I enjoyed this movie, and thought it provided a very compelling look at the situation in South Sudan, and in particular at the atrocities committed by the so-called "Lord's Resistance Army" led by Joseph Kony. It also raises the always troubling question of whether the ends justify the means, and in the end I was left wondering whether I thought Sam Childers (the title character) was a good guy or a bad guy? Did I admire him or not? The troubling question he raises at the end of the movie (which was basically, "if your child was kidnapped and I told you I could get him or her back, would you care how I did it?") is a haunting one.
The movie is Childers' story, and he does have an interesting life, which - for the most part - the movie seems to portray fairly accurately. He was a drug addict and a drug dealer, loosely involved with some outlaw biker activity who suddenly is converted to Christianity. The very overt religious themes in this movie surprised me, to be honest. I was expecting far more about South Sudan, and instead we got a lot about Childers' own unique take on spirituality (along with a good primer on South Sudan.) Childers eventually feels called to travel to Uganda and South Sudan on a personal mission trip to help orphans, and while there starts to learn of the LRA. He becomes increasingly fanatical in his opposition to the LRA and in his goal of freeing children from them.
That's all well and good. Childers, to me, also represented the danger of religious extremism. He becomes more and more extreme as time goes on; basically he takes a "my way or the highway approach," he becomes committed to the mission at the expense of his relationship with his own family back home, he's dismissive of those who don't share the same passion, and he adopts increasingly violent means (thus, the nickname "Machine Gun Preacher") to accomplish his ends. At one point, he's told by one of his associates that he's becoming just like Kony.
That's the troubling aspect of the story. At what point does one go from being an ardent supporter of a cause to being a dangerous extremist? I can't answer that question based on this movie and what I learned of Childers. I can't question his sincerity and devotion to his cause, and I certainly can't claim that it's not a good cause. But - back to that troubling question - do the ends justify the means? This leaves me at least scratching my head trying to figure that out.
Gerard Butler plays Childers in this. I'm not a huge fan of Gerard Butler, but I have to say that he seemed perfect in this role. He seemed to me to capture Childers perfectly.
This is a very good and thought-provoking movie that offers a pretty good ethical dilemma that the viewer is left to work through on his or her own. (7/10)
The movie is Childers' story, and he does have an interesting life, which - for the most part - the movie seems to portray fairly accurately. He was a drug addict and a drug dealer, loosely involved with some outlaw biker activity who suddenly is converted to Christianity. The very overt religious themes in this movie surprised me, to be honest. I was expecting far more about South Sudan, and instead we got a lot about Childers' own unique take on spirituality (along with a good primer on South Sudan.) Childers eventually feels called to travel to Uganda and South Sudan on a personal mission trip to help orphans, and while there starts to learn of the LRA. He becomes increasingly fanatical in his opposition to the LRA and in his goal of freeing children from them.
That's all well and good. Childers, to me, also represented the danger of religious extremism. He becomes more and more extreme as time goes on; basically he takes a "my way or the highway approach," he becomes committed to the mission at the expense of his relationship with his own family back home, he's dismissive of those who don't share the same passion, and he adopts increasingly violent means (thus, the nickname "Machine Gun Preacher") to accomplish his ends. At one point, he's told by one of his associates that he's becoming just like Kony.
That's the troubling aspect of the story. At what point does one go from being an ardent supporter of a cause to being a dangerous extremist? I can't answer that question based on this movie and what I learned of Childers. I can't question his sincerity and devotion to his cause, and I certainly can't claim that it's not a good cause. But - back to that troubling question - do the ends justify the means? This leaves me at least scratching my head trying to figure that out.
Gerard Butler plays Childers in this. I'm not a huge fan of Gerard Butler, but I have to say that he seemed perfect in this role. He seemed to me to capture Childers perfectly.
This is a very good and thought-provoking movie that offers a pretty good ethical dilemma that the viewer is left to work through on his or her own. (7/10)