All Saints

While Hollywood is loathe to admit it, while the studios often make money, a very large percentage of the public simply never goes to movies. Some of this, no doubt, is because movies often are filled with violence and other offensive content and many choose not to see it and spend their dollars on such films. Fortunately, in recent years various small studios have sprung up to fill this gap...and "All Saints" is among the best of these films I have seen.

This is the inspirational story of All Saints Episcopal Church, which is in rural Tennessee. The church was about to be sold as the membership had dwindled down to almost nothing. Reverend Spurlock (John Corbett) is brought in to close up shop, so to speak, but ended up leading an effort to try to save the church property because it had just become such an important part of a group of Burmese refugees' lives...and with their help he worked himself practically to death to save something many felt wasn't worth saving.

While technically speaking, there are films that look a bit better and feature CGI and huge stars, this one manages to entertain anyway and it sure didn't hurt that the picture had Corbett and a few other familiar faces. Overall, very well made and uplifting...the sort of film you could take anyone to see (unless, perhaps, they are Satan worshipers...I would take them to see "It" instead).

Overall the film is very enjoyable, and will be more so for those that are religious, even more so, for those with Christian backgrounds. It panders tho those audiences, but anybody with good sense can find something pure and inspiring from the film's story.

It starts off rocky, with poor editing and confusing scenarios, however as the plot develops and we learn more about the characters, it seems to pick itself back up and progress more smoothly. The film is rather plain in and of itself, but does a great job bringing an ordinary and believable true story to life, while delivering a strong message about community and faith.

Nothing truly stands out as extremely amazing about the film, but neither is there anything horrible. What the film does very well, is bringing a true story to the screen. It is quite real, believable, and does not exaggerate miracles. It is simply what it is, nothing overly grandeur, even using real people from the story to play themselves, because why not? The story is about them, and a humble tale to help inspire those who watch it.

Through its flaws, it's well put together and quite enjoyable. It's essentially a feel-good completely family friendly story, a film Hallmark movies pretend to be.

In spite of the fact that I, myself, am a pastor, I'm not generally enamoured of Christian movies. They're too formulaic and entirely predictable to be truly interesting. But this movie did pique my curiosity. First, because it was a true story about a real church and a real pastor facing a real challenge that's so familiar to many churches today. Second, because it didn't sound as if it was a hard-sell evangelical type of story (it is, after all, about an Episcopalian Church - hardly a hotbed of fundamentalism) but was rather about the real journey of one congregation to redefine its purpose. All Saints was a small and struggling Episcopal Church in Smyrna, Tennessee that was slated to close because it could no longer afford its mortgage. Then, suddenly, a large group of refugees from Myanmar - who happened to be Anglican - moved to the community and started attending the church. Together with the pastor, Michael Spurlock (who was newly ordained and had been assigned to All Saints for the sole purpose of guiding them to their end - a sort of pastoral palliative care for a dying congregation), the newcomers transform the church by creating a farm on its property, and using the produce to both feed the refugee population and to produce income for the church, giving the congregation new life and convincing the ecclesiastical powers that be to keep it open as a mission church.

The story isn't exactly an "exciting" one - but it's very faithful and faith-filled. Not in a fundamentalist sense, but in the sense of a diverse group of faithful Christians who work together to find a way to make a difference, and who feel themselves led by God to a new way of being "church." It's a pleasant and inspiring movie to watch. It's not hard-sell Christian. Among those who contribute to the farm are Buddhists and even "nothings" (presumably atheists) along with long time congregational members and members of a presumably evangelical mega-church nearby. But this particular church and its mission drew together all of these folk who in the normal course of things might never have known each other or worked together.

I thought the cast - particularly John Corbett and Cara Buono as Pastor Michael Surlock and his wife Aimee and also Nelson Lee as Ye Win (who was the leader of the refugee population) - were strong, and the story resonated with me and should resonate with anyone concerned about the plight of the church in so many places today and who are looking for a sign that the faith still matters and the church still makes a difference. This movie accomplished that. Well done. 7/10

This is the true story of Michael Spurlock, a salesman turned Pastor of a small Smyrna Tennessee Episcopal church. It traces what happens after he's been told by the diocese he must close his church due to low attendances. The events that transpire over the difficult months that follow are as unlikely as they are remarkable. Nothing runs smoothly for Michael, his struggling family or his small band of supporters. The hardships they encounter are at times soul destroying but, hardships can also push people to work against impossible odds - in an attempt to turn them into goals that build community bonds. The outcome of this curious story is one that needs to be seen and won't be readily forgotten. What can be achieved by people of different cultures - when their ongoing communal existence is threatened - is powerful indeed. An unusual story of survival against the odds, told with intelligence, quality production values, good performances and a better than average music score.

While inspirational, this movie is also very real in depicting the awkward and unpredictable messiness of life while trying to follow God. Some of the casting is really strong. It may push us a little toward out-of-the-box thinking. I will try to see it again partly because it was thought provoking and also because there were a few scenes I couldn't understand what was said. It is not necessarily Christian, but more spiritual. As far as reviews go, it's humorous to see how a spiritual movie predictably ends up averaging 6 stars when only 7% of viewers rated it 6 stars. Since 40% rated it 10 stars and 20% rated it 1 star there's a much higher chance (60%) you will be in one of the totally love/totally hate it groups.