Emma Smith: My Story

First off, it should be noted that this film was not made by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is an independent film which was promoted by the Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. The producers did contact the church history department for some information, and were given special access to and permission to use historic materials and documents owned by the church, but that is as far as their influence extends. They also worked with descendants of Joseph and Emma, as a means of trying to understand the character of the people involved. Whether or not you are a member of the church, the movie portrays a touching story of love and faith, and serves as an excellent source of understanding for much of the early history of the Mormon movement.

Technically, the film is beautifully made. The director has a genuine gift for the craft of cinematography, and it is well demonstrated in the beautiful visuals seen in this movie. The costumes, locales and all the visual elements really allow the audience to get a feel for the times and places depicted. A special nod must be given to the writers as well. The development of the story is well thought out, and the highlights that were picked to depict the progression of events were well chosen. This could not have been easy given the scope of the material to cover, and much had to be left out for the sake of time.

I do feel, reading one of the reviews posted here that some criticism needs to be made. Inaccurate rumors, slanders, incomplete or out of context information, and outright lies have long been the fate of Joseph Smith and the Mormons. That type of commentary is not a review of the movie or its merits. This movie does not claim to depict everything that occurred, nor to take sides on the divisive issues. One of the film's producers put it this way, "The film doesn't attempt to treat every aspect of early LDS history in a technically accurate way, he said, including scenes where Joseph Smith is translating the Book of Mormon. "We're looking to portray Emma's role in those events, her beliefs and convictions," rather than tackling "certain issues that just are too complicated to present in a film format." (Mike Kennedy) I believe that this film succeeds in this goal. While Emma remained behind when the main body of the church left Nauvoo, to her dying day she defended Joseph and expressed her love and affection for him.

The issue of plural marriage was a difficult and divisive issue then as now, and Emma said very little on the subject. She eventually became a member of the Reorganized Church,(now known as the Community of Christ) and spent the rest of her life in Nauvoo, where she is buried next to Joseph in the family cemetery.

One of the most important things that this film does, is open a window on the personality and character of these two highly influential and amazing people. It does not matter whether or not you believe in the doctrinal issues of the Mormon faith, you get to see some of the reasons for what they did, and you get to see Emma and Joseph as individuals who lived and breathed and laughed and cried, and loved each other, and not as untouchable names in a history book.

This film was wonderfully done with a great soundtrack. Unlike past LDS historical films, where the focus is Joseph Smith or Bringham Young, this film is about Emma, her perspective, and how she saw things.

It's narrative/conversation that Emma is having later on in life with her daughter Julia Murdock Smith, about all of the events that surrounded her and Joseph-thru *her* perspective.

The film touches on all the controversial issues, and doesn't gloss over them.

Whether you are LDS or not, you will appreciate this film, it is touching, honest and both heart wrenching and heartwarming.

Go see it.

:)

David

Cinematically this is a low budget film. But when one really knows how this movie came to be, I can only applaud and respect the Joseph and Emma Smith family for making such a fine and accurate portrayal of their progenitors. Much of the dialog came directly from journals of the children Emma raised who wrote what their mother told them about the events discussed. This film had NOTHING to do with the LDS church today, and is not "propaganda" for any organization. From all of the research I have done on Joseph Smith I saw nothing amiss; on the contrary I believe it minimally accurately portrayed the wonderful person that had such a profound and positive affect on thousands of individuals. If anything it very much under portrayed him, but this was not about Joseph, it was about Emma. I found it to be very even keeled in portraying her and the unspeakable difficulties she endured. The parts I enjoyed the most was the very touching and real love that existed between her and her husband. My 4th great grandfather (Bishop Frederick Kesler 1816-1899) knew both of the real people portrayed in this film, and kept a very detailed journal which I have transposed to computer (1600 pages). There is not single negative word written about either. On the contrary, all evidences of eye witnesses recounted there-in speak entirely respectfully of Joseph, and Emma. My great grandfather also married many young women who were respectfully named Emma. Both shadows of Joseph and Emma stand very tall and majestically on the people who really knew them for generations. This film by all the factual documents I have encountered is entirely accurate. From all accounts I have read, a true accurate portrayal of the character and stature of either Joseph or Emma is probably impossible, as most who knew Joseph said they had never known a greater more dignified and kind gentleman. Well cast, the Emma character seemed to approach the stature of the woman that could endure what Emma really did.

I did enjoy the film. It was well done. But, issues of Joseph Smith 's polygamy were barely mentioned. Also, film shows Joseph translating directly from the golden plates , whereas hd actually, supposedly, translated by looking into a hat at seer stones - bizarre and not shown here.

Seeing EMMA SMITH: MY STORY in the theatre was a pleasant surprise! Who would have ever thought the time would come when a commercial theatre would be offering such an inspiring film as this one turns out to me. Professional on every level with special praise going to T.C. Christensen's magnificent cinematography, Merrill Jenson's perfect score (one that I hope comes out on CD), down to Sheri Ohman's outstanding costumes. Technically, in every way, this has a look that matches anything to come out of Hollywood. The performances, especially by Katherine Thompson (as the young Emma Hale Smith), Patricia Place (marvelous as the older Emma), and Nathan Mitchell as Joseph Smith, make flesh and blood people of Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale who became his wife. There is a special feeling and beauty in seeing the restoration of the gospel told through the eyes of the woman who was called on to endure so much. This is a faith promoting experience that deeply touched me almost from the moment it started. The quality of the film matches that of the films produced and shown by the LDS Church (and that's saying a great deal), but has the advantage of a longer running time to explore and develop the love between Jospeh and Emma then could be done with limitations of a shorter running time. Gary Cook and T.C. Christensen have teamed up as directors and have been inspired to create a motion picture that I found to be truly inspiring! This is one of the finest films that I have ever experienced.