The Saratov Approach

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Cast & Crew

Corbin Allred
Tuttle

Maclain Nelson
Propst

Alex Veadov
Sergei

Nikita Bogolyubov
Nikolai

Bart Johnson
Senator Smith

Shawn Carter
Agent Ross

Rocky Myers
Agent Miller

Bruce Newbold
Lee Propst

Garrett Batty
Director

Garrett Batty
Screenwriter

Garrett Batty
Producer

Maclain Nelson
Producer

Jonathan T. Turner
Producer

Jake Van Wagoner
Producer

Jeremy Prusso
Cinematography

Connor O'Malley
Film Editing

Robert Allen Elliott
Original Music

Heather Reid
Production Design

Heather Reid
Art Director

Becky Swasey
Costume Design

Ellery J. White
Casting

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Audience Reviews for The Saratov Approach

• Dec 31, 2015

  Might have a bit too much of a religious slant for some folks, but I still found the true life story of Mormon Missionaries kidnapped in Russia to be compelling, thrilling and touching.
  Anthony V Super Reviewer
• Jul 04, 2014

  This dramatic thriller was all about religion, and if you are a non-believer, simply skip it! Written and directed by Garrett Batty it stars Corbin Allred, Maclain Nelson, Nikita Bogolyubov and Alex Veadov. The movie is about the 1998 kidnapping of the two Mormon missionaries, Andrew Lee Propst and Travis Robert Tuttle in Saratov, Russia. The kidnappers wanted US$300,000 ransom from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but nobody wanted to pay the ransom for different reasons. For five days the two missionaries were handcuffed and held captive in a small room. When no ransom materialized, the men were driven to a field and released. Doesn't sound too exciting, especially when we all know the outcome of the story... but, there was suspense in the movie, excitement, and very believable acts and results of the faith of the young men. At the time, this event was a significant international incident, but the director wisely chooses to focus its time on the missionaries and their captors. Some blamed a limited budget for it, but the important story really is what is happening within that relationship where they both slowly make their way through a barrage of emotions, confronting fears of their captors and their own mortality, and slowly coming to understand the role their faith will play in their predicament. Please, do not dismiss this movie because it falls into the category of Mormon cinema, and the well-tread subcategory of missionary movies that is so prominent within it. Check it out and you will see that director Garrett Batty's effort is very solid. I didn't like the hand-held camera work and the intense original soundtrack, but the locals from The Salt Lake Tribune praised the film. Some of the scenes were not very impressive, they were executed rather like a routine, but they are countered by most of the emotional scenes of Allred and Nelson re-creating those days of captivity. Not a bad viewing!
  Panta O Super Reviewer

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