Follow the Prophet

I just saw this movie at the Santa Barbara film festival. First off, I enjoyed the film. The acting was great, the writing was good and the cinematography was very good for an indy film. I thought it was pretty intense but still very watchable. I went with some friends and it seemed like the girls I went with were more effected than I was. Maybe because the subject matter had a lot to do with the abuse of young women in a fundamentalist Mormon society. But this movie totally goes way past things like "Big Love." It's more of the level of Warren Jeffs and the raid that happened a while back. At first, I thought some of the scenes were a little unbelievable until I listened to a Q and A after the movie and found out that some of the things that happen in the movie were similar to documented events and stuff. That was what really shocked me. I had no idea young girls were "sold" into marriage through business deals and that sort of thing. After hearing that the movie really came together in my mind. I still had a few issues with a couple of parts, mostly just technical things. I chalk that up to it being an indy film.

I'd highly recommend it and I hope people go to see it because the message is good.

9/10

I saw this film at The Newport Beach Film Festival. In all honesty, this film left me speechless. I could not decide to walk out in the middle of the film or cry. Don't get me wrong, not because the film us no good, but due to the powerful impact this film has. Polygamy is such a "hush hush" topic, and this amazing film, just puts it out for all to see. At the end of the film, I could not even react, by how touched I was by this film. Being a fan of the show "Big Love", is what brought me to this movie. The excellent acting and directing is what made me a fan. The world needs more films of this caliber. Bravo! Cant wait to get this on DVD.

I just finished watching it on the Netflix stream. I wasn't really expecting much but what caught my attention was Diane Venora in the cast. She's been a favorite of mine for a long, long time as she's an actress who inhabits, rather than plays, a role. She didn't disappoint in this movie. But she wasn't the best thing in the movie. The male lead, Robert Chimento, was extremely effective as an Army veteran mourning the loss of his daughter who only enlisted in the Army to follow in her father's footsteps. But the true revelation was Annie Burgstede, who played a 15 year old forced to become the unwilling bride of a Warren Jeffs-like head of a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon Church. He was played with uber-sleaziness by Tom Noonan. The movie billed itself as "the dark underbelly of Big Love" and it wasn't hyperbolizing in the least. Strongly recommend this for everyone who thinks those Mormon offshoots are just a bunch of harmless, loving religious types.

I'll start off by saying the acting was great and the cinematic feel was quite effective for the dramatic feel they seem to have been aiming for. Having said that, let's get to the problems: While I am no fan of the Fundamentalists (who, by the way, are not Mormons, no matter what they claim, just as a "Muslim Extremist" is not a Muslim), I cannot simply ignore the overall impression this movie tries to give of the LDS church and its members. The events shown may be similar to those Warren Jeffs was accused of (and was no doubt guilty of, though I did not follow the trial as closely as many others did), but very little distinction is made between Fundamentalists and Latter-Day Saints. In fact, it isn't until a full hour into the movie that the Fundamentalists' split from the LDS church was even mentioned, and they never once identify any religion by name, leaving it to be assumed. Among other things, the movie gives the impression that the LDS church actively hid the actions of the Fundamentalists, when the truth is the LDS church has been trying to get rid of them from the start. There are numerous other points of complaint that a perfectionist such as myself would love to point out, but most would consider it nitpicking and trivial details (silk garments? really?), but I'll not get into that here. If you choose to see this movie, please keep in mind the vast differences between the two faiths and do a bit of research on your own. I suggest http://www.watchman.org/old_wf/assets/files/flds_profile.pdf I've not read it in its entirety, so I can't vouch for its full accuracy, but the portions I have read seem to be accurate to the best of my knowledge and research.