A Promise to Astrid

An uplifting movie bringing some meaning to life, by being helpful in life.

Watching this film I was reminded of the old Millionaire series where Marvin Miller kept giving out million dollar checks every week to some lucky soul to do with as they please. Seeing A Promise To Astrid I was thinking how remarkable if true.

Then I see the film was based on a novel and then it was like the old series. Soon enough old John Beresford Tipton would leave his magnificent estate Silverstone for the poorhouse.

Thus it would be for our old lady protagonist Astrid who is constantly looking for people and causes to give money to. The cast whom none of you will know save for Dean Cain from he Lois&Clark series is sincere but working on a project that defies logic.

Charity has its limits.

Yes this is not the kind of production quality we have become accustom to, but, what a sweet show, in part, because it is a not about production but the story. Be prepared to be asking the question "couldn't have been done as a quality motion picture," but also be prepared to have your heart strings pulled at..... What a beautiful woman, wish we all had a neighbor like her, or even better, could be a neighbor like her.

It's a faith-based film. If you don't like them, you likely won't care for this one. That said, it's probably the best (least ghastly) faith-based film I've seen.

The acting was good enough, considering their short (or no) experience and the obvious low budget. I have NO problem with low budget films. In fact, I rather enjoy them - I feel like I might just be seeing early work of an unknown master. So I give them a chance and don't much care if they don't have funds for all the best stuff.

That said, who the hell let JoAnn F. Peterson wear that wig?!?!!! It looked absurd and was quite distracting. Pretty much any person you find walking down the sidewalk could find a better wig for her. It made it a bit hard to look at her, which is a shame. She is new to acting and I thought she did a good job.

It's a sweet story and just the thing for a particular kind of Christian. But if you're looking for depth or complexity, this isn't your story.

For what it is (low budget and a Christian film) it's rather good in my opinion. Not being a Christian myself I'm one of the rare types that still love the books and movies simply for the feel good story telling and those stories about overcoming the odds against you. Astrid was very clearly an amazing woman who touched many lives. If you're looking for great production quality go elsewhere, but if you are the type more interested in just seeing a story of a real life person that will make you smile or tear up this is a good option for you.