather enjoyed One Man's Treasure because I got an insight into the Latter Day Saints young missionaries and their shared experiences. For what it is supposed to do it is an effective teaching tool about the faith. Having actually had a couple of Mormon missionaries over at my house a couple of weeks ago, One Man's Treasure was a nice insight to their private lives.

Three pairs of missionary young people stumble on to a cryptic message in a locked cellar of their new home in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Two pairs are men and one pair are young women and all are intrigued by this message which says there is a great treasure to be found at the end of the search.

The primary focus is on two of them who just don't cotton to each other. Darin Southam and Charan Prabhakar just don't get along, Southam is the head of the household and one who believes in the rules, Prabhakar who is from Pakistan has a more laid back attitude. During the course of the film we learn about both of them from the others and the experience of the hunt binds them closer.

My favorite scenes in One Man's Treasure are the domestic ones, the missionaries in an around their own house seeing the various rules of their faith they deal with. I wasn't converted by any means, but it was a great insight into the Mormon missionary experience.

As for the treasure and the experiences that make Prabhakar and Southam the people they are you have to watch the film. And if you are not an LDS member and are willing to approach it with an open mind I think you can enjoy this film on a certain level. It's a lot better than some of the Christian evangelical films I've seen and reviewed.

It's quirky and sometimes hokey but also a fun ride. It also included a fair examination of the inner struggle in sacrificing self to help and serve others, finding one's spiritual connections as well as human connections in the process. Latter-day Saint cliche's, but that should not hinder enjoyment of the movie. And yes, parody of National Treasure with a faith-based theme. There are definitely some amateur actors, but the actors portraying the main characters do well. This is definitely clean and safe for kids, no inappropriate language. Don't take it too seriously, it's not meant to be a serious drama. We laughed and loved it.

Neat movie, a lot of good lessons, and a lot of good interaction among the characters. Several of the actor were pretty good. The SJ / NP conflict between the two main characters was spot-on!. That's the kind of realisticOn top of everything else, the scenery in Bristol is gorgeous.

(2009) One Man's Treasure ADVENTURE

The Mormon Christian equivalent to "National Treasure", the "DaVinci's Code" or the CBS show the "Amazing Race" in which one of the so-called elder Christians inadvertently discovers a piece of a clue, and are then paired into three different groups to compete to what lurks to the end. Like a made for TV movie of the week.

The director of the film, by the name of John Lyde, is also credited for four other positions as well according to imdb, he is also credited for 'the story', 'co-producer', 'cinematography' and for 'film editor'. It's quite a lot for a small movie.

It is good that we are allowed to express personal opinions, never have I seem one so biased against a new movie than the first published here in IMDb.

One Man's Treasure is a real enjoyable movie and the young actors/actresses do a superb job (okay I can fault the false English accent used by one of the cast, but that is a typical American perception and so wrong) I have purchased every one of the Producer JOHN LYDE'S movies, he started with real short movies first and they have all been so well produced and they have introduced many good young actors, most of them not being full time professional.

If you purchase the DVD which I recommend, there is a making of feature and John Lyde is totally honest of how limited the budget is on a production like this, but you would never know unless you are going to be over critical. By the way I am not a member of the LDS Church.

Well done John.