Some will find “Here’s” creative approach and content a bit tough to embrace. But the payoff hits home. Based on the remarkable true story of Donn Fendler, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” spins a tale of survival and presents the whole family in such a powerful, positive way. “The Carpenter” crafts a unique story for an underserved demographic: people who love Jesus, MMA and heavy metal.
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Read on to get Plugged In on what’s beyond the movie titles and trailers for faith-filled and family-first reviews from Focus on the Family’s Plugged In.
Here – In Theaters
Someone once said that life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. The film “Here” takes that sentiment and tweaks it just a bit to deliver this plea: Don’t let the important things of life go unnoticed while you’re busy making other plans.
Director Robert Zemeckis takes some interesting creative risks to help communicate that request.
Zemeckis and crew present an imaginative play, of sorts, that addresses the passage of time, life and family. It’s all presented through a single, fixed-frame view of one particular space as the “story” jumps through it over millennia.
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That fixed image changes from dino-stomping ground to the forest to the field and eventually becomes the bay-windowed living room of a small colonial home. And as we continue to hopscotch back and forth through time, our view is overlayed with snapshot-like highlights — appearing on the screen like family pics plucked from a photo album.
And it soon becomes clear that the single-camera tableau isn’t focusing on a space at all; it’s the people, the couples, and families filling it that give it importance. That’s, frankly, a yeasty, experimental movie tack that some will love, some will hate, and some just won’t have the patience to sit through.
Of course, viewers of every persuasion will also have to deal with the heavy drinking and smoking in some scenarios; some references to affairs and sexuality, both visual and verbal; and some pretty coarse language.
However, if you can make it through, there are excellent performances (Robin Wright is a standout) here, and an emotional declaration that our worries about the regrets and the grinds of life are meaningless. It’s the small moments of family, love and grace that make our passage worthwhile, the film tells us.
That’s, frankly, a time-worthy reminder for us all.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Lost on a Mountain in Maine – In Theaters
“Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” based on the book of the same name, recounts the true story of Donn Fendler: his fight for survival, the tireless efforts of his family to find him, and the hundreds of people who joined in the search.
Many of us have learned to take the words “based on a true story” with a grain of salt. But as far as I can tell, this film hews pretty close to the spirit of Donn Fendler’s experience. It even intercuts its tale with real interviews of Donn’s family and others involved, adding another layer of authenticity.
“Lost on a Mountain in Maine” has a happy ending, just like the real story: After nine days lost in the wilderness, after walking more than 80 miles and losing 16 pounds, Donn Fendler was rescued. He reunited with his family, and his story was shared in such publications as The New York Times and Life. A parade was held. Donn even received the Navy Legion of Valor medal from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
It’s a remarkable story. What’s equally remarkable is the familial love on display here. Donn’s ordeal, as harrowing as it was, leads every member of the Fendler family to love and appreciate one another more deeply. There are strong messages here about a father’s impact, a mother’s love, and the strength of the family. The filmmakers of “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” dedicated their work to mothers and fathers, and that message comes through loud and clear.
This movie won’t be for everyone. Young viewers may find it difficult to watch Donn’s struggle for survival, and the focus on the Native American god Pamola muddies the story’s spiritual waters.
But few movies I’ve seen recently present the whole family in such a powerful, positive way. Combine that with Donn Fendler’s incredible true story of perseverance, and this might be one movie you and your family wouldn’t mind getting lost in.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
The Carpenter – In Theaters
I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything quite like “The Carpenter.” And I suspect that the area where Jesus, mixed martial arts and heavy metal overlap on a Venn diagram is potentially a fairly small one. I never thought I’d write this, but “The Carpenter” feels a bit like equal parts of “Rocky,” “Gladiator” and “The Chosen.”
The core of the plot is driven by Oren’s rising stature as a fighter to be feared in Palestine. In that sense, the movie hews pretty closely to a “Rocky”-like trajectory, completely with fight scenes interspersed with the obligatory training montages.
Interspersed with what is, essentially, an underdog sports movie, is a parallel story about Oren’s growing relationship with Yeshua as the master carpenter imparts his vocational — and spiritual — wisdom to his protégé. Much of what Yeshua teaches is, broadly speaking, in harmony with Scripture, though a few of the things he says feel more like a Disney fable than anything in the Bible.
Also worth noting: Oren asks Yeshua directly about what he thinks of Oren’s fighting. Yeshua doesn’t answer directly, but he suggests that we evaluate our calling based on whether it can be blessing to others or not. Oren’s fighting certainly isn’t a blessing to those he bashes in the nose, but his success is a blessing to Mira, his friends and the people of Nazareth. And that’s probably the film’s answer to that question, even if Yeshua declines to give one.
All of that makes for a wildly divergent mashup of genres that typically don’t spend time together. At times, the result felt a bit corny and unbelievable. Whether or not ancient Israel had MMA fight clubs, I can’t really say. But, that said, the movie has a good heart and seems designed to appeal to those who love MMA, Jesus or both. And it could even include some UFC fans who’ve never seen a Christian movie before, and who just might be prompted to think about Jesus in a deeper way.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Reviews written by Bret Eckleberry, Adam R. Holz and Bob Hoose.
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