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.

Prom Night in Mississippi (2008)

2.5 STARS

Directed by Paul Saltzman
Produced by Paul Saltzman, Patricia Aquino
Written by Paul Saltzman

Starring Morgan Freeman, participating interviewees

Runtime 1 hour, 30 min.
Worldwide Gross N/A
Genres Documentary

Prom Night in Mississippi is in many ways exactly what its title suggests. But what differentiates the prom at Charleston High School from other schools' is that up until 2008, the Mississippi school ran two - one for white students and another for black. In 1997, Academy Award-winning actor and Charleston resident Morgan Freeman suggested the ASB create an integrated prom, with all the funds coming from his own pocket. His idea went by ignored until 2008, when Freeman made the proposition again. This time, the school accepted Freeman's offer.

Directed by Paul Saltzman, Prom Night is a documentary that follows Charleston teens as their school prepares for the event. You'd think that in a documentary with such a powerful topic, you'd see both sides of the argument equally. This sadly isn't the case for this film. Though the opposing view point is explored and is slightly supported by some of the interviewees, I never saw that strong, opinionated racist asshole that I waited 90 minutes for. I wanted this. Show us the enemy, let us dissect their opinions and find the faults in them. Though the racism of some of the town's residents is spoken of and is consistently referred to, Saltzman fails to ever get one of them on camera.


I can see how hard it could be to get someone with such a disowned opinion to appear on camera, but it appears to me that Saltzman either didn't want one to appear or simply didn't try hard enough. In a small Mississippi town, a person with outspoken, racist beliefs was nowhere to be found? I find this hard to believe. Prom Night was filmed, edited and released in less than a year - an obvious sign that more work could have been done.

As it is, Prom Night is a sloppy, stereotypical teen documentary. It's clear that Saltzman needs a more developed sense of drama. With an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime topic such as this, Prom Night could have been amazing and incredibly revealing. It might have even jerked some tears. But this isn't that sort of film. For instance, various popular music songs are used in transitions as filler content. This not only dates the film, but adds an overwhelming sense of cheesiness. And do we really need this in a documentary film? If you want to listen to bad pop-rap in a movie, go watch Norbit. I just don't want it in films like this one. Even good rap music would seem out of place here. I just don't see documentaries as a forum to advertise the newest hit by Kanye West.

But the film isn't a complete train wreck as I've suggested. There are some good interviews to be seen here and some of the interviewees are really interesting to listen to. Saltzman also succeeds in that he's able to keep your interest. Though its content could have been more exciting, this is a documentary and there's nothing so boring that makes me want to stop watching. But where there's success, there's more flaws.

It's final scene is disappointing. We've been waiting all film long for the prom and it's boring, uninteresting shots of dancers? Yes, the film is about a prom. Dancing is expected. But the shots should at least feel meaningful. In this case, they don't. An element that contributes to this is the uneven editing and cinematography. There's some shots that could be shown more effectively through editing and alternative camera positioning. Most of the prom scene's shots are boring wide shot angles, while the event's frenetic activity suggests that the camera should be placed differently. It's like the equipment and crew are battling against each other.

I had very high hopes about Prom Night in Mississippi. When I read the film's plot, I actually said "Wow." This could have been an amazing film. However, it let me down greatly. On the other hand, this film will most definitely open some eyes - the best possible reward for a documentary filmmaker. If done differently, it could have been a sure contender for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. But as it is? Sadly, no.

Prom Night in Mississippi is currently unrated.