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The film is based on a novel by Francine Rivers, and directed by Michael Landon Jr. from a script he wrote with Touched by an Angel producer Brian Bird. All of Landon's previous directorial efforts have been adaptations of Janette Oke novels (the Love Comes Softly series) or tributes to his father, the Little House on the Prairie star; and The Last Sin Eater would be quite at home sitting next to those stories on someone's DVD shelf. In some ways, it even brings to mind the famous Little House episode in which Laura blames herself for the death of her baby brother, runs away from home, and meets an angel.

The Last Sin Eater might also amuse fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, because it features Louise Fletcher (an Oscar winner for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) as an old friend of Cadi's grandmother; Fletcher played a "Bajoran" called "the Kai" on Star Trek, and here, she plays an elderly member of the community who butts heads with a villain named "Brogan Kai," whose father she often refers to simply as "the Kai."

The film suffers from pedestrian direction, but it benefits from decent performances, especially where its young star Liberato is concerned. As a window into an older culture, or an evening's entertainment with the family, you could certainly do worse. Just don't be surprised when the movie starts preaching to the converted—that is, to the fellow believers who will undoubtedly make up the bulk of its audience.

Talk About It

1. Why do you think a practice like "sin eating" came into existence? How have you handled the guilt of your own sin in the past? Why do you think the Bible includes such concepts as the "scapegoat" (Leviticus 16:20-22)? What meaning do these Old Testament passages have for us as Christians?
2. Cadi says she doesn't "feel" different when the Sin Eater performs his ritual on her, but she "feels" different after she prays with the Man of God. How important are "feelings" in knowing whether you have done the right thing, spiritually? What would you say to someone who had asked Christ into their heart but didn't "feel" different?
3. The Sin Eater resists the gospel message, at first, because he knows that, if it is true, it would mean that he has wasted his life—he has lived a lie and has not saved anyone like he thought he had. What lies have you had to give up, when you heard the truth? How can you help other people to find and follow the truth?

The Family Corner

The Last Sin Eater is rated PG-13 for thematic elements (including an openly Christian message, and a discussion of the magical or superstitious practice of "sin eating"), and some intense sequences of violence (a man dies after being beaten up, a girl falls to her death, a tribe of Native Americans is slaughtered by settlers).

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© Peter T. Chattaway subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

More and more movies made by Christians, about Christians, and marketed to Christians are opening in theaters every month. Most of them are shrugged off by critics—including members of the religious press—as mediocre (or worse) in their craftsmanship, and as preachy in their storytelling.

Only a handful of recent such films—like The Second Chance—combine excellent craftsmanship with inspiring portrayals of Christian faith. They have impressed viewers with content and with form, showing more than telling, exploring rather than proselytizing.

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