Jesus Camp (2006)

4 STARS


Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Produced by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady

Starring Becky Fischer, Mike Papantonio, participating interviewees

Runtime 1 hour, 27 min.
Worldwide Gross $1,013,596
Genres Documentary

Have you ever wondered what the word evangelical actually means? Jesus Camp will certainly give you a good idea. I'm not at all suggesting that this film gives a fair representation of every evangelical Christian on Earth. This is how stereotypes are made. But if anything, this film definitely shows you how devoted some of these people are towards their beliefs.

Jesus Camp follows evangelical leader Becky Fischer and her children's summer camp called the "Kids on Fire School of Ministry". At the camp, the attending children perform many questionable activities, like praying before a cutout of George Bush and breaking cups with words like "government" on them. Is this sane? Is this okay? This isn't for me to answer, but these are the questions that the film presents.

How you view Jesus Camp all depends on your beliefs. If you're a strong Christian, you might see Becky Fischer as a revolutionary and you might think that what she's doing is incredibly noble. If you're anti-religion, you'd probably view Becky Fischer as insane and you might think that what she's doing is harming these kids. This is the beauty of Jesus Camp. Unlike documentaries like Religilous or Fahrenheit 9/11, its stance is not entirely clear. It can easily be interpreted on either side of the spectrum. Good documentaries are like this.

Controversial opinions aside, the film itself is very well made. For one, it's refreshing to see directors who aren't afraid to artistically use cinematography, done by cinematographers Mira Chang and Jenna Rosher. There's some scenes in the film that are made a lot stronger by straying away from the traditional wide-angle shot. The film's editing by Enat Sidi is good as well, with each thought running fluently to the next. I also applaud Camp's directors for staying on the film's topic. Other directors could have have taken this topic and ran all over the place with it, trying to do too much. Thankfully, the directors of this film are smarter than that.

One thing that detracts from the film are the scenes with Mike Papantonio. Scenes are filmed in the radio host's recording studio during one of his shows. While they do offer an alternate opinion, it doesn't stop the scenes from seeming very unnecessary. The film's about a group of kids at a bible camp. Why should we care about what Mike Papantonio thinks? Also uneven is the film's soundtrack. While well done, it sometimes seems
unneeded and over dramatic.

Those scenes aside, to me, Jesus Camp is everything a documentary should be. It's fair, evenly presented, gripping, thought-provoking and artistic. What more could you want? Jesus Camp is a great film. If you haven't seen it, do so when the opportunity presents itself. You won't regret it.

Jesus Camp is rated PG-13 for some discussions of mature subject matter.