Xander Seavy (RiffRaffMcKinley) "The Other Side of Heaven" is a movie that I liked as a younger person with much less appreciation of what appeals to my particular film tastes. But even then, I only would have given this a 6 or a 7 (tops).The performances by Anne Hathaway and Christopher Gorham are disturbingly incompetent. Kevin Kiner's bizarrely typical music is just not interesting enough to bind the movie together. And, as far as themes go, the plot line of this movie is terrifyingly generic (guy comes to a "backwards" civilization to bring "enlightenment" to the "ignorant savages").Honestly, I don't believe in missionary work. After all, didn't some of the people who conquered the Americas come disguised as missionaries? It just doesn't fit into my belief system that you should try to convert someone to yours, so it makes it very difficult for me to relate to this film's main character (a real-life person).Plus, the movie is badly mangled (oops... I mean, edited) together and should not be rated above a 4 in the IMDb weighted average. When it is higher, it makes one wonder about the validity of the entire system.

Bill Polhemus I'm sorry that the adolescent ravings of the previous reviewer appear first. His profound failure to "get it" is an embarrassment.First of all, this is about a young man of "white-bread" heritage casting aside all he has and all he is, even leaving the love of his life for two and a half years, in order to immerse himself in a culture about which he is totally ignorant so that he can offer them the greatest gift he has to offer: His faith.Rather than "looking down" on the people he has come to SERVE, he bears great hardships, and exerts himself in ways he could never have conceived, in order to connect with these people. He comes to love them, profoundly.And their love for him in return, even those who have reason to be suspicious of him, is a testament to his sincerity.Please recall that this is a TRUE STORY. Whatever you might think of John Groberg's religion, or his motives, the fact is that these things actually happened in just this way. He DID travel from Idaho to Tonga, he did live among the people there, he did come to gain their trust, he did bring to them a precious gift of faith, and he did return often throughout the rest of his life, with his wife and family, to be among these people whom he loved.That anyone could be so callously dismissive of this truth is a sad commentary on our "post-Christian" society.But I found this film to be deeply moving and very satisfying, and I recommend it highly to those who enjoy inspiring film.

firthnluv I watched this movie with my 17 year old daughter last night and we both loved it. It was full of beautiful messages that we as a human race have so sadly forgotten If once in a while we all took a moment and thought of life like the young man in this movie, this would be a wondrous world. It breaks my heart that a movie with so much to offer was basically ignored by the public and press.

kpolking Excellently done I thought. Unlike some other recent movies that center on a Mormon character but have a theme that don't interest non-Mormons, this movie is great for Mormons and non-Mormons alike. It was nice to be able to go to the theater and not have to worry about the usual crude or suggestive language that is "hidden" in the script of so many screenplays today. I also liked the general message of faith, of how morally-strong people do exist today, and how good things still happen. This movie left me with the feeling that I wished I could have experienced what John Groberg did.