The Falls: O Amor Não é Pecado

The Falls explores the Mormon Faith and it's relationship to gay love when two male missionaries develop feelings for one another.

The depth of research and the excellent acting by everyone involved makes this movie a "must buy" DVD.

The dialog was real for what is a very sensitive topic. I hope that people of the Mormon faith can see that special care and respect was taken towards their religion. However, the movie does point out the unnecessary conflict LGBT Mormons must go through.

Jon Garcia is an amazing talented director and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

"The Falls" had the potential to be exploitative and inflammatory, considering its dual subjects: Mormons and homosexuality. Thankfully, it is neither. Credit is due to writer and director Jon Garcia, who deftly navigates a minefield of controversy to create a moving story of one young missionary's personal journey. It is a journey that is admittedly hard to capture in under two hours, so this telling is, of a necessity, elliptical.

Mormons will view this film in a completely different light than non-Mormons, despite the director's care in trying not to offend potential audiences. A touching film about two missionaries is not the same thing as a film about two missionaries touching.

Garcia firmly believes that he has made the former: the story of a personal journey and finding love. A film that is respectful of the religion that makes that love fraught with difficulty. And indeed he has.

Nevertheless, many devout Mormons will see the latter: a profane, sacrilegious exploitation of one of the proudest products of the Church--its missionaries. Garcia, who took great pains to learn about the Church, even so far as taking the missionary lessons and attending services for months (with no pretense), may not fully appreciate one peculiarity about Mormons.

Ever since 1838, when Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri issued the infamous "Extermination Order" to shoot any Mormon within the state on sight, Latter-Day Saints have lived with a siege mentality: it's us against the world. (This was most recently evident in the campaign of Mitt Romney.) Mormons are suspicious of any outsider who tries to portray their faith. They seek to influence, control, and even orchestrate such portrayals in most cases to assure that they and their faith are not disparaged.

Missionaries are to devout Mormons what servicemen are to patriotic Americans: they are heroes beyond reproach, at least while they are serving. The Mormon discomfort with Garcia's film will stem not so much from the subject of homosexuality, which most Mormons are now aware exists among even their devoutest members, but the fact that a less-than-sacred portrait of the Church's missionaries has been painted for all the world to see.

The Mormons' problem with this film and Garcia's triumph are one and the same: the brutal honesty of the story. Missionaries are not all angels. And they are not all the self-assured messengers of the Gospel that they attempt to be, sometimes with great personal struggle. But Garcia exposes the weaknesses of his characters lovingly. He does not belittle them or shame them or parade them as evidence of Mormonism's failure.

I understand the Mormon discomfort and the belief that, while some missionaries struggle with their sexual feelings, to indulge them WHILE serving a mission is a disgrace, never mind what happens afterward. But I also understand Garcia's message that it takes a brave and self-assured person, missionary or no, to stand up to such a formidable force as one's faith and family combined, and say "I am not ashamed of who I am."

At the time of writing, "The Falls" has an IMDb rating of 5.6, which in my experience means the movie is barely worth a watch. Fortunately I ignored that score and had the pleasure to watch it last night. The two main characters are beautifully sweet. We get an insight into the strange world of the Mormons – two young men sent off on their mission to spread the word. It was interesting perspective, I wondered if many of the scenes of the missionaries being brushed off (as we all tend to do), were in fact real.

In any case, the main story is about the developing bond between the two young men, while trying to disguise the fact that one fancies the other a bit more than just a missionary brother.

Much of the soundtrack uses a slide guitar, which gave it a bit of a Brokeback Mountain feel. It does set the mood however, which I found lovely. I think the texture of the film perfectly captured that feeling of young romance.

There are some funny and wonderful scenes while the missionaries try to convert a down and out pot smoking honourably discharged war veteran.

The lead actors are very good and the pace of how things unfold means there is never a moment where you think the movie is slow. As the film drew to a close I did not want it to end. This is definitely one of the better gay themed movies I have seen recently.

I've read other reviews of this film and I have to say, the negative reviews are trite. IT'S AN INDEPENDENT FILM! Production quality isn't on par with a multi-million dollar film, but the actors portraying these flawed people are believable. Isn't that what we actually look for in any film? I have watched all three of these, back-to-back more than once because I like crying and this story makes me cry. I really can't say which of the three I like the most since all three touch my heart, and I sincerely have cried during all three. I accidentally saw the first installment then got up, after going to bed, to watch the 3rd. I will watch them again, 1-2-3.

My Partner and fiance was Mormon for over 30 years, struggling with himself, trying not appease the cult that it is. Put aside the ridiculous founder Smith and his corruption, and you realize members were misguided.

THe harm the Mormon church has done to love is profound, and the movie series shows how men who love other men can over come the corruption and hate against love freeing themselves from tidings that pay a church for hatred.

He is loved now, genuinely not stuck in a marriage of image, and to appease the corrupt. Shifting the real love to genuine compassion to help all people, not those consumed by ego that have fallen from any hope of any grace by hating love.

I plan to play all 3 movies for him, and know it will trigger emotions, tears, and I will be their beside him, making him realize he has real love and freedom now, and the cult is gone, and his letter to them, as well as Oaks being blunt about the Mormon corruption is sent. The Mormon church will either have a new and kind fair revelation with the newer members, or it will fade as a cult .