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Show irnm iiiiiiii iiiiHiiiii Wednesday, March 15, 2000 liiiiiiyiiiiiiihiiiiiihiihiiiiiiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiw God's Army: Mormon cinema is born By Wade Major Sometimes it's not until we see something for the first time that we realize how much we've missed it. Starting way back in 1911 with A Victim of the Mormons and reaching a new low point last with Orgazmo, the Mormon people (or Latter-day Saints, as they prefer to be called) are often portrayed in the movies as dangerous fanatics, fanat-ics, hypocrites andor simpletons. As a people, they've repeatedly taken a cinematic beating at the hands of non-Mormon filmmakers. ..and why not? They're an easy target. They don't fight back, until now. With God's Army, which hits movie theaters this March, a young Mormon director finally enters the ring. But instead of throwing a punch at well-deserving Hollywood, "Richard Dutcher turns the ether cheek. He points his camera toward his own people and, for the first time, shows us what flesh-and-blood Mormons are really like. He doesn't take us down the wide streets of Salt Lake City. Instead he pushes us through the front door of an apartment full of missionaries in present-day Los Angeles. There, of all places, he leads us on a journey deep into Mormonism. The main character is young Brandon Allen (Matthew Brown), a newly ordained missionary struggling with a tragic history and with his won infant faith. His companion is 29-year old Marcus Dalton, the oldest missionary in the L.A. Mission, played by Dutcher himself. ! Dalton is a harsh mentor, and life as a missionary is not the sugar-coated experience that Allen (and the Audience) expects. These days, when so many young directors view independent filmmaking as merely a springboard spring-board to big studio budgets and the cover of Premiere magazine, it's refreshing to hear a truly independent in-dependent voice, a voice thick with the vocabulary of a peculiar people, revealing characters that we've never before seen, Richard Dutcher is not talking , to the studios. He's so engaged in a conversation with his own faith that you get the feeling he truly doesn't care if all the non-Mormons out there really like this movie. For non-believers, watching God's Army is like entering a foreign for-eign country and eavesdropping on the native's most private conversations. con-versations. For believers, seeing God's Army is like getting the best toy for Christmas, a toy you didn't even know existed. Dutcher is now the first and only cinematic voice of his culture. cul-ture. Yes, there are other Mormon filmmakers out there, but they're all telling Hollywood stories. In true Mormon fashion, Dutcher has found an unwanted piece of the landscape and claimed it as his own. It's always a danger to talk up a film. Moviegoers may expect too much. You won't see explosions or car chases or gunfights. But unlike most multiplex fare that passes through your mind without with-out a snag, God's Army will stay with you. It is a quiet and a powerful pow-erful film. Don't be surprised to find yourself thinking about it days later. . In these jaded times, you may think you've seen it all. You haven't. Admittedly, if you're not a Mormon, you may or may not miss it. But if you are a Mormon, as 11 million of you are, you'll wonder where this Dutcher guy has been for the past 89 years and when is he going to make his next movie? These days, you seldom hear-an hear-an audience react at the end of a movie. On March 10, turn an ear toward Salt Lake City and expect to hear the sound of applause Wade Major is a Los Angeles-based Angeles-based film critic. His reviews and articles appear in Box Office Magazine and in Entertainment Today. Review reprinted with permission. ffiji THURSDAY EVENING MARCH 16, 2000 Hlani -m m m mi m ah mmimmr- ( KUTV College Basketball: NCAA Toum. Firs) fid - Teams TBA College Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round - Teams TBA News X Late Show (R) (in Stereo) E (J) KTVX NewsB Fortune Whose Lirn? Whose Una? Be a Millionaire 2020 Downtown S Newt II NightlineS lnic Edition Reel TV (R) a (T) KSL NewS NewsS Friend (R) Jesse S Frasier (R) B Strk Raving Efi 'Truth 8 Consequences" Newel! Tonight Show (In Stereo) B Med AM. You Q) KUED Newehour With Jim Lehrer Scientific-Frontier Mystery! "Inspector Morse" a Mystery! "Inspector Morse" B Being Served Keeping Up Freeh Field Stones CD l(Ui.C Intermediate Algebra Abnormal Psychology Mro.-eioiogy Biology Biology Biology GEDonTV GEO on TV Unseen Lite Unseen Lite (f) KUPX Hweod Show. 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