The Bottom Line
Pros
- Compelling look at one faction of the evangelical Christian community
- Raises important issues in American democracy
- Film makes effective use of visually arresting imagery and evocative music
Cons
- The documentary occasionally lacks clarity
- DVD needs bonus materials supplying context for issues raised by feature film
Description
- DVD containing documentary Jesus Camp (2006)
- Movie nominated for Academy Award in Best Documentary Feature category
- DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
- DVD contains 15 deleted scenes with total run of time of about 31 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13 for some discussions of mature subject matter
- Feature film run time: 1 hour 24 minutes
- DVD release date: January 23, 2007
Guide Review - Jesus Camp DVD
Nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category, Jesus Camp is a compelling look at one faction of the evangelical Christian community. It was directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who previously created The Boys of Baraka. The film makes effective use of visually arresting imagery and evocative music. However, the documentary provides so little exposition that it occasionally lacks clarity.
Jesus Camp centers around the dynamic Becky Fischer, a Pentecostal children's pastor who lives in North Dakota. At the time the film was made, Fischer ran a summer bible camp she called Kids on Fire. The documentary is unsettling to many viewers because it raises the issue of the extent to which the Kids on Fire approach fosters intolerance. Fischer later suspended the camp indefinitely due to negative reactions resulting from the movie.
The documentary shows three extraordinary children—a 12-year-old boy and two girls, one 9, the other 10—first at their suburban homes in Missouri, then attending Kids on Fire in North Dakota. Two of the children later go to Washington, D.C., where they participate in a small pro-life demonstration led by Lou Engle outside the Supreme Court Building.
Also, the film periodically shows Mike Papantonio on his syndicated Air America Radio talk show being highly critical of the evangelical movement. He expresses concern about maintaining the separation between church and state.
The DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that enhanced my understanding of both the filmmakers and the documentary's subject matter. Also on the DVD are 15 deleted scenes with a total running time of about half an hour. Two of the most interesting are about the father of one of the kids going to Iraq.
