The "Official" Witnesses Trailer Drops

[Lem]

Is there still no review of the movie posted?

[Kishkumen]

Speaking for myself, I am very excited to see the movie and the documentary. I think these will be very enjoyable and educational. Granted, I will not agree with many of their choices, but I don't expect a film that must appeal to rank-and-file LDS folk will accurately reflect just how unusual the Book of Mormon's genesis was. As the old saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. The faithful account of the witnesses is a myth for our times. The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

[Lem]

Is there still no review of the movie posted?

Checking on this myself, I see this year's other LDS film festival entries have reviews, but not Witnesses. Even without the pandemic I wouldn't be willing to impose this movie on anyone, including myself because I find fiction written as documentary particularly time-wasting and irritating, but I am interested in a review. People saw it at the film festival, why hasn't anyone reviewed it?

[IHAQ]

Is there still no review of the movie posted?

Checking on this myself, I see this year's other LDS film festival entries have reviews, but not Witnesses. Even without the pandemic I wouldn't be willing to impose this movie on anyone, including myself because I find fiction written as documentary particularly time-wasting and irritating, but I am interested in a review. People saw it at the film festival, why hasn't anyone reviewed it?

It's all gone very quiet. I suspect it will pick up again towards the end of April/early May as the launch date grows nearer. Presumably a screening for journalists will be facilitated prior to that launch date.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

As the old saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. The faithful account of the witnesses is a myth for our times. The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, the film might be sorely lacking in the truth department. I hope I’m wrong and that DCP didn’t squander the million dollars on another fluff piece. It’s a part of history that deserves to be truthfully told.

So far, it hasn’t been.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

Wut.

- Doc

[Gadianton]

The faithful account of the witnesses is a myth for our times. The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

I have a hard time seeing the faithful account of the witnesses as a myth for our times. My money certainly won't be on the film at issue doing any fulsome elucidation, either. In fact, I think it's just the opposite. While the production team has taken many suggestions from Dr. Scratch and made the film better, from what I've seen so far, it's a fully 20th century storytelling exercise based loosely on the events of the restoration.

I say 20th century, because Smith will be portrayed as a faultless hero. It will be like watching a series of story tropes taken from Karate Kid, and used to tell the story of Joseph Smith. Well, given Smith's demise can't be avoided, perhaps Braveheart is more like it.

[Moksha]

As the old saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. The faithful account of the witnesses is a myth for our times. The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

It will beat Chariots of the Gods, hands down!

[Kishkumen]

I have a hard time seeing the faithful account of the witnesses as a myth for our times. My money certainly won't be on the film at issue doing any fulsome elucidation, either. In fact, I think it's just the opposite. While the production team has taken many suggestions from Dr. Scratch and made the film better, from what I've seen so far, it's a fully 20th century storytelling exercise based loosely on the events of the restoration.

I say 20th century, because Smith will be portrayed as a faultless hero. It will be like watching a series of story tropes taken from Karate Kid, and used to tell the story of Joseph Smith. Well, given Smith's demise can't be avoided, perhaps Braveheart is more like it.

In order to help you and others understand what I am saying, let me restore the context:

Granted, I will not agree with many of their choices, but I don't expect a film that must appeal to rank-and-file LDS folk will accurately reflect just how unusual the Book of Mormon's genesis was. As the old saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. The faithful account of the witnesses is a myth for our times. The history is so much more interesting, and it has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

In other words, the filmmakers have participated in the process of making a myth for faithful members of the LDS Church to believe. Truth is stranger than fiction, however, and the historical truth, as I see it, has yet to be elucidated fulsomely.

Definition of fulsome
1a : characterized by abundance : COPIOUS
describes in fulsome detail
— G. N. Shuster
fulsome bird life. The feeder overcrowded
— Maxine Kumin
b : generous in amount, extent, or spirit
the passengers were fulsome in praise of the plane's crew
— Don Oliver
a fulsome victory for the far left
— Bruce Rothwell
the greetings have been fulsome, the farewells tender
— Simon Gray
c : being full and well developed
she was in generally fulsome, limpid voice
— Thor Eckert, Jr.

[Gadianton]

In other words, the filmmakers have participated in the process of making a myth for faithful members of the LDS Church to believe

sure, I can agree with that. But I don't think the filmmakers will have achieved anything that Kim Il-sung didn't in his epic, Unsung Heroes. I could be wrong, we'll see after I've had a chance to view the film in its entirety.

As time has passed, I've changed my mind on what will be the greatest problem of this film. At present, I think the greatest problem will be the thematic instability of faithful witnesses testifying. In the longer excerpts made available a while back, the general credibility of the protagonists seemed derived from scenes where they were validated in some way by antagonists. In other words, the subtext of the movie is that credibility comes from witnesses who are unrelated to each other, and who don't have a vested interest in what they're confirming as true.