Southern Gospel

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source: Southern Gospel

source: Southern Gospel

It's a wonderful mix of joy, suspense, pain, forgiveness, hopelessness, restoration, and faith. When there seems to be no justice, that's where faith comes in. I only gave it seven stars because lead actor was a little lacking in his acting abilities and his lip-synching. It's a little low budget, but the story makes up for it and makes it a truly satisfying experience in the end. If you keep an open mind and hang in there, it's a truly encouraging story that reminds us, God loves even the least of us sinners, that he loves us more than we can imagine, and that he will never give up on us! Because there's always hope.

... but, until that story is written someday in the far future, this will do nicely. A tale of a young man with a talent for music but also has a passion for faith. Who carries his Bible with him everywhere. And has many adventures along the way, but ultimately returns to what he loves best. Preaching. To tell the truth, the absolute highest compliment you can give to a faith-based movie is that it does not make a fuss about its roots. This project from writer/director Jeff Smith has an almost two hour run-length, and it fills the time quite nicely. (And passes the Roger Ebert test, you don't look at your watch even once.) As an indie project, it is above average in every aspect. Tight script, solid casting, acting, and direction. Even the music is solid. In fact, you might even wish there was more of it. Recommended. And very under-appreciated. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

The film was inspired by the life of Samuel Allen (Max Ehrich) and his wife Julie (Katelyn Nacon) who founded the Dream Church. The film starts with young Samuel wanting to be a preacher like his father Joe Allen (Gary Weeks). Samuel like to play the guitar and his father indulged him with an electric guitar that was not considered fit for church music. He played church music on it anyway causing women to swoon, especially Julie who made up her mind as a teen they would get married. Samuel fell the way of sex, drugs, and rock&roll until he had a near fatal accident. He ended up becoming a preacher from that point. The back room dealings at the church and backstabbing did not go well for Samuel who was once again singing on the road with his wife, still wishing he could preach again. Generally inspired stories such as this manufacture conflict that never happened in real life, because what is a tale without an antagonist. The theme is that people who have God and are saved can fall and get back on the path again. Inspiration story.

I was raised in a catholic family. I was baptized when I was almost three months old, I did my First Holy Communion when I was 11, but I grew up and paved my own path. Today I consider myself an atheist. My father was a Minister of the God's Word for years, and his "masses" (he wasn't a priest, if he was I wouldn't be even born) were the only ones where I felt something. But this something was not connection to God, it was pride of my dad. He loved doing that and maybe he still loves, and THAT was one of the points that strongly connected me to this film. There are a lot of religion films that are absolutely restricted to people of that specific religion, and not all of them, but the most practitioners; and when they are aiming on people outside of that religion, it's a movie that usually tries to unnaturally convert its audience. "Southern Gospel" doesn't do that. From the first scene, it criticizes the structure of the Church and the people who are in it. The movie clearly says "cathechesis is useless" (I wanted to use another word but it would not be appropriate here), it's something that draws you away from God more than it brings you closer. Another crucial thing here is the Holy Bible. The way it's used, interpreted in different manners by different characters, maintains the millenary debate about it open, allows the audience to interprete it freely, and for non-religious people, reinforces that "it's just a book". In a nutshell, the religion here is, more than anything, the character's background. The story is not about religion, it's about a man trying to achieve his dreams. Max Ehrich (who reminded me of Andrew Garfield all the time) surprised me a lot, he seems to believe in every single word of what he's saying, and these compliments can be extended to J. Alphone Nicholson (who reminded me of Jonathan Majors all the time). The friendship between them seems genuine, and is the heart of this project. The rest of the cast is operant, except for Emma Myers. She is not a bad actress, but number one: Enid Sinclair, her character on "Wednesday", is too fresh in my head and she has the same posturing here; and numer two: Emma was definitely the wrong actress to that role, it was a grosser casting error than Sadie Sink in "The Whale", and what was that wig? Also, despite the script hitting the bullseye on how it treats the audience on the religious aspect, it fails on telling its story properly, especially on the second half of the second act and the first half of the third act. Two essential informations are not well treated. I'm not talking about disrespect, it's far from the case, but about superficiality. Nicholson and Katelyn Nacon's characters deserved a bit more of attention (20 more minutes would help a lot). But I must be honest, I liked the ending. It's kind of a strange comparison, but it reminded me of "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris". It almost had the intention of being "inspirational", so it was not surprising that it took this way. And predictable is quite different from bad. I came from this film skeptical, but even being far from the target audience (yes, even being more accessible, it's still aiming on religious people), the film conquered me, dissolved my cinism and proved that not all religious movies are bad.

Southern Gospel, directed by Jeffrey A. Smith, is a powerful and inspiring film. The film takes viewers on a journey through the lives of Samuel and Julie, each with their own struggles and challenges, who fight to hold onto a dream. The film's exceptional cinematography transports viewers to the heart of the South, and the music in the film brings to mind the rich musical traditions of churches in the South. The performances of the cast are equally impressive, bringing the music to life with stunning vocals and heartfelt emotion. One of the most remarkable aspects of Southern Gospel is its ability to convey a message of hope and perseverance, even in the face of life's toughest challenges. Overall, Southern Gospel is a must-see film that will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired. With its stunning visuals, exceptional performances, and powerful message, it is a testament to the power of film to encourage and uplift the soul.