atlasmb I am a fan of Anne Hathaway. That was the primary reason I decided to watch this film. Unfortunately, her part is small and one dimensional. That is not her fault.A story of a missionary bringing his "truths" to the (spiritually) ignorant savages is, of course, built on a faulty and culturally biased premise. This story trips over all the basic clichés. The fact that it is a true story makes it worse and not really special. Millions have gone to other lands to proselytize for many different churches, often in primitive circumstances.But primitive or "undeveloped" societies are not necessarily deficient. I appreciated the scene in the movie where the villagers sit around a radio and John leaves. He finds one villager playing a guitar beautifully and seems to realize that the changes being introduced to this island society, including changes brought about by his church, come with a cost.The production values were fine. The depiction of the storm on the water was well done. And I appreciated the acting, which seemed genuine. But all of these were hampered by the script. A few scenes were enjoyable, I thought, but not enough to make the entire worth viewing.

rzwyer ...to laugh about! Scenery eye candy - that's o.k. But investing the necessary time until reaching the end of this mission is about the same as eating candy floss for 48 hours straight through - without having a toothbrush after wards to clean your teeth! What a taste. Ts, ts, ts. Sorry "brothers", but what I hope is that there are more individuals out there who are able to lift that poor disguise of fundamental Christianity. We're living in the 3rd millennium - and this remains just cute. Everybody telling about "the truth" in a pluralistic and multi-religious oriented society is not to blame, but only to smile at... Knights, hold your horses.

Island_Girl I saw this movie today and can't believe I waited so long after its release to see it. I stumbled on it on my cable channel and was so taken by it, I interrupted my afternoon plans to watch it in its entirely.Not only was the filmography incredible, but it was so beautifully directed. I can't believe this was Mitch Davis' Directorial debut! How do you do a work so incredible on your first work? The characters were portrayed so beautifully that it seemed that they were real people and not actors. It reminded me of one of my favorite stories of all time...James Michener's "Hawaii", yet it had its own sweetness and own story.I will put this on down as one of my top ten movies and highly recommend it to anyone who loves drama, hope, truth and love...amidst a beautiful island people.I give this 10 stars wholeheartedly!

mshel333 I am not a Mormon but thought this movie was a fine example of a good, clean, wholesome, interesting, and very enjoyable film. Time and time again we have watched--or started to watch--a highly proclaimed movie, only to be turned off by the language, violence, and sexual inferences. The Other Side of Heaven was a refreshing change and is proof that Hollywood can do it when they want to. Would love to see many, many more films of this quality. I saw this movie two days ago...and this weekend we are inviting relatives over to see it. Incidentally, we have friends who are (non-Mormon) missionaries in a location very much like Tonga, and they have experienced many, many of the same things portrayed in the film...even the rats!