Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

During the 1850s there were a lot of immigrants to North America. Many wanted to escape religious strife and recover from the horror of famine that had ravaged western Europe during the 1840-1850 period.This film reveals how individuals - and indeed an entire community - coped with death for many years after arriving in North America. Landon wisely produced a film that was not pious, nor a bloody horror-story, but shed light on how these generally good people went on living and dealt with feelings of guilt about their real, imagined, or inherited responsibility for death and dying of others.These people never had our current-knowledge and skills about resolving grief and guilt associated with death and dying, so this film demonstrates how organized religion around 1850 might have brought peace-of-mind - at the very least- and helped them cope more effectively with death and dying.

I was expecting an awkward preachy "Christian" movie, but the acting was excellent and the story twisted me around and I practically cried straight through the last half hour of this movie. Every single character was well motivated, and the plot and character development played out at a good pace. Characters that you hate you later come to sympathize with. No one is all good or all bad; they felt real. Their actions made perfect sense, in retrospect, given their experiences and their isolation. Their accents took a little while to become accustomed to, though. We found that we had to use the subtitles to follow everything that was going on. Once we got used to them, though, we were drawn into the story. The flashbacks at the end of the movie were particularly wrenching. You'll be emotionally drained and elated by the time you finish this movie. It's a must-see.

First let me address the Criticism. Editing- the editing is NOT bad but rather we've all become used to the Hollywood standard of pace and rhythm that leaves scenes shortchanged and without finishing a line of thought. The scenes here are thankfully played through to allow a more realistic flow for the actors.Accents- Unless there are thousands of Gaelic language professors out there, the rest of us can suspend belief and listen to the "Welsh" accented English just fine. Christian theme- Would it really kill any of you to actually enjoy a movie with a message that is Christian, or do you need an F bomb every 30 seconds? Special Effects- OK, so Idustrial Light and Magic wasn't utilized in the filming, but then, Cadi Forbes wasn't twirling a light saber either.Thank you Michael Landon Jr. for a wonderful film and a welcome refreshing movie. Just when I thought all was lost, you created a ray of hope. Everyone, please see this movie and quit whining.

The mountainous setting was beautiful; the setting appropriately looked like the Appalachia Mountains and was actually filmed in Utah! The story followed Francine Rivers' novel fairly closely. It was a plausible story of how resistant people are to God's truth and how questionable traditions replace His truth. A clear gospel message was presented through Cadi's quest for forgiveness by the Sin Eater. Although disturbing, the flashback of brutal treatment of Native Americans did depict a compassionate little boy forced to participate in brutal acts by his father. This helped portray the character of Brogan Kai, the extremely harsh antagonist, and the reason for his authoritarian "rule" of the community of people living in this cove for the past generation. Would a 12-year old girl have the courage to push against customs and adults knowing the brutality and possible death she would face? One statement was made near the end of the film, "Cadi Forbes, God's hasn't given you a heart of fear," which helped make her actions seem possible. The characters were developed to such a degree to get across the Story's themes of isolation, rejection, desperation, authoritarian control, unquestioned obedience, fear vs truth, forgiveness, and salvation.