Todos los santos

This is the true story of Michael Spurlock, a salesman turned Pastor of a small Smyrna Tennessee Episcopal church. It traces what happens after he's been told by the diocese he must close his church due to low attendances. The events that transpire over the difficult months that follow are as unlikely as they are remarkable. Nothing runs smoothly for Michael, his struggling family or his small band of supporters. The hardships they encounter are at times soul destroying but, hardships can also push people to work against impossible odds - in an attempt to turn them into goals that build community bonds. The outcome of this curious story is one that needs to be seen and won't be readily forgotten. What can be achieved by people of different cultures - when their ongoing communal existence is threatened - is powerful indeed. An unusual story of survival against the odds, told with intelligence, quality production values, good performances and a better than average music score.

I loved John Corbett's portrayal of Chris Stevens in the 1990s TV series Northern Exposure, so I decided to see what else he's been in and came across the 2017 movie All Saints. It had a decent imdb rating and was available on a channel I get, so I watched it not expecting much. Well, I really enjoyed it and the presence of Barry Corbin (Corbett's Northern Exposure co-star) was an added treat. Their relationship in All Saints was reminiscent of their Northern Exposure relationship, so that was fun. Corbett's sermons as Pastor Michael Spurlock were also strikingly similar in tone to Chris Stevens's on air musings on Cicely, Alaska's radio station.

All Saints is a sweet, uplifting, wholesome movie anyone can enjoy.

It is so amazing to see a local story being told in a film. It is even more amazing that our news channels would rather tell you about every house that catches on fire or vandalism in our city rather than tell you about this miracle in our own backyards. Taking place in 2007-2008 in Smyrna, TN this is an inspirational story that seems almost too good to be true. But as you do some digging you will find that almost everything in the film is depicted just like how it happened in real life. It is shocking to learn about the genocide of the Karen people (a state in Burma) and realize that we never hear about this on the national news front. OK, forget the attack on our news channels...this is a fun and family friendly movie. It is so fun to hear about local places constantly in dialogue (Nashville, Franklin, Smyrna, Murfreesboro) and neat to see local areas like the old Music Valley Drive (the Trail West sign can be easily seen) outlet shopping area (boy does something need to be done with that area) being used as a movie location.

See this movie to see what can happen when we start thinking more about others, see it to challenge your faith, but see it because it is a local story that made it to the movie theater!

I was pleasantly surprised by the strong acting and professional quality of this film. "All Saints" depicts the struggle of a fledgling pastor to revive a nearly-defunct church, while trying to meet the needs of a wave of refugees from war-torn Burma. While many faith- based films focus on miraculous conversions and battles with the secular, this film dealt with the more prevalent problems many congregations experience. Shrinking membership and aging populations, as well as the financial struggles of maintaining buildings--these are the painful reality for many faith communities. Poised for dissolution, the All Saints Episcopal church is about to be sold off, and the members scattered. Rather than go along with the sale, the people band together--old and new--to try to save the church through growing produce. The story is powerful, and the filmmakers have mixed professional actors and actual congregation members in the cast. This, and the use of the actual church and grounds for the filming location, brings a strong authentic feel to the film. Audiences will resonate with both the dilemma--and the solutions found by the main characters. Kudos to all for a relevant and uplifting film!

Overall the film is very enjoyable, and will be more so for those that are religious, even more so, for those with Christian backgrounds. It panders tho those audiences, but anybody with good sense can find something pure and inspiring from the film's story.

It starts off rocky, with poor editing and confusing scenarios, however as the plot develops and we learn more about the characters, it seems to pick itself back up and progress more smoothly. The film is rather plain in and of itself, but does a great job bringing an ordinary and believable true story to life, while delivering a strong message about community and faith.

Nothing truly stands out as extremely amazing about the film, but neither is there anything horrible. What the film does very well, is bringing a true story to the screen. It is quite real, believable, and does not exaggerate miracles. It is simply what it is, nothing overly grandeur, even using real people from the story to play themselves, because why not? The story is about them, and a humble tale to help inspire those who watch it.

Through its flaws, it's well put together and quite enjoyable. It's essentially a feel-good completely family friendly story, a film Hallmark movies pretend to be.