If you haven't discovered this film yet, you're in for a Treat! - done by BYU - a GREAT Film!
Perfect for those who like to 'think', and who enjoy a story beneath the story.
Diantha is an elderly midwife. She lives in Salt Lake City in 1858, at the time that Johnson's army is marching in. Short months after the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Brother Brigham buries the temple and disguises it as a field being planted. He promises to burn the city to the ground before he lets it go. Most Mormons have been evacuated, he leaves a few men behind to observe and bring word.
Diantha was leaving with the rest when an emigrant woman, near to delivering her first child - a non-Mormon from Missouri way, on her way out west with her husband - has need of Diantha's special talent.
In the setting of Diantha's warm and comfortable cabin, we learn of Diantha's conversion to the gospel, her testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, her difficult history with the saints from Kirkland, through to the tops of the mountains in Utah territory. We learn that although she is a Christian woman, all is not well in her little corner of Zion. She struggles with hateful feelings toward those who have caused so much hurt over the years, and guilt that accompanies such unChristlike behavior.
A stranger arrives at her door and while she tenderly cares for her patient, in the quiet hours, she visits with the kind stranger, who looks hautingly familiar somehow .... .
"[Diantha] is both angry and kind, sad and funny as she talks, moving almost effortlessly from topic to topic without losing her place.
Along the way, she confronts her fears, her guilt and her prejudice against those who have caused her family and friends pain. .... " click HERE to read Mormon Times article
click picture to watch trailer
Along the way, she confronts her fears, her guilt and her prejudice against those who have caused her family and friends pain. .... " click HERE to read Mormon Times article
click picture to watch trailer
This is the film you want to show in your adult FHE group, Reader's group, or any other collection of adults or older teens who enjoy 'thinking' and iscussing the gospel.
Not really a family film - not because its inappropriate, just because it has nothing to offer children. With that in mind however, I fully intend to watch it with my oldest granddaughter (8) if her parents are agreeable. I think it would promote a great discussion and fodder for many future like-minded discussions.
In my humble opinion, it is one of the best films we've seen for a long time.
Every home should have one. Every RS should watch it, every empty nesters group should watch it, as well as every serious minded adult FHE group .....
Full of poignant scenes and dialogue from early church history. A visual, sensory dissertation on the transition from this life to the world after this one. Latter-day Saint theology on the imponderable questions concerning the intersection between spirits and mortals. It begs to be discussed afterward. It should be discussed. It could be the catalyst for some awesome gospel discussions. ..........
Okay, enough said. You'd think I produced it or something, the way I'm going on about it. But you know, its fun to come across something you think is so wonderful. THIS kind of discovery (and revealing it) is what makes owning the bookstore worth it!
Diantha's Crossing - DVD
I Loved It! - Cindy
WOW! A Great Movie. Well written, well directed, well acted. Touching. Just enough below-the-surface message to make it deep. An ending to remember. Great film to digest and disect in an adult FHE, Readers Club, or just among friends. Absolutely BRILLIANT!
High recommendation from Cindy
The year is 1858. As the U.S. Army marches on Salt Lake City, Brigham Young has ordered the Saints to evacuate their homes. Diantha Clay - powerfully portrayed by veteran Barta Heiner, A BYU professor who wrote and performed the original stage production - is an aging midwife who stays behind to help a woman about to give birth. The woman was knocked unconscious when her husband struck her as they passed Diantha's cabin, and now Diantha struggles to hold the door shut against the angry husband.
In the next scene, the husband is gone; Diantha now faces a smiling stranger who seems to know her but doesn't explain why he's there. As Diantha tends to her laboring patient and converses with the stranger, she reflects on her childhood and a myriad of memories - from miraculous healings to painful decisions. She takes the stranger to Far West with her to visit a terrible time in her past. Along the way, she confronts her fears, her guilt, and her prejudice against those who have caused pain to her family and her friends. This moving and thought-provoking production will be a treasured addition to any DVD library.
Price: (CDN) $14.95
Available at Generations LDS Bookstore
Enjoy!
Cindy
