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A true story of the painful experience suffered by a good girl wanting to do right by her family whilst it dawns on her that the religious sect she was born into places a doomsday belief above simple humanity.

She and her family are subjected to sentencing by a cabal of men who are called 'elders' whenever they stray from the path of Jehovah. Wrong doers who smoke, fornicate or receive blood transfusions risk being expelled from the chosen few who believe a happy life will be theirs after Armageddon.

The strong irony of adulterous men being forgiven is in stark contrast to the wrath shown towards a teenage girl who loves her family deeply and wants to please them, yet is exposed to the normal temptations of an adolescent.

We need more films such as this in a world where increasing religious fanaticism and evangelism are threatening the intelligent evolution of man and women kind.

The girl on whom the film is based gives her stamp of approval by making a very brief appearance.

The saddest thing of all is the excruciating loneliness suffered by those who are expelled from a tightly enclosed religious sect and treated as though they are dead. What a compassionate bunch of nitwits!

For those interested in the social and cultural influences of certain religions in modern society, Worlds Apart offers an interesting, realistic perspective of a Jehovah's Witness girl trying to reconcile her faith, whilst involving herself in a relationship with a "non-believer" older boy.

It's quite a simple storyline presented by co-writer/director Niels Arden Oplev and clearly based on a true Danish story, but enhanced by the even-handed observations of the practices of this closed religious group, which has followers around the world.

Sara Dahl (Rosalinde Mynster) is seventeen years old and has been raised in a family of strict Jehovah's Witnesses. Sara follows the tenets of the faith and often joins her family to witness local people door to door in hopes of attracting new converts. Despite the Dahl family's devotion to their church, domestic matters are complicated when her father (Jens Jorn Spottag) is unfaithful to her mother (Sarah Boberg), and though contrite, she's unwilling to forgive him. In one of the more unsettling scenes in the movie, the 3 Dahl children vote to stay in the family home with the father, knowing this will lead to the mother leaving home as she wasn't prepared to forgive his transgressions. Sara, being the oldest child and a business college student, becomes the stand-in mother for her siblings, before meeting Teis (Pilou Asbaek), a boy she is immediately attracted too, at a dance club. Adding an extra layer of intriguing complexity to the story (without spoiling), is that we soon find out the eldest Dahl sibling, a son Jonas, has been expelled from his local church and then family, for "reading the wrong materials", questioning the Elders decisions and not repenting for these actions.

Worlds Apart is a well-directed, well-acted movie, illuminating the conventions of a religious group, that whilst being well-known, is frequently regarded by many in mainstream society, as one supporting character observes, as a "sect", As such it is frequently charged with indoctrination and manipulation of its adherents, by the powerful and influential Elders of the church branches. Ultimately Sara does make a contentious decision (as the real life person did), but we are reminded through the playing out of the narrative, that this may well mean she will have to contend with life-changing factors affecting her social and familiaral networks. It is a challenging, provocative, yet entertaining film that is recommended for those drawn to discussions of fundamentalist thinking and ideals.

A rather well-documented drama, presenting the closed society of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

It shows that "something" that they don't tell you when they knock on your door, but this is not a hateful film. The main character, a young girl, is trapped between the love for her unbeliever boyfriend and the love for her JW-family. In the Jehovah's witnesses world, these two are mutually-exclusive.

The only reason I'm giving this picture just 9 stars is because 10 are for the titans of the genre, like "Schindler's list" or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". But these 9 stars are well deserved in my opinion.

Much of my family and friends are JW's and have no interest in seeing this film.Knowing their belief's I really understand their lack of interest in a film maybe about JW's made by non-JW's,it's a no brainer,stay away from it.The reviews only enforce the thought of avoidance.Good acting is good acting but using a movie drama for education on a religion doesn't make sense.In one of the Ben-Hur movies they try to pass it off as a Bible experience even though the Bible makes NO mention of a person named Ben-Hur.The makers of this film may of have thought the movies errors had less chance of upsetting JW's than another religion.Enjoy the acting but why formulate a religious opinion from a movie made by a non-member of that religion.

Love these Danish films...such emotion, tackling religion this time. Unfortunately, religion can ask too much from us mere mortals. The fact that the movie was based on a true story, made it more relatable...not with the Jehovahs only, but with any paternalistic religion. Enough said...