Good concept, poorly executed.

Fantastic!

Don't Believe the Hype

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

This is a great movie. I borrowed it from our local library. I have been reading a lot of books lately on the Amish and am very interested in their lifestyle. This movie seemed to portray their lifestyle pretty accurately. I was particularly impressed with Matt Letscher's performance as an Amish husband and father and a "plain man". It was excellent and right on target! I had never seen him before or even knew who he was but I signed onto this website just so I could let him know how good his portrayal was. His grief and pain were so real I couldn't hold back the tears. I know Ms Paisley got top billing and was supposed to be the star of the movie, but her performance was not that great. She was so angry all the time. I think it is easier to show anger than to show the grief and inner turmoil that Mr. Letscher had to portray.I wish somehow this review will be read by him and he will know that his performance was appreciated.

I've watched only a few documentaries about the Amish, but even from that few I get the impression that this movie fails awfully to give an authentic portrait of the Amish and their way of life.most of all, it looks like the usual Hollywood-formatted actors and actresses (who are just used to deliver the same performances over and over again) have been put into Amish clothes (the dresses, the suits, the hats, ...) and that's it. for them it doesn't really matter if they are wearing futuristic space suits, medieval garments or just plain jeans and t-shirts. they just deliver their usual acting routine in a Disney-ish happy family idyll environment.the same mimics all over again, as seen in countless other American (aka "english" in Amish-speak) movies before.for me it's just more of the same, just that this time it comes in Amish hats. and that's what's wrong with this movie.

I don't have cable at home beyond the local channels and WGN, but I was lucky to be at a motel when this aired.I had a totally different view of the Amish from the way this movie depicted them. They didn't have electricity or modern conveniences, but they had nice houses. They were not uptight or judgmental, except for shunning members of their group who chose to leave. The children seemed happy; almost no one wanted to experience life on the outside.And these people showed the true meaning of forgiveness like I have never seen it. One of the best performances, and one of the best illustrations of the true meaning of forgiveness, came from an actor playing a gray-bearded farmer who raised corn. Sorry I don't know his name.Of course one of these people had doubts and nearly lost her faith. Who wouldn't? In fact, one woman who lost two children knew she should forgive but seemed to stay mad at the man who committed the terrible deed; she forgave him many times a day. In a sense, that's what forgiveness means, although I'm sure it should mean to forgive once and never have to do it again. But this woman really seemed to understand her faith and was just having great difficulty.One of the most powerful statements was the way these people supported the widow of the shooter; a group of men came to her house not to chastise her but to forgive her husband and to ask what she needed from them.I don't recall any weaknesses in the film. Everyone did a good job of acting. Even the TV reporters who had major roles showed the true meaning of what journalism should be in this situation, as opposed to the vultures who were the majority.I was very surprised at the plain-vanilla TV-PG V-chip rating. But there's nothing here that would make the film inappropriate for older children. True, it is suggested some children die, and we see the grief and hear about what happened, but what happened in that schoolhouse is never shown. It's as mild as it can possibly be considering the circumstances. The description by one survivor who woke up from a coma once again drives home the point about what good Christians these people are.Everyone should see this.

This was the most heartwarming, most amazing movie I have ever seen. It teaches you that no matter what happens in life, you should always have it in your heart to forgive those who do something so terrible that you think you will never be able to forgive them. Once you watch this movie, you will learn to appreciate life and the people around you more. You will learn that while forgiving someone isn't always the easiest thing to do, it's the right thing to do. The Amish are such beautiful, such kind people who's lives are based on love and forgiveness, and they always find the strength to go on. Once you see this movie, you will be deeply touched.