This film is a low budget independent Christian film with a really intriguing premise. What if God sent St. Paul to 21st century America? The movie tries to answer that. I wondered if the film would be absolutely terrible, which it isn't. Yet, it is quite uneven. The biggest problem was that some of the acting in this film was really bad, though mostly it was smaller parts. The main actor who plays Paul was pretty good. The young American man he befriends was definitely green when it came to acting, but he wasn't terrible. The actress who becomes the young man's love interest was actually quite good.
As Paul is about to be executed he is transported (or translated as they call it in the film) to 21st century rural Oregon, where a truck driver picks him up. Paul can't speak English, but the truck driver figures out he speaks Greek (ancient Greek to be exact). The truck driver, who is a lapsed Christian who went to Bible college, takes Paul home with him to Eugene, OR. Paul learns English within two months, which seemed a bit farfetched to me. (Yes, the real Paul was a really smart man, but I still think it would take longer to learn English.) When Paul learns there are Christians in the 21st century he is happy, but he is unhappy to find out there are divisions in Christianity. He would like the various congregations to come together and pray together and start a movement to push unity. Not all pastors are keen on this. One pastor, in particular, thinks he's a fraud. Obviously, this causes conflict.
I liked the ecumenical message of the film. The film was made by Evangelical Protestant Christians. Paul does attend a Catholic mass, which I thought was good. Paul comes across as a very nice man, but Paul in his letters had a temper, which we never see. On the other hand Paul wants to work and not live by handouts, which was true. The real Paul made a living as a tentmaker while he traveled around the Roman Empire spreading the Gospel. The script itself wasn't terrible, but it could've been better in spots. As I stated some of the acting, by mostly, smaller characters, was bad.
If you are a Christian it is worthwhile seeing once. I enjoyed it despite its flaws, but I probably won't watch it again.
As Paul is about to be executed he is transported (or translated as they call it in the film) to 21st century rural Oregon, where a truck driver picks him up. Paul can't speak English, but the truck driver figures out he speaks Greek (ancient Greek to be exact). The truck driver, who is a lapsed Christian who went to Bible college, takes Paul home with him to Eugene, OR. Paul learns English within two months, which seemed a bit farfetched to me. (Yes, the real Paul was a really smart man, but I still think it would take longer to learn English.) When Paul learns there are Christians in the 21st century he is happy, but he is unhappy to find out there are divisions in Christianity. He would like the various congregations to come together and pray together and start a movement to push unity. Not all pastors are keen on this. One pastor, in particular, thinks he's a fraud. Obviously, this causes conflict.
I liked the ecumenical message of the film. The film was made by Evangelical Protestant Christians. Paul does attend a Catholic mass, which I thought was good. Paul comes across as a very nice man, but Paul in his letters had a temper, which we never see. On the other hand Paul wants to work and not live by handouts, which was true. The real Paul made a living as a tentmaker while he traveled around the Roman Empire spreading the Gospel. The script itself wasn't terrible, but it could've been better in spots. As I stated some of the acting, by mostly, smaller characters, was bad.
If you are a Christian it is worthwhile seeing once. I enjoyed it despite its flaws, but I probably won't watch it again.
