It's a drama about sexual abuse in a Pennsylvania Amish community in modern times. It tells the story of a young woman who meets resistance from her religious community when she discloses abuse from a trusted uncle. Actual events inspired the film.
Rachel (Dylan Ratzlaff) is an older Amish teenager who has just been baptized into her Amish church. Her family includes her father, Levi (Troy Mundle), and mother, Sara (Kellie Martin). In addition, she has a younger sister, Bevin (Rubi Tupper), and still younger twin brothers, Lucas (Jaden Oehr) and Amon Alexander Brophy).
At an Amish church service, a middle-aged man confesses inappropriate advances to an Amish teenage daughter. The Bishop (Eugene Lipinski) asks the girl if she will forgive the man. After hesitating, she says yes. The Bishop then puts the man on probation for six weeks.
We then learn that Rachel has been abused for many years by Uncle Iddo (Micah Steinke). When Rachel discloses this to her father, he punishes her for tempting Iddo. Nate (Khobe Clarke), an unbaptized Amish friend, promises to help her leave. However, she is held in an Amish institution for wayward girls for several weeks but eventually gets to Philadelphia, where she receives help from Grace (Rukiya Bernard) and Cleve (Ryan Mah).
The movie then follows her decisions on how to respond to the shunning she received and her mother's severe illness.
There is so much to say about "An Amish Sin." It tackles an important subject that is a real issue in Amish communities. It starkly portrays the "blame the victim" choice made in many situations. There are Plain People institutions designed to address "wayward" church members, though probably not with the starkness depicted in the film.
The depiction of the Amish visually and culturally is highly confusing. The clothing is conservative but represents no group. The hair and beards of the Amish men are all over the map. Levi's hairstyle looks more like a 1960s hippie than an Amish man. The four-part-harmony music might be conservative Mennonite, but it's not Amish slow-tempo worship music. The theology was too evangelical for Old Order Amish but might fit some New Order Amish. Finally, the film's climax has little sense of reality.
Because of the importance of the topic, I wished for a better script.
Rachel (Dylan Ratzlaff) is an older Amish teenager who has just been baptized into her Amish church. Her family includes her father, Levi (Troy Mundle), and mother, Sara (Kellie Martin). In addition, she has a younger sister, Bevin (Rubi Tupper), and still younger twin brothers, Lucas (Jaden Oehr) and Amon Alexander Brophy).
At an Amish church service, a middle-aged man confesses inappropriate advances to an Amish teenage daughter. The Bishop (Eugene Lipinski) asks the girl if she will forgive the man. After hesitating, she says yes. The Bishop then puts the man on probation for six weeks.
We then learn that Rachel has been abused for many years by Uncle Iddo (Micah Steinke). When Rachel discloses this to her father, he punishes her for tempting Iddo. Nate (Khobe Clarke), an unbaptized Amish friend, promises to help her leave. However, she is held in an Amish institution for wayward girls for several weeks but eventually gets to Philadelphia, where she receives help from Grace (Rukiya Bernard) and Cleve (Ryan Mah).
The movie then follows her decisions on how to respond to the shunning she received and her mother's severe illness.
There is so much to say about "An Amish Sin." It tackles an important subject that is a real issue in Amish communities. It starkly portrays the "blame the victim" choice made in many situations. There are Plain People institutions designed to address "wayward" church members, though probably not with the starkness depicted in the film.
The depiction of the Amish visually and culturally is highly confusing. The clothing is conservative but represents no group. The hair and beards of the Amish men are all over the map. Levi's hairstyle looks more like a 1960s hippie than an Amish man. The four-part-harmony music might be conservative Mennonite, but it's not Amish slow-tempo worship music. The theology was too evangelical for Old Order Amish but might fit some New Order Amish. Finally, the film's climax has little sense of reality.
Because of the importance of the topic, I wished for a better script.