Purely Joyful Movie!

just watch it!

Fantastic!

A different way of telling a story

And then, the non-religious film lover watched COME SUNDAY, and he was struck by the light of amazement. For he had seen a film about belief and faith that did NOT overwhelm him with cheesy imagery, flat dialogue, or flip-flopping character arcs that made no sense as the players struggled with the deciphering of the Lord's word... No, THIS was a film that impressed him.No, really. I mean that in every word.COME SUNDAY stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, an actor with a name that I have to copy and paste every single time I write it. He first impressed me when I saw him play the ruthless assassin in SERENITY, and ever since then, he's consistently been amazing in every role I've seen him play. Going into this film, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.As I said in my mostly joking opening, I am not a religious man. It's a topic I've struggled with for most of my life, and for the most part, I'm on the side of the atheists, believing that there's no proof, so there must be no "God". But I have to say. This film has me wondering.Having girlfriends that have been very religious seems to be a theme with me, and so far every one that I've been really serious about has loved "the Lord" in constant vigil. And, what you can expect goes along with that territory, for a man who's either on the fence or on the opposite side of the fence, there've been more than a few heated arguments over the years. None of which I've successfully won, because let's face it, even when you win a fight with your lover, you seem to lose. It is here that I have witnessed some very poor cinema, with regards to the Almighty.More on that in a bit, though.COME SUNDAY is about a preacher who has a moment of... divine intervention, it seems, when he watches the massacres of Rwanda on the television of 1998. It is here that his faith is most questioned, the simple argument being that those that are not saved must go to Hell, in this case being the 400,000 children that were murdered without question. How could children who had no chance in life be sent to Hell, simply because they were born in the wrong place? And thus, the preacher's dilemma begins. Because as he shrieks in pain witnessing such horrors, the voice of "God" speaks to him.Smartly, the director (Joshua Marsden, whom I regret to say I've never seen any other movies of--YET) chooses not to attempt to simulate the Lord's voice, instead simply showing our preacher (the real person, Carlton Pearson) simply struck by a thought in his head, without verbal acceptance or bolts of lightning. Instead, it ends up being more of a moment of enlightenment. A vision, if you will. A shift in his perspective. And when all is said and done, he declares to a church full of believers, that he no longer believes in Hell.This of course sits very poorly with his miraculous band of white and black worshippers, who cannot accept what comes from his lips, with even Martin Sheen (FINALLY given the chops that this fantastic actor is due, instead of just sliding him in for face value) playing the real Oral Roberts, telling our preacher that it is most likely the Devil that is doing the speaking in Carlton's head, not the Lord. And thus, the movie unfolds.This is not a Lifetime movie, where you get useless platitudes and patched-together stories fixed by quick writing adjustments, to stand in for real deliverance and destiny--this is challenging, believable fare, and wonderfully done at that.It's not perfect... There are moments when the pacing of the film slows things down a bit, but the absolutely BEAUTIFUL shots that pull the pieces together do a wonderful job of trying to keep things moving, and there are no actors who do not deliver one hundred percent in every scene they are in.When all was said and done, I was more than happy that I was able to watch, for the first time, a movie about faith and religion that made me want to believe that such things were real, and such people were possible. This is a true event tale, supported strongly by what I'm still trying to accept which is now a FILM STUDIO based off of the really incredible radio show and briefly done television show on pay cable that I used to watch, created by Ira Glass, THIS AMERICAN LIFE, which is about as close to real, HARD truth as you're ever going to get. It is as wonderful as it is painful to absorb, but certainly one of the greatest things that has ever been attempted or created.I will watch this again, and I did love this film tremendously. I recommend that everybody watch it, and make your arguments one way or the other, even if what you see shocks and/or offends you. This, after all, is the purpose of great art.And of great cinema.

I suspect that most people will evaluate this movie based on their personal belief systems. Fundamentalist Christians will hate it because it portrays a high profile Christian leader moving away from fundamentalism and into a universalist theological perspective. More progressive types will likely rate it higher for that same reason. The theology contained within it (such as Hollywood can really portray theology) is interesting. Certainly, the point gets made that the Bible can be used to defend either a fundamentalist (salvation through Jesus alone) perspective or a universalist (God saves everyone regardless of what they believe) perspective. I'll choose not to wade into the theological debate. Suffice to say that as a pastor I am neither fundamentalist nor universalist; I believe both perspectives (which make determinations about a person's eternal destiny) defy Jesus' instructions not to judge. I believe the gospel is intended to provide assurance in Christ without judgement on those outside Christ. I'll leave it at that.As for the movie itself, it's the story of the faith journey of Carlton Pearson (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.) A protege of Oral Roberts (Martin Sheen), Pearson was ordained by the Church of God in Christ (a fundamentalist, pentecostal-type denomination) and eventually became pastor of a mega-church of more than 5000 members in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But over the course of his ministry there, his theology began to change and he started to struggle with the concept of hell and divine punishment, eventually becoming a believer in universalism (or, universal reconciliation.) That led to a major split in his church and ultimately his being declared a heretic by the Joint College of African American Pentecostal Bishops.I disagree with where Pearson's theology took him, but I can nevertheless admire his willingness to stand for what he believed in the face of the incredible pressure that was brought to bear on him to recant. It certainly showed how difficult both theologically and personally it would be for a pastor to radically change his or her views. It not only caused problems within the church and had repercussions for Pearson's career, it also ended relationships and turned friends into enemies. It's interesting to trace Pearson's theological journey, but there's no real "excitement" to the story. It's simply biographical. If I were to hazard a guess I would say that the perspective of those who made the movie (it's a Netflix production) is sympathetic to Pearson, although the portrayal of Oral Roberts was, I thought fair and balanced.This will probably be of most interest to those who have a theological interest in universalism. (6/10)

Come Sunday, to me, is an amazing film. It is a look inside the belief system of fundamentalist Christians. This is not the belief system to which I have ever belonged. So watching Carlton Pearson's transformation and how he was ostracized for his revelations, moved me greatly and kept me riveted. They assembled some truly great actors for this film, from Chiwetel Ejiofor, to Martin Sheen. Based on a true story. It was apparently difficult to have this film made due to the subject matter and fears of protest. I'm personally very glad they were able to get it done. Not to put down those who sought to punish Rev. Pearson for abandoning their tribe, but because it was so uplifting how he found his true path and offered hope for others. I look for transformation in characters as I watch serious films. This film and it's actors transformed as few films do. I highly recommend this.

Only a person that is born in a country (Italy) where, at the time, you had no choice or saying in what to believe, can fully understand this movie. Unfortunately the screenplay is a mess, and the director is not doing justice to an oscar worthy performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor, (this men is on another level), Lakeith Stanfield and Danny Glover. STILL, they are able to absorb you into the Via Crucix of not only pastor Pearson, but of those who clinged to his words in hope of salvation and are suddenly casted into chaos instead. This was a very courageous movie to produce BUT (like I did in Italy to break the chains by showing up to my confimation with short hair, bright green lima pants and matching pullover) sometimes you need to use firerworks to be seen. This movies FAILED to emphatized the magnitude and enormity of an African American pastor standing up against these "corporate", ANCIENT, religious organizations. Best part of the movie are the dialogue about being born gay and not going to hell, and the speech at the end in this new Hope church: because after all those years of Cathechism, the only thing I'm certain about the Bible is that Jesus is LOVE. He even wrote it in his scroll. It's just that fear it's a much easier feeling to handle.