There is a new movie out in theaters called Errand of Angels. A preview can be found here, and it is available in Utah theaters Aug 22. This will be at least the 3rd5th “Hollywood LDS Missionary” movie, coming since God’s Army, and The Best Two Years, Other Side of Heaven, and States of Grace (God’s Army 2).
I saw this movie at the LDS film festival back in January, so I thought I would give a movie review.
I loved this movie, and saw it with my wife. This could easily be rated G, as I can’t think of anything offensive. Like God’s Army, it details true to life missionary life, including tough companions, weird food, mission slang, etc. But this time, it deals with missionary life from a sister’s point of view, rather than and elder’s point of view. It is probably much more tame than God’s army. I know some people found some parts of God’s Army distasteful, but I can’t imagine that anyone, LDS or not, would find anything distasteful. Errand of Angels (EoA) would be more along the lines of a “feel good” movie. For those inclined to want to watch a spiritual movie, this would fit the bill.
My wife mentioned that there wasn’t really anything unusual in the film. The stories told are based on the true stories of a sister missionary who served in Austria. From that point of view, some may consider the movie slow-paced, but I found the movie true to missionary life, true to the church, and a wonderful film. As for ranking the 4 movies, let me say that I loved them all, and they are all worth seeing. I’d probably rank them this way: (I must say that this whole ranking thing is tough, because these movies are so close together.)
- God’s Army
- States of Grace
- Other Side of Heaven
- The Best 2 Years
- Errand of Angels
I’m in New York, and just showed the preview to my brother who’s not into the “Utah Mormon” scene. I asked him if he’d see the movie. He said
So… not into movies like The Singles Ward 2 or other “made for Mormons” movies, but hopefully this film veers more toward recreating mission life for all audiences rather than pandering to my temple recommend. However, looks like I might have to put it in my Netflix queue.
So, anyone seen it, or desire to see it? How do you rank them? (Should I post on all of Mormon Cinema?)
Mormon Heretic 
This will be at least the 3rd “Hollywood LDS Missionary” movie, coming since God’s Army and The Best Two Years.
What about “Other Side of Heaven”?
I knew I must have forgotten something. Thanks, i’ll add that to my ranking above.
I would also add “States of Grace” to the list of LDS missionary movies. Anyway, “Errand of Angels” looks classy and well-made. It is not playing here in California at the moment, but I look forward to seeing it when I can.
If you haven’t seen “States of Grace,” make sure that you do because it’s a gem. I loved it!
Yes, it is a great movie. I didn’t research this post as good as the others, and didn’t have internet access to jog my memory. I’ll fix my list again.