Emanuel

Emmanuel manages to tell a riveting, heartbreaking story, while successfully refraining from glorifying a killer. It is unfortunate how forgettable these tragedies can become, as society has to acclimate and recover from what seems like a new headline every month. Still, Ivie accomplished the impossible task of making the story about the victims only. Is the evil subject mentioned? Sure. But this documentary is not his documentary. This film gives the families of the fallen a chance to speak and let those distant from the tragedy have an idea of what they went through, and how large this problem truly was, and still is.

Even with a message to share, this piece is able to deliver it without preaching to the audience. Nothing feels heavy handed or over-explained. Ivie lays out the facts, then lets the viewer decide on their own what weight this issue carries. Although I left the theater with tears in my eyes, I also left with a feeling of empowerment and forgiveness -- something that was a focus of the film makers.

I thought this doc took a horrible tragedy and told the amazing story of love that you never see in the headlines. I want to thank the victims families for opening their hearts to share an experience that was impossible to talk about and relive.

This is one of the most important documentaries I've ever seen. To be honest, there are moments that are difficult to watch as it demands that you engage with the story - the brokenness of humanity and what it means to look it in the face. It's not a film you watch and forget about. It powerfully tells of one of the most wicked hate crimes in recent American history - the murder of nine African Americans by a white supremacist during a Bible study. While it dives into the historical and systematic issues at play, the film doesn't dwell on the details of the evil of that night too much. As it begins driving home it's purpose, you hear story after story directly from the victims' families about the forgiveness that this evil was met with in the midst of their grief. It's a powerful display of a costly and difficult forgiveness and the ways that it can drive out fear and produce hope. It's stories like these that remind us that evil doesn't have to have the final say.

A must watch!!

I was deeply moved by the powerful real-life story of people choosing forgiveness over hate. In a world that seems more divided than ever before, it was so beautiful to see how the people of Charleston came together after a horrific shooting. After seeing this film you can walk away with a feeling of hope as it offers a path forward. You won't regret a single minute you spend watching this documentary.

This movie took the time to venture into the internal feelings of survivors of the Emanuel 9 shooting. Since it is a documentary it is carefully edited to make important yet unforgettable points without traumatizing the viewers. It lays a historical foundation, it tells the immediate trauma faced by the daughter of a victim, tt humanizes the victims and gave their lives value it tells the story of hate inbreed and born in the shooter who seeks maximum input, it tells how trust in God and your beliefs in Jesus allows a person to forgive and forgive with the same love of Jesus Christ. it tells how what could have been the match that lit a "race war" in the USA was extinguished.

The writer and editor did an excellent job highlighting important facts without being "in your face" graphic. A soft approach to a hard core situation. I gave it a 10 because I am hypersensitive and expected to boo hoo throughout -- instead I felt the grace of God in their lives of the survivors instead. A must see.