Beyond the Gates of Splendor

I have heard this story of the 5 murdered missionaries in 1956, all my life, and have looked forward to seeing this movie, Beyond the Gates of Splendor, for some time.

But, I thought that these folks were bringing the love of Jesus Christ to these uncivilized people. I do not recall one mention of Jesus, Christ, or even the generic "God." I seem to remember the phrase that Jim Elliot said, something like we will not shoot them to defend ourselves, we know that we are going to heaven, we are not sure about them, a very nice moment. But that was about it, as I remember.

I was VERY disappointed with this "politically correct" editing. It could have been more inspirational, instead of educational. Other than that, the story as told/edited by sociologists and those who prefer to only speak in secular "verbage," is still next to none.

Having the actual people filmed telling what happened was FANTASTIC.

I was spellbound as I watched this story unfold. A terrible tragedy that was national news headlines, was turned into an unbelievable triumph by the complete forgiveness of the wronged parties, and the power of God to truly transform the minds and hearts of everyone involved. After five missionary men were murdered by tribesmen in the rain forest of Ecuador, their wives and children went back to the tribe and lived with them. Strengthened by God and dependent upon His protection, they taught the people of this culture the power of forgiveness, love, and compassion. In the words of the tribesmen themselves, if the missionaries had not come to them, they would have continued to kill each other to the point of extinction.

I agree with film lover that this is an amazing film about an amazing group of Christians who really "walk the walk" when it comes to loving and forgiving enemies. The widowed Elizabeth Elliott and her aunt not only forgave the Aucas who killed her husband, but went out and lived among them with the help of some Auca women. And she took her two young children with her! This DVD goes beyond a previous film, "Through Gates of Splendor," to show the children and the grandchildren's experience over many years living with the Aucas. Kathy, a daughter tells how she chose two of her father's killers to participate in her baptism, the ceremony held in the river near the grave of her father and his four colleagues. There's more to this inspiring documentary, ably edited from home movies, newsreels, photographs, and on camera interviews with Aucas and members of the missionary families. And by the way, there is a feature film coming, based on this story. Entitled THE END OF THE SPEAR, it's due out in January 2006. A neat double meaning to the title, the five men losing their lives at the end of a spear, and the coming of the missionaries bringing an end to the era of endless cycles of murder by the spear that threatened the Aucas with extinction.

This is the most compelling documentary and story I have ever experienced. I was only vaguely familiar the story. The idea of going to live with people who killed one of my loved ones is difficult to understand. Even the idea of why the families were there in the first place is foreign to our American culture. The music in this documentary sounds like movie music, and the people in the story are amazing, the north and south Americans.

Clearly this amazing tribe would have wiped themselves out if it were not for the missionaries. They should make a feature film about this story.

I've seen this documentary in its pre-screening version, not the theatrical version, but I know it's not very different. It is a gripping story, one that unfolds like a well-told drama, all the better because it is true! It is touching, frightening, uplifting, romantic, all the trademarks of a good story. The filmmakers do a great job of weaving pictures, audio and live interviews to tell a story that happened 50 years ago. It is very moving to hear the actual voices and words of people that were involved in the story. There is a movie coming out next year by this same production company, based on this story. Be watching for it, it promises to be a gripping and high-quality movie. This documentary is a film for the whole family.