05/23/00 - Temecula, CA

In Richard Dutcher’s landmark film, “God’s Army”, main character Brandon Allen, finds his voice. Dutcher has clearly done the same, bringing a Mormon filmmaker’s eye to the main rite of passage of Mormon life, serving a two year proselyting mission. “Making the film was a two-fold process,” Dutcher said. “One, I was sick of doing mainstream work. You can spend years on a film that turns out to be just fluff. Second, I was frustrated by how Mormons were portrayed in film and on t.v. I wanted to make a niche film, even if only Mormons came out.”

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons, are flocking to the film, which has jumped its opening Utah confines and headed to locations across the country, including Temecula Stadium Cinemas 15 located at the Promenade Mall.

According to Mary Jane Jones of Excel Entertainment Group, the movie opened in Utah on March 10 and outperformed “Mission to Mars” at the box office. Currently grossing $1.66 million on a $300,000 investment, Dutcher has demonstrated there is a market for Mormon film. The story follows Elder Allen – one of those guys in white shirts who come knocking at your door – through his mission experience and touches upon many hot button, as well as most sacred, issues for Mormons. Through faith, conversion, healing, doubt, homesickness, death and love, the story unfolds.

Working in the independent film industry, Dutcher wanted to bring his life and experiences to the screen. “Having been a missionary, no one had ever told that story before and I wondered why no one ever got around to doing it,” Dutcher said. Like other filmmakers who have broken the mold for minority audiences with stories of their own making, Dutcher hopes his film will bring a better treatment for Mormon
characters and ideas on the big screen. “I was tired of seeing us always as the butt of a joke,” Dutcher said.

Mormons are so unprepared to see a story of their own in a theater, Jones said one of the tasks of Excel Entertainment has been to educate the public. “To promote the film we have to help people understand it is a real movie in a real theater, that it is serious.” Mormon literature has long held a market and in the last fifteen years, music by Mormons for Mormons has begun to command serious consumer dollars.

As the religion continues to grow – now to 11 million members worldwide – Dutcher’s film proves there is a profitable market for Mormon film. Production company Zion Films points out a truth about art: “The more unique the story and its characters, the more universal its appeal,” citing “Fiddler on the Roof” as a similar story steeped in the customs and language of religion. 

Mary and Loren Barney are Mormons who saw the film in Temecula recently. With their own son serving a mission in Australia – he’s been out eleven months and four days, Mary Barney said, looking at her watch – the film was especially poignant. “At first I was a little offended,” Loren Barney said. “I served a mission and I felt the movie was really true to life and felt maybe he was exposing a bit too much. After the movie got going though, I liked the way he brought out, that is life.  Our missionaries have weaknesses, I certainly had weaknesses, but still God allowed his work to be performed through me. The message was He will work through his servants as long as they try to do their best.”

Jennifer Shaw, 16, is not a Mormon, but attended with a Mormon friend. “I liked how the movie showed how other people think about the Mormon religion.” Shaw said she didn’t know much about missionaries, “I’ve seen them ride bikes. I knew they were missionaries and go door to door and want people to join their religion because they came to my door before and gave me a book.” Her reaction was similar to any movie though when she said she liked the Elder Allen guy because he was a good actor.

Then she smiled and admitted, well, she thought he was “cute.” Mormons will love this first, of what Dutcher hopes spawns an industry of Mormon film. As the only movie of its kind at this point, Mormon and non-Mormon audiences alike need to realize this is just one story, not THE story of the Mormons. Both Jones and Dutcher emphasize there are many stories to be told, and with this film, they begin to find a voice. For more information, you can log on to http://www.godsarmy.com or http://www.zionfilms.com.