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God's Army will run in South |
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Zion's films announced that the popular movie, "God's
Army" will be running in several theatres throughout the southern
United States. Here is a list of theatres and opening dates.
The movie is guaranteed for only one week at the following locations: |
If somone made a feature film specifically about Mormons, would anybody pay to see it? Los Angeles-based filmmaker, Richard Dutcher is counting on it.
Inspired with the maverick individualism of independent filmmaking, Ducher, a son of Salt Lake City, chose to return to his roots with his third film, God's Army, a dramatic film focusing on the lives of Latter-Day Saint misionaries in present-day Los Angeles.
An ensemble drama centering on the camaraderie, conficts and challenges unique to missionary work, God's Army is told through the eyes of newly-arrived Elder Brandon Allen (Matthew Brown), an apprehensive and troubled young man still struggling with personal and family matters that have followed him into the mission field. Dutcher co-stars as Allen's senior (and older) companion. Elder Dalton, a passionate convert and former medical student whose unique spiritual perspective affects all with whom he comes into contact.
Despite the obvious faith-promoting qualities to such a story, Dutcher was emphatic that the film's portrayal be true to reality, even going so far as to intentionally select non-LDS collaborators for several key positions. "I really didn't want an LDS composer or cinematographer because I didn't want anybody to walk into this project with pre-conceived notions. In films made by the Church, when a certain emotion is wanted, you hear a certain kind of music. And there's a certain kind of cinematography that comes along with Church films - very warm and beautiful and perfect. I didn't want any of that."
"You can't take the Judaism out of the movie, Fiddler on the Roof. It wouldn't work. But that's exactly what Mormon people tend to do when they're writing our stories. They think that they have to genericize everything, taking everything that's unique out of the characters, taking their faith and everything away from them that is really powerful. Trying to get by and be a true Latter-Day Saint in the current world is quite a story. And we all have our own versions of it."
In Richard Dutcher’s landmark film, “God’s Army”, main character Brandon Allen, finds his voice. Dutcher has clearly done the same, bringing a Mormon filmmaker’s eye to the main rite of passage of Mormon life, serving a two year proselyting mission. “Making the film was a two-fold process,” Dutcher said. “One, I was sick of doing mainstream work. You can spend years on a film that turns out to be just fluff. Second, I was frustrated by how Mormons were portrayed in film and on t.v. I wanted to make a niche film, even if only Mormons came out.”
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons, are flocking to the film, which has jumped its opening Utah confines and headed to locations across the country, including Temecula Stadium Cinemas 15 located at the Promenade Mall.
According to Mary Jane Jones of Excel Entertainment Group, the movie opened in Utah on March 10 and outperformed “Mission to Mars” at the box office. Currently grossing $1.66 million on a $300,000 investment, Dutcher has demonstrated there is a market for Mormon film. The story follows Elder Allen – one of those guys in white shirts who come knocking at your door – through his mission experience and touches upon many hot button, as well as most sacred, issues for Mormons. Through faith, conversion, healing, doubt, homesickness, death and love, the story unfolds.
Working in the independent film industry, Dutcher wanted to bring
his life and experiences to the screen. “Having been a missionary, no one had ever
told that story before and I wondered why no one ever got around to doing it,”
Dutcher said. Like other filmmakers who have broken the mold for minority audiences with
stories of their own making, Dutcher hopes his film will bring a better treatment for
Mormon
characters and ideas on the big screen. “I was tired of seeing us always as the butt
of a joke,” Dutcher said.
Mormons are so unprepared to see a story of their own in a theater, Jones said one of the tasks of Excel Entertainment has been to educate the public. “To promote the film we have to help people understand it is a real movie in a real theater, that it is serious.” Mormon literature has long held a market and in the last fifteen years, music by Mormons for Mormons has begun to command serious consumer dollars.
As the religion continues to grow – now to 11 million members worldwide – Dutcher’s film proves there is a profitable market for Mormon film. Production company Zion Films points out a truth about art: “The more unique the story and its characters, the more universal its appeal,” citing “Fiddler on the Roof” as a similar story steeped in the customs and language of religion.
Mary and Loren Barney are Mormons who saw the film in Temecula recently. With their own son serving a mission in Australia – he’s been out eleven months and four days, Mary Barney said, looking at her watch – the film was especially poignant. “At first I was a little offended,” Loren Barney said. “I served a mission and I felt the movie was really true to life and felt maybe he was exposing a bit too much. After the movie got going though, I liked the way he brought out, that is life. Our missionaries have weaknesses, I certainly had weaknesses, but still God allowed his work to be performed through me. The message was He will work through his servants as long as they try to do their best.”
Jennifer Shaw, 16, is not a Mormon, but attended with a Mormon friend. “I liked how the movie showed how other people think about the Mormon religion.” Shaw said she didn’t know much about missionaries, “I’ve seen them ride bikes. I knew they were missionaries and go door to door and want people to join their religion because they came to my door before and gave me a book.” Her reaction was similar to any movie though when she said she liked the Elder Allen guy because he was a good actor.
Then she smiled and admitted, well, she thought he was “cute.” Mormons will love this first, of what Dutcher hopes spawns an industry of Mormon film. As the only movie of its kind at this point, Mormon and non-Mormon audiences alike need to realize this is just one story, not THE story of the Mormons. Both Jones and Dutcher emphasize there are many stories to be told, and with this film, they begin to find a voice. For more information, you can log on to
A Zion Films presentation. Produced by Richard Dutcher. Directed, written by Richard Dutcher.
Elder Marcus Dalton ..... Richard Dutcher
Elder Brandon Allen ..... Matthew Brown
Elder Banks ..... DeSean Terry
Elder Kinegar ..... Michael Buster
Elder Sandoval ..... Luis Robledo
Current Reviews... Following on the heels of last year's "The Omega Code" and a renewed fervor of religious fundamentalism, the Mormon-themed "God's Army" emerges as an earnest and good-humored entry in the sub-genre of self-distributed films centered on religious dogma. A niche item if there ever was one, pic will undoubtedly meet with its warmest reception in the local Utah markets where it has been playing for the last several weeks. Scheduled nationwide rollout this summer seems a more optimistic and potentially dubious prospect, though unknowing auds who stumble in will find themselves pleasantly surprised by the film's gentle approach.
Writer-producer-director Richard Dutcher seems to have figured out that there are few rewards to be had from shoving religious doctrine down paying viewers throats, particularly with a religion as relatively obscure as Mormonism. Almost all prior films of this ilk (such as the ones produced by the Billy Graham Crusade in the 1980s) have failed to attract moviegoers outside of devout churchgoers, and, if "God's Army" doesn't seem likely to reverse the trend, it at least lacks the insular quality that makes you feel the film is preaching to the converted only.
Still, "God's Army" is about Mormon missionaries, and what you see is what you get. Dutcher stars as Marcus Dalton, one of a Los Angeles-based group that goes door-to-door spreading the gospel and trying to convert people to the Mormon faith --- on the streets of Hollywood, no less. These missionaries (or Elders, as they call themselves) are youths from across the country who have volunteered two years of their lives to the Mormon cause; at age 29, Elder Dalton is by far the oldest.
Known affectionately as "Pops," Dalton is tenacious, demanding, prickly and wise. When a new batch of recruits arrives, shy Kansas native Elder Allen (Matthew Brown) becomes Pops' latest protege.Although "God's Army" acknowledges the difficulty of performing religious work in today's world, it allows contradictory voices to be heard. Even as the Elders reach out to multi-ethnic Angelenos, there is dissent and disbelief within the Mormon Church itself. Pops conveniently appears whenever necessary to set the record straight and restore the church's omniscience, but to Dutcher's credit he avoids making too neat and moralistic a package out of what is, essentially, a propaganda film.
Dramatically, pic is a much shakier proposition. With the exception of Pops, none of the missionaries develops a distinct personality, while the performances (a mixture of professional actors and Mormons) are sensitive, but one-note. Over-length is a problem, as is the film's rigorously unimaginative fish-out-of-water scenario, in which Elder Allen is all-but-ready to board the first bus out of town until he finally falls under Pops' thrall.
More problematically, Dutcher remains so reticent about his intended message that it is ultimately impossible to discern any sense of purpose from the film. Nor do we develop any useful knowledge about specific Mormon beliefs.
Dutcher seems to expect us to be satisfied merely by the vague notion that the Mormons are a "chosen" people, but in subverting our expectation of fire and brimstone theatrics, he may have created the first overtly religious movie that isn't imperious enough.
Camera (color), Ken Glassing; editor, Michael Chaskes; music, Miriam Cutler; art director, Heath Houseman; wardrobe supervisor, Gwen Dutcher; associate producer, Gena Downey; line producer, Paul Downey; assistant director, Paul Downey; casting, Jennifer Buster. Reviewed at Regal Cinemas Civic Center Plaza 16, Simi Valley, May 7, 2000. MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 117 MIN.
"God's Army"
The drama opens today and is rated PG for thematic elements and some language. Running time is 1 hour 47 minutes.
Showing at the Cinemark Merriam Theatre.
Made by and aimed largely at practicing Mormons, "God's Army" will be dismissed by many as religious propaganda. Thing is, the film's observations about the nature of faith are insightful enough to arouse the interest of just about anyone with a spiritual bent.
In telling the story of a young Mormon missionary assigned to spread the message of the Latter-day Saints in wicked old Los Angeles, writer/director/actor Richard Dutcher clearly is preaching to the converted. Mormon beliefs are referred to in an offhand manner (the intended audience is already familiar with them), and a scene in which missionaries convert Hispanic... Catholics clearly wasn't designed to increase ecumenical harmony.
But the film's real subject is the test of faith that occurs when religious conviction collides with the cold, hard wall of reality.
"God's Army" is told through the eyes of recent high school graduate Brandon Allen (Matthew Brown), a kid from "Kansas ... right near Kansas City," who as a male member in good standing of the Mormon Church is expected to put in two years of missionary work. Elder Allen (there's no small incongruity in hearing this pink-cheeked, curly-haired youngster referred to as "Elder") arrives in the big city with some psychological baggage and religious doubts. He comes from a troubled family, and his faith has never been tested.
Now he's faced with the prospect of living in a dormlike situation with a half-dozen other young men, owning little more than the clothes on his back and spending his days in prayer, doing chores or knocking on doors to share the good word with strangers, most of whom simply don't want to be bothered.
Small wonder that after only 12 hours in Lala Land our hero sneaks off to the bus station, determined to go home. He's talked back into the fold by his new missionary partner, Elder Dalton (very well played by Dutcher), an earnest guy 10 years Brandon's senior whose firm, by-the-book style even his fellows sometimes find a bit much.
Dutcher obviously has drawn upon his own missionary experiences in an effort to re-create this world, one frequently punctuated by practical jokes and the tensions that arise when young men are crammed together in cramped quarters with virtually no outlets except prayer. No coffee, alcohol, drugs or sex for this bunch.
The casting emphasizes Mormonism's one-umbrella outlook; among the missionaries there's an African-American and a Latino, and a new convert is from Taiwan.
From this description "God's Army" may sound heavy-handed and didactic. Curiously, it doesn't play that way.
Though Dutcher the writer leans on melodrama -- one principal character has a fatal disease, and an unrelated subplot involves a faith healing -- as a director he possesses the skill and conviction to finesse his way around the objections of non-Mormon viewers. He's assembled a cast of talented unknowns who give "God's Army" a believable, lived-in feel that eludes most "Sunday School movies."
Though it's receiving a single-screen commercial run in Kansas City, having already earned back its $1 million investment in Utah, the future of "God's Army" clearly resides in video. Virtually every Mormon congregation, and probably a majority of Mormon households, will end up with a copy of the film, which will serve innumerable young men, and some women, too, as an introduction to the rigors and joys of missionary work.
I greatly anticipated seeing the new Richard Dutcher film, God's Army. It is very exciting to see someone with the courage and resources to throw another interpretation of the Mormon faith out into the public arena. I am sorry to say I was disappointed.
The film is the story of one new LDS missionary, or "greenie", as he enters the mission field. His mission president is firm and a little chilly, his companion is zealous and a little preachy. These things added to some serious issues back on the home front make for a rough start.
I will give the creators of this film credit for the realistic situations presented. Return missionaries that I have spoken with said that they remember almost each of the situations happening in their mission at one time or another. These men and women loved the film for that reason. It reminded them of the good ole' days.
There were many really well done scenes. The cinematography was great. Elder Allen's conversion and the practical jokes were some of my favorites. Some of the characters were written and played with depth and were very realistic. Some were not.
I feel like some of the scenes went too far and shared to much. For example, the scene were a healing blessing is given is probably something that should be experienced personally, not splashed up on the big screen. Mormons don't have sacrament sitting around watching a football game on Saturday afternoon or bless our babies at the family reunion picnic. There is a time and a place for every aspect of the human experience and taking religious rituals and ordinances into the mass media should have been done with a little more sensitivity.
Dutcher also chooses the helter-skelter method of script writing. It is as if he tried to fit at least half of the "issues" about the Mormon church into one movie. There are many aspects of the Mormon culture and catch phrases galore, but they assume a certain basic knowledge of Mormon beliefs. Many of these experiences and issues are ones that require individual study and meditation, not dictation from a self-professed fulfillment of prophecy.
Oh yeah, you heard me right. Check out the Zion Film website at www.zionfilms.com and see for yourself. This was the biggest disappointment of all. They quote former LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball and boldly declare that they are the fulfillment of that prophesy. Their "films will be the reason movies were invented." This kind of hype is something you would expect from a big Hollywood movie mogul, not a humble, religious independent film company. I guess the LDS church with its huge productions and 55,000 real missionaries isn't enough to educate the world. The simple fact that they are not a church production makes them an interpretation, not dogma. Celebrating the Mormon culture may be informative, but this film entertains through culture instead of explaining the Mormon doctrine its creators profess to believe.
So while it is possible to admire "God's Army" as an act of piety, and for its unusual subject and unpretentious performances, this film about Mormon missionaries eventually becomes preaching that is likely to tax the credibility of the unconverted.
Written and directed by Richard Dutcher, who is also one of its stars, "God's Army" tells the story of Brandon Allen (Matthew Brown), a 19-year-old Mormon missionary assigned to Los Angeles under the tutelage of Marcus Dalton (Mr. Dutcher), a dedicated 29-year-old member of the faith.
With a few other young missionaries, they share an apartment where college dorm pranks are commonplace. Wearing white shirts and neckties, they spend their days on the streets of the city, ringing doorbells, distributing literature and seeking conversions that take them among prostitutes and into the homes of ordinary people.
Among themselves, the missionaries study, pray and are subject to crises of faith.
Brandon himself stuggles with his faith but is less troubled than Elder Kinegar (Michael Buster), who reads voraciously in literature that attacks the tenets of Mormons. The steadfast, uncompromising member of the community is Elder Dalton (Mr. Dutcher in a convincing performance), a former medical student who is dying of cancer.
"All right, let's do some good," he is fond of saying at the start of the day.
From time to time the paths of the young men cross the paths of the female missionaries Sister Fronk (Jaque Gray) and Sister Monson (Kelli Coleman), but the principal drama of "God's Army" spins around the relationship of Elder Dalton and Elder Allen to Benny (Doug Stewart), a lame young man who vanishes on the eve of his baptism.
His reappearance as a mugging victim, shorn of spirit and convinced that death is near, sets the stage for "God's Army" -- which opens today at the 59th Street East Cinema (239 East 59th Street, Manhattan) -- to exhibit its faith in a manner that mingles sentimental drama with religious devotion.
"God's Army" is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It has some hospital scenes and bathroom humor. Directed by Richard Dutcher. 108 minutes.
CALGARY -- The uniform is unmistakable. Freshly-pressed black pants, crisp white shirt, perfectly straight tie and a little backpack.
Fresh faced, a Church of Latter Day Saints' missionary can be spotted blocks away.
But how much do we know about these pavement pounders, other than they are as persistent as phone solicitors?
Richard Dutcher is hoping his directorial debut, God's Army, will clear up a few misconceptions about the Mormon religion.
A practicing Mormon and former missionary, Dutcher -- who also wrote and stars -- has had countless doors slammed in his face. He uses these experiences to weave an interesting, witty, thought-provoking and surprisingly entertaining tale of young missionaries trying to "do some good" in the seedy Los Angeles.
God's Army is a well-done and extremely well-acted, low-budget production.
Although God's Army was made with a Mormon audience in mind, Dutcher has tried to attract as wide an audience as possible by keeping the religious rhetoric to a minimum.
However, there is still a strong religious overtone that peaks during the last half hour of the movie.
God's Army won't convert many, but Dutcher's deftly worded script is better than a lot of Hollywood's mainstream fare.
Hey, Richard Dutcher! Now that your low-budget film has -- to everyone's surprise -- found great success, what are you going to do next?
"I'm going to 'Brigham City!'
Say what?
After struggling for years to obtain financing to get his first movie -- "God's Army" -- made, Dutcher couldn't get a studio to touch it and decided to do the unthinkable: distribute it himself. It was a lot of work, but he found his audience, and the movie made a huge profit. So you'd think he'd want to rest on his laurels for a little while.
But instead, after finishing up a cross-country tour to promote the independently made drama about LDS missionaries in Los Angeles, Dutcher is ready to get back to what he really loves -- filmmaking.
In fact, he'll begin shooting the dramatic thriller "Brigham City" next week, and, as with his first film, this one will be locally financed and distributed.
"If it ain't broke, why fix it?" he asked rhetorically. "Nobody really believed we could do this the first time, but we're back to prove it can be done again. We'll do it as many times as we have to."
"God's Army" has now played in 38 different film markets, including such metropolitan cities as Los Angeles (where it was well received), Denver, Houston, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Miami, Pittsburgh and a number of areas outside the continental United States, including cities in Canada and Hawaii.
"One of the things that I'm most proud of is the fact that we got to show it on the Hawaiian island of Molokai," Dutcher said. "There's not a whole lot of (LDS Church) members out there, but there were enough of them for us to hold two screenings. That was an amazing experience."
"God's Army" will also make its way back to Utah theaters next Wednesday for a limited theatrical run before it finally goes to home video.
However, Dutcher is keeping the exact date for its video release a secret for now, partly because he wants to open the film in all possible English-speaking markets first (including New Zealand, Australia and England).
"This really is something I want people to see in theaters. Maybe that's selfish of me, but I think that's how it was meant to be seen by audiences," he said. "I've had so many people tell me, 'You know, I really meant to go see that, but I never did.' So this is their chance to do it."
To date, the film has grossed more than $2.5 million since it opened in Utah this spring. That may not make it a Hollywood blockbuster, but it is a huge profit for a film that cost just $240,000 to make. In fact, "God's Army" has performed so well that it placed among the Top 10 for independently made U.S. films for the year.
Dutcher attributes the film's success partly to a shrewd distribution plan, which was formulated by officials from Salt Lake's Excel Entertainment, the company that distributed the movie.
Excel was able to target urban centers outside of Utah with strong LDS Church populations, such as cities in southern California, Arizona and Idaho. That also helped Dutcher fulfill his main purpose, which is to make films for a Mormon audience.
The fiercely independent writer/director/actor/producer held a news conference this week to talk about his new film project. One interesting tidbit: Despite the title, "Brigham City" won't be shot in the Box Elder community of the same name.
Instead, "Brigham City" will be filmed in Mapleton (where Dutcher now makes his home). Mapleton will host the four-week shoot and serve as the fictional "anywhere" community of Brigham. But as a consolation, Dutcher joked, "We'll be reserving a couple of screens in Brigham City (for movie showings)."
Dutcher will again team up with actor Matthew Brown. In "God's Army," Dutcher played the sage, older Elder Dalton to Brown's lead role as Dalton's "greenie" companion, Elder Allen. But this time around, it will be Dutcher who plays the main character, that of small-town Sheriff Wes Clayton.
Wes also serves as an LDS bishop for a tight-knit bedroom community, which is torn asunder when the body of a young woman is discovered and everyone in town is considered a suspect.
"This Richard Dutcher guy was part of the deal we couldn't turn down -- but fortunately, he comes cheap," joked Dutcher, who now sports a mustache as part of his character's look.
As for Brown, he'll be playing Terry, Wes' deputy, and veteran character actor (and Utahn) Wilford Brimley will co-star as his mentor, Gus, a retired lawman.
"I'm under him again," Brown joked about his director and co-star. "But this time I've got a gun under my arm instead of a Bible."
As excited as Dutcher and his co-star are to begin the new project, which could arrive in theaters as early as next February, it might never have gotten off the ground if "God's Army" hadn't turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.
"I know who I'm making films for, and I'm not planning to abandon them anytime soon," he said.
Such ambition puts Dutcher on the cusp of a new renaissance of sorts in Mormon filmmaking. In the wake of "God's Army," other filmmakers have announced plans to make like-minded movies.
"I've had a lot of people ask me if I feel threatened because now everybody is going to try to repeat ("God's Army's" success), but I really don't. It's a very exciting time to be a filmmaker, especially an LDS one," he said.
In fact, Dutcher is hoping that other Mormon directors will succeed, which in turn, will push him to continue improving his skills.
"I thrive on competition, so I'm waiting anxiously to see what others can do. I've already raised the bar, so it's their turn to inspire me. This can only lead to better filmmaking, as far as I'm concerned."
But Dutcher is still trying to appeal to non-Mormon audiences as well. In fact, current plans are to open "Brigham City" in even more cities than "God's Army" -- possibly as many as 70 by next Valentine's Day.
Everyone once in a long while, a popular movie comes out that is made by Christians, for Christians.
When I was a kid, I remember most everyone in town getting excited about The Cross and the Switchblade.
I never saw that one, as I wasn't born into a traditional Christian family. A few years later, however, at the same time as I went through a short period of intense Christian belief, another movie, The Rapture, was huge among believers.
Who can forget the scene of the man shaving at the mirror, then suddenly disappearing, as he's taken up to heaven at the start of the Second Coming, leaving behind all non-believers on earth and his still buzzing electric razor in the sink?
Right now, another such movie is out, this one causing excitement in the Mormon community. God's Army, playing in Edmonton this week, follows the doings of a group of Latter Day Saints missionaries in Los Angeles.
It was made by Richard Dutcher, an independent filmmaker and former L.D.S. missionary himself. Since it opened in March, it has been seen by more than 450,000.
After watching it, I'd say it's like one of those rock albums that only devoted fans should purchase. In a nutshell: too slow, too corny, too earnest.
But even for a born-again agnostic like me, God's Army did have some admirable qualities, mainly in the way Dutcher tackled society's criticisms of Mormon theology.
The Mormons are no strangers to theological attacks. They've been labelled a cult by more traditional Christian groups.
Then there's The Frantics comedy group and its superhero, Mr. Canoehead. As he's wandering through the bush one day, portaging his canoe, a bolt of lighting hits him on the head, welding the canoe to his head and giving him superpowers.
"A story so bizarre only a Mormon could believe it," the Frantics say.
In God's Army, one of Dutcher's missionaries goes so far as to quit his mission and drop out of the faith because he's bothered about inconsistencies in church founder Joseph Smith's writings about early Mormon history in North America.
At the time of Christ, Smith has written, there were horses in North America, but in reality, as the doubting missionary points out, there were no horses here before Columbus's voyage.
Some Mormon viewers of the movie don't mind such honest talk about their faith.
"This was not the Top Gun of the mission field," says Greg Hudson, 17, of Edmonton, who is planning to go on a mission.
"It wasn't propaganda or a huge advertisement glamorizing the lives of missionaries. The writing was refreshingly real," he suggests.
Greg White, 29, an Edmonton lawyer and former Mormon missionary in Brazil, says when he was first faced with such facts as the horse issue, it shook him for a few weeks.
Not only does the Book of Mormon mention horses in pre-Columbus North America, White says, it also mentions elephants and animals known as cureloms and cumoms.
"I don't what they are," he says. "But, in the end, it's not important. Because there is no answer, I've put some of those things on the shelf. Some day, I will learn the answer.
"I can understand why people would be skeptical. Unless you've felt what I felt, or what other people have felt, you're not going to understand it."
The strength of the movie, White says, is its depiction of such moments of faith.
In one scene, Elder Allen, a young missionary betrayed by both his father and stepfather, gains strength in prayer from his relationship with God, finding a spiritual father where he never had a one as a boy.
"Father," he says, his eyes gleaming with feeling. "Father!"
If you've ever had a religious experience, such a moment will ring true, even if you're like me and don't expect to embrace a faith that mixes cureloms and Christ.