End of the Spear
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Plot Summary:
Based on the true story about American missionaries who attempt to bring an end to violence amongst native tribes in the jungles of Ecuador. Much spearing ensues...Opinion:
"End of the Spear" is a low budget film that's frequently poorly paced, badly written, overly melodramatic and has some pretty spotty acting. It's hard to understand at times--the editing and directing make many of the events incomprehensible, and many important elements are either explained incompletely, or never explained at all. It is, in many ways, a mess.And, you should be aware that I'm just getting these complaints over with at the beginning in order to concentrate on why "End of the Spear" is a special movie and why you'll want to see it anyway...
The heart of "End of the Spear" is where its value lies--about Christ-like service, forgiveness, and the power of the Atonement to change hearts. While neither Jesus Christ nor the Bible are ever mentioned specifically, this is a Christian movie through and through (you'll figure out even without looking it up that its production was sponsored by a Christian group). I'm once again amazed at the LDS film industry's seeming inability to create movies (Saints & Soldiers aside...) that have the same sort of spiritual core present in this movie.
"End of the Spear" shows the bare frontiers of missionary work, not amongst the "civilized" world, but deep in the remote jungles among tribes of people who are frequently violent towards outsiders. "Spear" shows missionaries not of the 19/21 year old variety but older adults with families--including young kids--who have more to lose. We see Nate--the missionary leader and the father of the narrator--face danger in order to contact the Waodani tribe and convince them to stop their constant cycle of violence which threatens to destroy their entire culture. Why put his life on the line for an unknown tribe of people he's never met? Because, as he states simply at the beginning, there are things he and his family know and have that the Waodani do not...and they need to know, even at the risk of his own life.
The cycle of violence has run deep for many generations in both the Waodani tribe and their neighbors--not because they are naturally blood-thirsty and war-like, but because in tit-for-tat Israeli/Palestinian fashion, one violent act by one provokes one from the other as 'revenge', which provokes another one by the first, and so on... As is often the case, I doubt anyone in either tribe could tell you who or what "started" the feud, but as it continues it threatens the existence of both tribes, unless the missionaries can convince them to put an end to spearing.
There are many lessons here both for Latter-Day Saints, or anyone. There are reminders about what a sacrifice missionary work can be, and what the potential rewards are. There are examples of exceedingly great faith where brave missionaries boldly enter into areas to meet with people they already know are responsible for deaths of other missionaries before them. Why do they do it? Because they believe in their cause and that God will allow them to perform a great service. There are examples of where taking the first step towards turning the other cheek and not letting violence beget more violence is the key towards reconciling with your enemies and creating a happier society for all. There is a lesson about how not fighting does not make one weak (any more than fighting necessarily makes one strong). And a lesson in how one can--even with habits long ingrained through time--turn from the past and have a change of heart.
It's too bad that many of the acting, writing, and structural elements of the film are sub-par, or this could have been a real masterpiece. Like local LDS films, this suffers from a low budget (about $10 million) and it shows, but if you get past the rough edges on the outside, you'll find a movie with a spiritual center that cannot be denied...
Content Analysis: (PG-13, 0-0-3-0 on the Baron's PSVD scale)
A fair number of people get 'speared' in this movie--often with blood. None of it is particularly graphic, although certainly PG-13 level. There's one use of God's name in vain--notable only because this is a Christian movie and the character is a missionary. Of course, I served with missionaries who swore, so I guess that's meaningless...
In-depth Analysis:
One reviewer notes perceptively that "End of the Spear" is the type of film that "conservatives will overpraise and liberals will overcriticize" due to its explicit Christian content. However, all things considered, the Christian content is not really that 'explicit'--it only seems that way, because most Hollywood movies eliminate it completely...
While I'm sure there are some Christian reviewers who will overpraise the movie's content and ignore its many flaws in presentation, the 'overcriticize' part is hard to argue. A glance at the variety of reviews available for this movie shows a number of nonsensical negative comments about racism and proselytizing that aren't evident from the movie.
Some important points:
- The Waodani are not portrayed as bloodthirsty savages who need to be civilized--they fight, essentially, for the honor of their tribe in redressing past wrongs, and in all other instances are shown to be civilized people who care about family, and happiness, albeit still within a primitive jungle society.
- The Waodani's most objectionable tradition involves burying live children with dead parents, although this is shown to be on the outs even before the missionaries arrive, with many of the Waodani resisting it out of common sense.
- The missionaries' primary intent is to stop the violence. To that end, the story of Christ (someone who "was speared, but did not spear back") is used effectively. No other Christian traditions including baptism or wearing crosses are shown to be pushed upon the Waodani.
- Neither is Jesus Christ mentioned by name--taking a page from Ammon in Alma 22, they build upon the existing concepts of "God" among the Waodani (the equivalent of the "Great Spirit") and all doctrine is taught using Waodani words.
- The missionaries spend effort learning the Waodani language to communicate, instead of forcing the Waodani to learn English.
- The missionaries are shown to participate in Waodani tribal dances and in general joining and participating in their culture, instead of forcing the Waodani to dress or act like "Americans". The idea that the missionaries are there to force the Waodani to "abandon their culture" has no basis in the film.
In short, the missionaries brought to the Waodani peace, and some modern medicine--two things that would seem to be above criticism. The teaching of religion is implied, but is not portrayed as the primary (or only) motive. The Christian part of "End of the Spear" could be considered 'suppressed', in fact, instead of obvious. And the Waodani are treated very fairly by the filmmakers--as real people despite their 'paganness'.
Basically, I don't know what more a Christian film can do to be balanced and fair while still being fundamentally Christian. I don't know what more their critics could possibly want, if in fact it's not just the idea of a movie that implies that Christian beliefs are true and helpful to others that offends them. If facts have been changed and the movie is not a accurate representation of what actually happened, then that's a fair complaint, but with only the movie to go on I see nothing that would make this movie a biased Christian tract instead of an sincere attempt to show how Christ-like love made a difference among the Waodani tribe.
Random Notes & Comments:
(1) The Wikipedia listing is here, which provides more information on the production and various controversies surrounding it. The story in "End of the Spear" was also told in documentary fashion by the same filmmakers earlier in "Beyond the Gates of Splendor".
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