The Other Side Of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Do you enjoy watching "7th Heaven" on the WB?
Review: If so, you will love this movie. I, on the other hand, found this religious melodrama to be something you would find on the Christian channel. The story about a Mormon missionary working in Tonga was not believable. Not because of the idea, but because when he is there, it seems as if he becomes the King of the island, whcich I seriuosly doubt would happen, considering he is such a nerd. I found the whole story, although a true one, too cheesy and just lame. The scene where he denies having sex with the fine island girl is just too much to believe.

Rating:
Summary: The other Side Of Heaven
Review: This movie was the best movie I have seen in a very long time. It was funny, sad, exciting, and up lifting. I appreciated the fact that we could take our family and not be embarrassed by what was being said or done before our eyes on the big screen. It was very realistic and very believeable. The characters were good, but also very human. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Film, Unfairly treated!
Review: Why is this movie getting such bad press (and such little publicity). It's a great film that deserves to have national popularity for it's inspiration and great story. Why is everyone having a cow over all the new mormon flicks. There are lot's of Cathlic and Jewish flicks all over the place. It's is only natural for Mormon movies to start poping up considering that Their church is now the fifth largest in the nation and spreding fast everywhere in the world. I think the mormons deserve some credit and mutual respect for their belifs. It took the world a long time to warm up to them and discover the truth behind the lies and steryotypes. Now let's just calm down and get to know them. They're great people and I say that the movie is great too.

Rating:
Summary: Eliminate the girl in the white dress, please.
Review: There were a few things holding this movie back from being great: the love story and underdeveloped plot. They either needed to make the love story a stronger element or just eliminate it completely, because, honestly, Anne Hathaway winking at me as she skips on the beach wasn't developing their relationship for me at all. Also, I needed to feel that something had changed after his mission. I liked his experience and enjoyed the film, but it could have been very powerful if I felt that something had really changed for the protagonist -- that he had changed. Even so, I didn't find the movie plotless or pointless, I just found it a little weak with the weak love story.

Rating:
Summary: Wholesome and uplifting
Review: This movie was wholesome and uplifting in contrast to many of the movies out there. It is one of the few movies that I would actually purchase when it comes out on video.

Rating:
Summary: Would recommend to anyone (except virulent anti-Mormons)
Review: If viewers missed the first 15 minutes or so of the movie, I doubt any other than members of the Mormon Church would necessarily realize that it is about a Mormon missionary (except, possibly, for the give-away white shirt and tie). It could just as well be about a Catholic priest or other Christian missionary in a strange land, having to learn the language on the fly, knowing nothing about the people or their customs, who overcame all these and numerous other obstacles to learn to love the people and their customs. It was not a "Mormon proselyting/propaganda piece" at all. How to present a story about a missionary (of any faith) on a proselyting mission without at least some "preaching" is a mystery to me, but that is one objection I have seen in various venues.

I would agree with and can find little to add to the preceding reviews that found the film inspiring, uplifting, and even enlightening. Having read the book (after seeing the movie), I can say that virtually everything in the movie was right out of the book. I heard comments coming out of the move that it didn't follow the book for various reasons:

* "In the book the big storm happened first, on the way to the islands." The book presented the big storm (referred to in other reviews as "the perfect storm") in the first chapter (hence the original title of the book, "In the Eye of the Storm"), but it should have been clear that this was something that actually happened some time during Elder Groberg's 3-year mission experience, not enroute to Tonga. I presume that its location in the movie was closer on the timeline to where it actually occurred.

* "I didn't like the way the so-called Mission President talked to (Elder Groberg). No Mission President would talk that way." Nonetheless, that scene depicted the pretty much as it was portrayed in the book. Of course I have no way of assessing the voice inflections, etc., but since Elder and Sister Groberg were, as I understand it, present on the set for a good part if not all of the filming, I am sure it was pretty accurate. He also apologized the next morning for his attitude the previous day.

For anyone interested, other deviations from the book were as follows:

* As with "The Lord of the Rings," if you put everything in the book into the movie it would be twice as long-some things had to be left out.

* The location was confined to one island, Niuatoputapu, rather than the several that Elder Groberg actually was stationed on at various times or that he visited, and incidents that actually involved several different persons and islands were limited to a few characters from the island of Niuatoputapu. This probably to keep the cast of characters from being totally confusing to the viewer as well as to keep production costs down (it's no "Midway" or "Pearl Harbor," after all).

* The actual "preaching" and, for those who would call it that, "Mormon propaganda" were in the book, mostly in the form of scriptural quotes from the Bible as well as the other Mormon scriptures. For the most part, any "preaching" done in the movie was worded in such a manner as to not raise the ire of the non-Mormon Christian. Unfortunately there are those who would find reason to complain no matter what was said or done once they discovered that it was a movie involving a Mormon.

...

Rating:
Summary: Take the family
Review: What a refreshing change from the typical movie. Great plot and substance! No foul language, nude scenes, or sexual innuendos of any sort. Take your family or your best girl and not have to offend them or her!

Rating:
Summary: walked out
Review: Thought it was slickly-produced [production] for the Mormon church, it blew its chance at telling a real story. The lead character is sickly sweet to the point of not seeming human, and what's up with his miracle cures? I agree the overall view towards the native people was insulting, they were treated like children and really the whole mission of the church was to eradicate the native way of life -- which by the way it now exploits at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu! I had to walk out (though I admit I only went because someone else wanted to go, I didn't really feel I'd get an honest or interesting movie). The scenery was pretty, but that's about it.

Rating:
Summary: A Rarity!
Review: Wow. It's really nice to see something different. It's not only a good movie but it's also a realistic movie about good - a real rarity. As a true story it can't be mocked without bias, yet it's bound to anger the hedonistic and enrage the anti-Mormon crowd.

I thought the acting was great and the supporting cast was particularly strong. It's amazing that it was made with a budget of only 7 million. As such it's sure to make a profit and hopefully we'll see more family movies of this quality. I saw it and then enthusiastically took my whole family to see it

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: By far the best of the recent spat of "Mormon movies"

Professional reviews claimed the movie did not build towards a climax enough and just sort of floated along. Although this is accurate compared to many movies in theatres, Other Side of Heaven is not boring at all. It is emotionally touching and it keeps your interest. It is a true story and it remains fairly close to the book in describing the events.

The last reviewer felt the movie was too well constructed as a story. (as opposed to movie critics who thought it was not constructed enough) It is much more smooth than the book, and there are little things that can't be portrayed in a 2 hour movie.

To those turned away by the last reviewer, I don't think he paid much attention. Other Side of Heaven portrays a missionary going to an Island that has already been largely converted to Christianity. Whether you believe Mormonism is a cult or a Christian religion, it does not matter. The movie is not about the educating of "pagans" and co-opting a culture. It is about the growth of an individual missionary and the growth of the people around him. The cultural things that Elder Grober speaks against in the movie are not actual parts of Tongan culture, but things that were brought by previous imperialist expansion. (Alcohol and bribing government officials) I am not sure where Douglas LaRose (the previous reviewer) got his idea about the symbolism in the movie, but he wasn't paying much attention. The people rolling their eyes at a mourner were not rolling their eyes at a mother expressing sorrow. They were rolling their eyes at a professional mourner. Some one who comes to funerals and pretends to be sad so that they can get free food and a place to stay.

If you are a Latter-day Saint and you have read the book you may be bothered by things that are missing. If you are not LDS, you may be a bit confused about Mormon culture during the beginning of the movie.

And being on a small budget some of the filming could have been a whole lot better, but it is not enough to detract from the story.

A lot of people come to this movie expecting to hate it because they don't like Latter-day saints or "Mormon" culture. Others come and they will love it no matter what because it is about their Church.
Come without bias and be prepared for an entertaining movie. It is not perfect. Mormon or not there will be things that will bug you and things you will love. But either way this is an overall excellent movie that is suitable for people of all ages.