PARADISE RECOVERED? Not quite--but for a Christian movie, this one's at least worthy

The first thing we hear is one of those Christian radio broadcasts informing us that America was founded as a Christian nation. So what? It was also founded as a slave nation. Let's start again. Whoops: here's a supposedly good Christian family making a big show of praying to god--in public, yet--even though Jesus exhorted his flock not to make such a show of things but rather to pray in private. Once again it's that "direct pipeline to god" that these people claim to have that rankles TrustMovies most. But wait: As we get farther into the new-to-DVD movie PARADISE RECOVERED, it appears that the filmmakers share this view. Shockingly enough, here's a Christian film that acknowledges doubt and is willing to accept non-believers as worthwhile, without insisting on converting them. Well, at least not right away...

The film's director Storme Wood (shown at left) and writer Andie Redwine insist on giving us a wider and fairer picture of Christians, particularly the fundamentalist type, than we're used to seeing on film (try Alleged, What If... or Suing the Devil for examples of the other sort), and the effect is bracing and worthwhile. The story deals with a young woman named Esther who has become part of a splinter sect that, the more we learn about it and its "rules," the more it begins to sound like a mash-up of the looniest parts of Christian Science, Seventh Day Adventists and low-end Christian Fundamentalism, southern style. And, yes, it turns out to be run by a television evangelist who leaves something to be desired in the ethics department.

Esther, played by Heather Wallis (above) with an interesting combination of reticence and slow-burning fire, lives with the preacher of the local branch of this sect and has become a kind of live-in maid for his family and the prospective bride for his son. But because times are bad economically, she asks if she can take a job in a local health food store, where the manager --- a nice kid named Gabriel (Dane Seth Hurlburt) -- takes a shine to her.

Young Mr. Hurlburt (above left, with Oliver Luke, who plays his goofy friend Mark) projects a genuine sweetness that never smacks of anything more or less than a decent and kind young man trying to make his way in the world--and with Esther. Hurlburt a has sweet sense of irony and a low-key charm that helps keep the movie on track. The rest of the cast, all unknown by me prior to now, are pleasantly professional and allow the movie to roll along in tune. Their characters, as written by Ms Redwine and directed by Mr. Woode, are also a bit more nuanced than one finds in many would-be Christian movies.

The preacher's son, for instance, well-played by Austin Chittim, (above, right) is no villain; he's just out for his own best interests and want to take Esther along for the ride. As pleasantly enjoyable as the movie initially is, it grows more obvious and less believable as it heads into a climax that is far too easily achieved.

Along the way there are also some too-heavy-handed scenes -- Esther's make-over (above) is one of these -- that make you wish the filmmakers had stuck with their earlier, quieter moves. (Esther also looks a hell of lot better before her supposed make-over than she does after it. Whether the director and his crew realize this is up for grabs.)

Still, it's such a nice surprise to find a religious movie that allows space and time for beliefs other than its own, that I'd recommend Paradise Recovered for this alone -- not to mention its able cast and budding talent behind the camera. Interestingly, the movie has achieved only a 2.4 rating on the IMDB. Whether this comes from fundamentalists taking out their ire on a film that finds fault with their unthinking surety, I don't know. But I wouldn't be surprised. The movie (95 minutes, from Monarch Home Entertainment) makes its DVD debut this Tuesday, April 24, after playing the 2010 Heartland and Austin Film Festivals.