The story in this movie is unsatisfying to me as a stand alone. You really need the other two stories in The Confession and The Reckoning.
It is well done with the exception of a few moments of poor acting by secondary characters. It is also deep. This is not a romance story, at least not this first chapter.
It is a difficult story with difficult issues. Amish shunning is at the heart of the movie. The torture endured by a victim of the shunning is shown well by this movie. Since the book is written by an author I don't know, but has written other stories about the Amish, I will presume that she didn't intend the bash the Amish, which is a flaw some of these movies fall into. I can't say this movie makes me feel good about them, but it does a pretty good job of showing both sides. The entire Amish community is based on protecting its members from outside influences which will lead them into sin and potentially away from the faith. The result is a very legalistic religion which is not what Jesus taught despite the quotation early on about it being better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone than to lead someone into sin. James 3 says that if you can't keep the whole law you are accountable for the consequence of all of it. And the point of that and everything Jesus taught is that only Faith in Him brings freedom from sin. Towards the end we see that the parents in the Lapp family have hidden a lie from everyone and so they need grace as well.
I often think that maybe the average Christian today has depended too much on grace and not enough on obedience, meaning me. This movie is a good chance to work through the practical issues of legalism vs grace.
I love Danielle Panabaker. She really looks the part here and yet her beauty shines through even in the Amish dress. She does well will Katie's struggles.
It is well done with the exception of a few moments of poor acting by secondary characters. It is also deep. This is not a romance story, at least not this first chapter.
It is a difficult story with difficult issues. Amish shunning is at the heart of the movie. The torture endured by a victim of the shunning is shown well by this movie. Since the book is written by an author I don't know, but has written other stories about the Amish, I will presume that she didn't intend the bash the Amish, which is a flaw some of these movies fall into. I can't say this movie makes me feel good about them, but it does a pretty good job of showing both sides. The entire Amish community is based on protecting its members from outside influences which will lead them into sin and potentially away from the faith. The result is a very legalistic religion which is not what Jesus taught despite the quotation early on about it being better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone than to lead someone into sin. James 3 says that if you can't keep the whole law you are accountable for the consequence of all of it. And the point of that and everything Jesus taught is that only Faith in Him brings freedom from sin. Towards the end we see that the parents in the Lapp family have hidden a lie from everyone and so they need grace as well.
I often think that maybe the average Christian today has depended too much on grace and not enough on obedience, meaning me. This movie is a good chance to work through the practical issues of legalism vs grace.
I love Danielle Panabaker. She really looks the part here and yet her beauty shines through even in the Amish dress. She does well will Katie's struggles.