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Summarized by Kent Larsen
'Gods' paints poor picture of Mormons
Seattle WA Times 29May00 A4
by John Hartl: Seattle Times movie reviewer
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- The Seattle Times' John Hartl isn't too
impressed with the popular LDS movie "God's Army" which opened this
past weekend in the Seattle area. Hartl gives the film just one and
one-half stars, but doesn't go very far in explaining why. But Hartl
does give a description of some of the scenes in the movie, claiming
that the movie doesn't paint a pretty picture of Mormons.
Hartl focuses on some of the moments when the missionaries in the
movie act like teenagers, but also portrays other elements of their
lives as not pretty. He says the missionaries "coerce" a reluctant
Catholic to accept Mormon concepts and focuses on other places where
the missionaries are faced with unresolved doctrinal issues.
But while Hartl focuses on these issues in the film, he never comes
out and says exactly what he thinks doesn't work. His biggest hint is
at the end of the article, when he notes that the film's writer,
producer and director, Richard Dutcher, is "mostly preaching to the
converted." He goes on saying, "And when his character insists that
no one here is out to convert anyone, he's at his least convincing."
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