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Movies / On DVD / The Other Side of Heaven
The Other Side of Heaven

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The Other Side of Heaven (2002)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:11

Rotten:30

Average Rating:4.6/10

Consensus: The Other Side of Heaven preaches to the converted; others will likely consider it simplistic, even offensive, propaganda.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic elements and brief disturbing images

Runtime: 73 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Apr 12, 2002 Limited

Box Office: $4,381,772

Synopsis: Based on Elder John Groberg's memoirs, THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, Mitch Davis' feature debut stars Christopher Gorham (A LIFE LESS ORDINARY) as John Groberg, a 19-year-old missionary who goes to... Based on Elder John Groberg's memoirs, THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, Mitch Davis' feature debut stars Christopher Gorham (A LIFE LESS ORDINARY) as John Groberg, a 19-year-old missionary who goes to Rarotonga to convert the native Indians to Christianity. In the process, he has to face a number of frightening events that change his life forever. Hungry rats eat the soles of his feet, he is almost killed by a hurricane that devastates the island so that their food supplies run out and he starves, and he is caught in a storm at sea and nearly dies until he floats to safety. All the while he is reassured and strengthened by the sweet letters from his fiancée, Jean Sabin (Anne Hathaway, THE PRINCESS DIARIES). The film veers on the fantastic and is peppered with nostalgia; a full moon peeks through soft fans of tree branches, and Jean spends much of her time gracefully gowned in frilly fifties frocks. Many members of the cast and crew are New Zealanders and Miriama Smith and Nathaniel Lees are both well-established New Zealand actors. [More]

Starring: Christopher Gorham, Anne Hathaway, Joe Folau, Nathaniel Lees

Starring: Christopher Gorham, Anne Hathaway, Joe Folau, Nathaniel Lees, Miriama Smith

Director: Mitch Davis

Director: Mitch Davis
Screenwriter: Mitch Davis
Producer: Gerald R. Molen, John Garbett
Composer: Kevin Kiner
Studio: Excel Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 1, 2003

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Other Side Of Heaven
  • Walt Disney Home Entertainment presents THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, a thrilling and epic adventure starring Anne Hathaway (THE PRINCESS DIARIES) and Christopher Gorham (TV's FELICITY). When 19-year-old John Groberg (Gorham) is sent on a three-year mission to Tonga, he has no idea what he's getting into. Just getting to Tonga is fraught with danger and unbelievable obstacles. Once there, he finds himself in the midst of a culture as remote to him as the island is to his Idaho Falls home. Not understanding the language, and lonely for his fiancee Jean (Hathaway), John faces suspicion, distrust, typhoons, tidal waves, mosquitoes, and other perils of man and nature as he reaches out to the people of Tonga. Filled with adventure, breathtaking scenery, and humor, THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN is a coming-of-age film your whole family will enjoy.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Other Side of Heaven

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    1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    03/09/02
    Arizona Republic

    Fails to offer skeptics a way into the worldview of these characters other than a tacit acceptance of its 'truth.'

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    04/12/02
    E! Online
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    04/13/02
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    05/24/02
    Entertainment Weekly

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    05/13/05
    Apollo Guide
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Houston Chronicle

    There's a disturbing 'Great White Hope' undertone to The Other Side of Heaven that subtly undermines its message of Christian love and compassion.

    Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
    04/11/02
    Al Brumley
    Al Brumley
    Dallas Morning News

    Painfully earnest and painfully dull.

    comment Comment
    09/29/06
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

    It is inspirational in characterizing how people from such diverse cultures share the same human and spiritual needs.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    04/11/02
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    So relentlessly wholesome it made me want to swipe something.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    04/11/02
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    03/11/06
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    If the idea of the white man arriving on foreign shores to show wary natives the true light is abhorrent to you, the simplistic Heaven will quite likely be more like hell.

    Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
    04/12/02
    Connie Ogle
    Connie Ogle
    Miami Herald

    Has a solid emotional impact.

    Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
    04/12/02
    Donald Munro
    Donald Munro
    Fresno Bee

    Perhaps even the SLC high command found writer-director Mitch Davis's wall of kitsch hard going.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    04/09/02
    Ed Park
    Ed Park
    Village Voice

    Handsome and sincere but slightly awkward in its combination of entertainment and evangelical boosterism.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/12/02
    Edward Guthmann
    Edward Guthmann
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/14/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    Nothing happens, and it happens to flat characters.

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    02/09/02
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    Like one very long, haltingly delivered sermon...the picture's strenuous efforts to convey an uplifting message collapse in a sea of amateurishness.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    04/11/02
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    Celebrates the spiritual practice of enthusiasm as an energizing and radiant way of life.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    04/13/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    This pep-talk for faith, hope and charity does little to offend, but if saccharine earnestness were a crime, the film's producers would be in the clink for life.

    comment Comment
    04/11/02
    Gregory Weinkauf
    Gregory Weinkauf
    New Times
     
     
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