Customer Reviews

God's Army

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

God's Army is a spiritual journey made rich by the universal human struggles and strivings of the young people on that journey. Their questions, missteps, and mistakes make their yearning for, and grasping of the sacred powerful, and real. Although Richard Dutcher made this movie for a Mormon audience, I, a non-Mormon, loved it, as did a Muslim friend. God's Army has, in fact proved somewhat controversial in Mormon circles. While it's been very popular in Utah, with many finding the portrayal of Mormon missionary experience very true to life-- there is a minority who feel it's not proper to portray anything other than a sanitized picture of Mormonism to the outside world. Richard Ductcher, who produced and directed the film (as well as playing the part of ''Pops'' the oldest missionary) is a active Mormon who wrote this movie out of his own life experience--at different times he experienced the faith, doubt, joy, despair, miracles, etc. portrayed fictionally by the different characters in this film.

God's Army is a spiritual journey made rich by the universal human struggles and strivings of the young people on that journey. Their questions, missteps, and mistakes make their yearning for, and grasping of the sacred powerful, and real. Although Richard Dutcher made this movie for a Mormon audience, I, a non-Mormon, loved it, as did a Muslim friend. God's Army has, in fact proved somewhat controversial in Mormon circles. While it's been very popular in Utah, with many finding the portrayal of Mormon missionary experience very true to life-- there is a minority who feel it's not proper to portray anything other than a sanitized picture of Mormonism to the outside world. Richard Ductcher, who produced and directed the film (as well as playing the part of ''Pops'' the oldest missionary) is a active Mormon who wrote this movie out of his own life experience--at different times he experienced the faith, doubt, joy, despair, miracles, etc. portrayed fictionally by the different characters in this film.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this film. I would have given it two and a half stars, but that's not possible.

Writer/Director Richard Dutcher's project obviously faces some difficult constraints. After all, how do you present an experience--seriously, but without sanctimony--that is deeply personal and sacred for some, and seems like propaganda to others? Dutcher's film attempts to express the difficulty of faith and inner conflict involved in missionary service, without trivializing or sugar-coating it.

I'm inclined to say that he succeeds to a degree. Unfortunately, he tries to cram a mission worth of experience and growth into what seems like a couple weeks. The story's investigation of the main character's spiritual journey is too simplistic, but is far more real--tension-filled and conflict-ridden--than any Mormon church-sponsored production. Having served a mission myself, I can say that the tomfoolery depicted actually does exist, despite what many more serious types would say. And I can defend his relative lack of conventional missionary content (knocking doors all day, constant rejection, meetings and lessons, etc) by simply pointing out that Dutcher's character, Pops, is obviously not a conventional missionary. Even with its obvious shortcomings, I applaud Dutcher for his attempt to give voice to the joy, despair, hope, and trials of faith that, in turn, plague and buoy young Mormon missionaries.

However, it seems that many others, on both sides, would disagree. Many Mormons I know feel that it makes light of sacred things, and take exception to its loose portrayal of missionary life. Many non-Mormons take issue with the perceived frankness of its account and the implicit claims to truth. To the former I would say, my experience (and apparently Dutcher's) seems to differ from yours; try to be more open-minded. As for the latter, I'm not sure what they would be expecting. The movie clearly advertises its Mormon content. I would hope by now that people in the world would be working toward a modicum of flexibility in trying to at least understand, if not appreciate, worldviews that differ from theirs. I'm pretty sure Dutcher's film was not meant to shove Mormonism in your face. Must an affirmation of one man's faith necessarily threaten that of the audience?

In the end, I'm not sure if this type of attempt to present Mormon missionary experience to a mainstream audience could ever be truly successful, in terms of popular reception. A mission is such a profoundly personal experience, most of it gets lost in translation. Music and well-intentioned melodrama are poor media for expressing such feelings. But I'm glad people like Dutcher are at least making the attempt, however flawed. There are far too few movies that actually take religion seriously, on its own terms.

The movie is great. Period. I respectfully disagree with Alan Holyoak's review of God's Army in that it was not Richard Dutcher's goal to portray LDS missionaries in the traditional, sanitized manner, but rather to show them as having the same human failings we all have. The difference that Dutcher deftly shows is that these young men and women, despite their failings, have been entrusted by God to help people understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One would think that showing this view of LDS missionaries and their mission presidents (which view is based on a lot more reality than perhaps Alan wishes to admit), would tarnish the image of LDS missionaries. On the contrary, our experience with our non-LDS friends has been that they now truly understand what it means to be a missionary in the LDS church and that the extraordinary experiences portrayed in the film actually have happened to some missionaries. It has drawn them closer to the message of the LDS church, not further away.

I would agree with Alan if Dutcher had left off at the end of the movie with an ending that mirrored the levity found in the beginning. But the final moments of God's Army are touching and stay true to the principles of the Gospel.

I enjoyed this movie very much--it was right on the mark in terms of what it's like being an LDS missionary (in the states.) The missionaries were silly, spiritual, and pretty regular...much as I remember from my own two-year mission in Texas. It wasn't preachy and the message that faith is important rings true, in whatever your own "mission" or needs are.

An outstanding movie about a couple of LDS missionaries in the Los Angeles, California Mission. I served as a Mormon missionary myself for two years in England, so while I don't relate to the locale of the film, I can certainly relate to the experience. As such, I can say with confidence that this film accurately portrays mission life, warts and all. To my knowledge, this is the first (and only, so far), commercial film to portray Mormons, and specifically the missionaries, honestly and accurately. To non-Mormons, missionary life may seem very alien indeed as it is an experience that they will not have had. If you have ever seen those young men in white shirts, ties and black nametags knocking on doors or cycling through your neighborhood and wondered what their life was like, this film will give you a pretty good idea: the doors getting slammed in your face, the practical jokes, the trials and challenges--it's all there. To anyone who enjoys a good "coming-of-age" story that depicts spiritual growth with warmth, humor and hope, this film is for you. I think that Mormons, especially returned missionaries, will get the most out of this film simply because we've "been there, done that, know what it's like." However, if you're not a Mormon, don't feel uncomfortable, or worry, about seeing this film. It never once is "preachy," nor is it a tract or advertisement about the church. It's a low-budget movie that, surprisingly, doesn't look like one. Enough about the movie. What about the DVD itself? Though I gave five stars for the movie, I'm afraid I can only give about two or three stars for the DVD. Why? The transfer is fairly poor. The picture quality is inconsistent as there are times when it looks just great, and others where you wonder what happened it's so bad. There's one particular scene, when Elders Dalton and Allen are having companion prayer on their first night being assigned together, and Elder Allen's face is so "muddy" and out-of-focus that you can't even make out his facial features! Pixelation is another problem I noticed that pops up sporadically throught the presentation. Five stars for the Director's commentary though! I really enjoyed hearing from Director/star Richard Dutcher on how he was able to get some of his shots and footage on such a limited budget, as well as some of his personal insights.

There has been several LDS films lately and most deal with the mission experience. While the non LDS viewer might see all these films as unlikely portrayals, what they do represent is true to life except that the gamut of experiences is typically lived over the course of the two years that missioneries serve. When I first saw this I kept saying yeah but, yeah but. As I contemplated later, I thought to myself when was the last time that Miracles were part of your regular life? The answer is when I served as a full time Missionery. The Film "The best two years"
Is another very true to life portrayal of mission life, and the conversion of a missionery to service. The reason "God's Army" is not a 5 star is due to the budget of the film which resulted in some less than authentic looks.This film is probably moving for many former missioneries, but provides an interesting look at "those mormon boys".

I resisted seeing this movie for a while because I was afraid it would be preachy with plastic characters--you know, propaganda instead of art. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it's a real movie, with a sort of independent, "Sundance" feel to it. I was once an LDS missionary myself, so I can say this picture does capture pretty well the day-to-day reality of what it's like. It depicts the ins-and-outs of religious faith, of how one takes seriously and tries to apply in one's life the claims of transcendent truth. Highly recommended for anyone who's encountered Mormon missionaries and is curious--"just who the hell ARE those guys?" (See also Duthcer's "Brigham City", a searing murder mystery set in a small Mormon town that is 180 degrees in tone away from "God's Army.")

This is the first "modern" (I mean unconventional) mormon movie Ive seen.I was warned not to see this one because it may discourage me to go on a mission (they don't have to worry since im not going anyway,personal choice) or I may get turned off as a member.Well,they were wrong!I found this movie very uplifting and inspiring,everyone (people going on their mission or not) should watch this.Brandon Allen went to serve his mission in Sodom and Gomorrahlike Los Angeles.He had culture shock at first (he was from Kansas) being in a really different environment plus meeting some quirky fellow missionaries.There,they met different types of people from prostitutes to non believers.Elder Allen was becoming more and more discouraged,and without expecting it,wonderful things began to unfold (sorry can't give them away here).

Being surrounded with missionaries myself(im a Mormon by the way),I witnessed their hardships and at the same time the better part of being a missionary.I think this movie strongly hits close to home.This movie may "look" like a B-movie (because of its low budget,color and unfamiliar actors,this is a really poignant and well acted film.

I read many reviews on this movie before viewing it and the reviews (from non-LDS reviewers) were very positive, all over the country. This being the case, I had my expectations high. I was thoroughly impressed. Wonderful storyline...not preachy or one-sided. Mormons and non-Mormons will enjoy this. And everyone will learn a little more about these white-shirted guys. Well acted by no-name cast. This movie had everything...humor, drama, suspense, love, and lot's of emotion. You will feel better after seeing this one.