John Paul and Wayne are two young men in search of their fathers. Problem is...their fathers have been dead for more than 25 years. Eddie and Steven are two young men in search of their sons...whom they've never met. In 1969, Eddie and Steven are with their squad deep in the jungle of Vietnam on a five-day mission to retrieve fallen comrades. They write letters to their wives, often mentioning their love for their sons, one, who is an infant and one yet to be born. In 1997, John Paul and Wayne go on a five day road trip to the Vietnam Wall in Washington DC to see their fathers' names. Along the way, reading those letters, they begin to get an understanding of who their fathers were and how they died. Trials and mishaps, both funny and sad, complicate the road trip for the boys. The horrors of war and the testing of faith manifest themselves for the young men in Vietnam. Ultimately, in parallel stories - more than 25 years apart - the fathers and sons are bound together forever.
Faith of Our Fathers is told in parallel stories during the Vietnam War and in 1997. Eddie and Steven gave their lives together in Vietnam; more than 25 years later, their sons Wayne and John Paul embark on a search to know their fathers.
At its heart, Faith of Our Fathers is a road movie, as strangers Wayne and John Paul travel from Mississippi to Washington, D.C. to visit the Vietnam Wall. This is actually where I feel like the film falters a bit, as it's never quite funny enough, some of the situations are bizarre without being humorous, and sometimes the acting seems a bit forced. The Vietnam portion, while much shorter, is much stronger, and the "modern" section improves greatly once the road trip hijinks are finished. And—I can't believe I'm about to say this, as I'm generally not a fan of his acting—Stephen Baldwin is one of the highlights of the film (just don't get me started on his "old man" makeup ...).
All that is not to say this is a bad film—far from it, in fact. It just suffers from some of the same weaknesses that many faith-based films do: uneven acting and jokes that don't quite land. That said, this is one of the better faith-based films I've seen; better than God's Not Dead and Facing the Giants, and not quite as good as Courageous and Do You Believe. It's safe for the whole family (that PG-13 rating is due to war violence, but it's mostly off screen and nearly bloodless), and it's worth watching and discussing. 3-1/2 stars.
Now comes the fun part! I have a copy of the DVD to give away to one of my readers! Enter through the Rafflecopter below.
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About the film:
Runtime: 96 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 (for brief war violence)
Starring: Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Downes, David A.R. White, Rebecca St. James, Si Robertson, Candace Cameron Bure, Scott Whyte, and Sean McGowan.
Special Features of the DVD:
-The Heart of Faith of Our Fathers
-Honoring Father's Day
-Commemorating Memorial Day
-Si Robertson Interview
-Stephen Baldwin Interview
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Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
I would really love to win this.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite good! Thanks for entering!
DeleteSounds like an interesting movie. It would make for a great family movie night.
ReplyDeleteYes! This would be perfect for family movie night. Thanks for entering!
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