"END OF THE SPEAR" (2006) (Chad Allen, Louie Leonardo) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None Moderate Extreme Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None Heavy None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate None Heavy Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama: A group of 1950s era missionaries tries to save a violent tribe of Ecuadorian natives before they kill themselves into extinction. PLOT: It's 1956 in the Amazon basin of Ecuador and a fierce tribe of natives known as the Waodani is killing its own members at an alarming rate -- when not doing the same to rival tribes. Accordingly, a group of concerned missionaries, led by Nate Saint (CHAD ALLEN), wants to find the Waodani and, using the world of the Gospel, stop the chain of violence. But it won't be easy, as they're deep in the heart of the jungle. To make matters worse, their leader, Mincayani (LOUIE LEONARDO) -- who's witnessed, participated in and survived all of the violence throughout his life -- is wary of outsiders, particularly since his childhood friend Dayumae long ago disappeared with some of them. Undeterred and operating from a base camp where his wife Marj (CARA STONER) and young son Stevie (CHASE ELLISON) live with other missionary families, Nate makes various flights over the jungle, eventually spotting the Waodani who think his plane is some form of large bee. By lowering various items down to them, the missionaries make contact with the natives. Stevie is concerned about his father's safety and so asks his aunt Rachel (SARA KATHRYN BAKKER), who's Dayumae's (CHRISTINA SOUZA) caretaker, for friendly words for his father to share with the Waodani to prove they pose no harm to them. Unfortunately, that message comes too late and misinformation leads to a tragic attack where the Waodani kill various missionaries. Desirous of carrying on their mission, the families don't seek revenge, but instead continue to try to save the natives. Their message of peace doesn't sit well with Mincayani but does affect Kimo (JACK GUZMAN), a tribesman who's grown tired of the killings. From that point on, the missionaries hope to change the Waodani before it's too late. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless the story is of interest to them, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense sequences of violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CHAD ALLEN plays the missionary who wants to find, meet and save the Waodani, risking his life in the process. He also plays that man's grown-up son who later meets the tribesman responsible for his father's death. LOUIE LEONARDO plays the Waodani leader who's continuing his tribe's chain of violence but must contend with the effects the missionaries have on his people. CHASE ELLISON plays Nate's young son who's worried about his father's safety and then finds himself living among the Waodani. CHRISTINA SOUZA plays Mincayani's now grown-up, former childhood friend who's been staying with Nate's sister and has become westernized. JACK GUZMAN plays a tribesman who believes in the missionaries' message of peace and thus butts heads with Mincayani. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this drama that's been rated PG-13. Violence consists of various scenes of tribal people attacking and wounding or killing others. While occasionally brutal and severe in nature, the results aren't as bloody as one might expect (to keep the PG-13 rating) but there is blood as well as views of spears sticking out of people, etc.). Some of those scenes and other moments of peril (including a large snake grabbing and drowning a child) might be disturbing and/or suspenseful to some viewers. Various male tribal people are seen in standard garb (the native equivalent of a jock strap) while some childhood nudity is present and a man strips down to his boxers to prove he's no threat to others. Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material regarding news and knowledge of the deaths of loved ones. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some bouncy, handheld camerawork from time to time in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE Young Mincayani pulls a bat off sleeping young Dayumae's head and then shows her blood on his hand. A man may have blood on his arm following an attack. We briefly see a dead monkey on the ground. We see a dead jaguar with a bloody spear sticking up out of it. One tribe attacks another with spears thrown and jabbed into others, with one having a spear all of the way through him. We see some blood, but not much considering the severity of the wounds. That includes one man who has a spear sticking out of his torso, but there's no related blood. Various tribesmen attack the missionaries, throwing spears into some of them, while others are hit with machetes or similar blades. Some of the victims are a little bloody. We see a dead body partially submerged in some water. Dayumae's sister says that a man's baby grows inside her, prompting one man to jab the father repeatedly with a spear (we see some small, bloody holes). Mincayani gets into the missionaries' shed and puts his hand down into some sort of container and then looks at the blood (or possibly rust) on his finger. We briefly see a dead and somewhat bloody tribesman. We see dead and somewhat bloody boar. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The Waodani habitually kill their own people, as well as those in a rival tribe and some of the missionaries. One tribesman lies to the others (to "explain" why he was with another man's sister) about the missionaries attacking them (thus leading to the missionaries' deaths). Following his father's death, young Stevie is upset and throws rocks at a dog (we hear it yelp once), yelling out that he's not anyone's friend anymore. Mincayani and other men are resistant to the change that's affecting their tribe (of not matching violence with violence). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Rival tribesmen attack Mincayani's tribe, with a spear thrown at young Mincayani. It misses, but other spears hit other men in the tribe, while some are sliced with large blades (possibly machetes of some sort), but no blood is seen (a fire also seems to be burning in the hut). A rival tribesman then finds an infant lying on the ground and raises his blade. We don't see the resultant impact, but he's killed the baby. He then nearly kills young Dayumae, but young Mincayani hits that adult over the head with a large branch, and then hits him again on the ground before rushing off. Various individuals then hide from that man. As young Dayumae runs toward outsiders, one of them nearly shoots her until he realizes it's just a girl. Mincayani and other tribesmen go off to hunt a jaguar, but Mincayani is distracted by a plane flying overhead and the jaguar jumps on him. The other men rush up and see the jaguar on top of Mincayani, but it's dead, with a bloody spear sticking up out of it. One tribe attacks another with spears thrown and jabbed into others, with one having a spear all of the way through him. We see some blood, but not much considering the severity of the wounds. That includes one man who has a spear sticking out of his torso, but there's no related blood. One rival man then drags a woman across the ground, stating they'll take her. Dayumae's sister tries to get on the bucket suspended from Nate's plane, but her weight puts too much drag on the plane. Accordingly, the other man in the plane has to cut the line before it pulls the plane down into a crash. Various tribesmen attack the missionaries, throwing spears into some of them, while others are hit with machetes or similar blades. Some of the victims are a little bloody and one fires a warning shot into the air, while we hear but don't see the final missionary be murdered (as we see a tribesman slowly walking toward the man who nervously backs up in some water in which he then starts to float away with a spear in him). The various tribesmen then attack Nate's empty plane, whacking and tearing at it. A wounded missionary slowly dies in the rain. Dayumae's sister says that a man's baby grows inside her, prompting one man to jab the father repeatedly with a spear (we see some small, bloody holes). Mincayani then grabs the sister by the hair and raises his machete to kill her, but stops. Some white men nearly shoot two tribeswomen who've arrived at their camp, but other women get in the way and prevent that. Men repeatedly shoot at Mincayani when they find him in their camp, with him racing to avoid the shots (and he finally dives into a body of water to elude them). With all but one man gone, the women and children (as well as Stevie, his mom and others) hear rival tribesmen in the jungle around them at night. Two of the girls then go off to talk to the unseen tribe, hoping to diffuse the situation (Stevie looks worried, but nothing else happens). We see a huge snake enter the water and head toward Mincayani, another man and a child in a boat. We then see the POV of the snake approaching them via the water. There's a quick shot of the snake around the girl who's then pulled into the water. Mincayani and others jump into the water and jab their spears down into it. After a few moments, it appears the child is gone forever, but we then see Mincayani holding her, but then see that she's dead. We briefly see a dead woman in a casket before it's closed (beyond being dead, there's no decomposition, etc.). Mincayani leads adult Steve to the place of his father's murder and Mincayani then admits he's the one who killed Nate. He then wants Steve to kill him and holds a spear up for him to use. Steve is upset and grabs the spear that he holds to Mincayani's chest, but he can't do it (despite being quite angry). GUNS/WEAPONS Spears/Rifles/Machetes: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrase: "Driving her nuts." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY All of the male tribesmen wear traditional garb that's the native equivalent of a jock strap (a pouch in the front, showing varying amounts of bulge, and a lone thin strap down the middle of the otherwise bare butt). The women are more modestly dressed (no bare breasts or butts but they do show bare midriffs in traditional garb). To try to show that he's like them, one of the male missionaries removes his clothes down to his boxers when several tribe members approach them for the first time. Dayumae's sister says that a man's baby grows inside her. An adult tribal woman pulls young Stevie's pants straight out and then looks down them to confirm that he's a boy (we don't see what she does). We see some fully nude tribal kids running about and jumping in a body of water (we see bare butts as well as very brief/partial male full frontal nudity). SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Some individuals react to having family members murdered by a rival tribe. We hear that Dayumae's infant sister was killed in an attack and Dayumae's mother is mad at Dayumae, causing a man (possibly Dayumae's father) to send her and young Mincayani away. Young Stevie is worried about his dad every time he leaves to fly off and try to find and then contact the tribe. The same holds true for Marj before his last flight out. The murdered men's wives are told of their murders (and all break out crying), while young Stevie listens from above. Following his father's death, young Stevie is upset and throws rocks at a dog (we hear it yelp once), yelling out that he's not anyone's friend anymore. Dayumae realizes her family killed the missionaries' husbands and feels bad about that. Mincayani grieves over a dead child that's presumably his (by the way he's acting). We hear that Steve's Aunt Rachel has died from cancer (nearly 40 years after the main story has taken place). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy and/or artistic license taken with the real story. Missionaries and their goals. Indigenous tribal peoples who live a "primitive" lifestyle. Nate tells Stevie that they can't shoot the tribesmen because while the missionaries might be ready for Heaven, the tribesmen are not (meaning they're not saved). Following his father's death, young Stevie is upset and throws rocks at a dog (we hear it yelp once), yelling out that he's not anyone's friend anymore. We hear that members of a rival tribe are sick with polio and see the missionaries treating them by having them on makeshift teeter-totters (to keep the fluid in their lungs moving). Mincayani and others talk of "jumping the great boa" (meaning passing over to the other side following death). Mincayani tells Steve that following the murder of the missionaries, he saw a white light coming down from the sky for the men. The fact that the missionaries continued in their quest to help the Waodani despite the latter having murdered some in the former group. VIOLENCE Rival tribesmen attack Mincayani's tribe, with a spear thrown at young Mincayani. It misses, but other spears hit other men in the tribe, while some are sliced with large blades (possibly machetes of some sort), but no blood is seen (a fire also seems to be burning in the hut). A rival tribesman then finds an infant lying on the ground and raises his blade. We don't see the resultant impact, but he's killed the baby. He then nearly kills young Dayumae, but young Mincayani hits that adult over the head with a large branch, and then hits him again on the ground before rushing off. Mincayani and other tribesmen go off to hunt a jaguar, but Mincayani is distracted by a plane flying overhead and the jaguar jumps on him. The other men rush up and see the jaguar on top of Mincayani, but it's dead, with a bloody spear sticking up out of it. One tribe attacks another with spears thrown and jabbed into others, with one having a spear all of the way through him. We see some blood, but not much considering the severity of the wounds. That includes one man who has a spear sticking out of his torso, but there's no related blood. One rival man then drags a woman across the ground, stating they'll take her. Various tribesmen attack the missionaries, throwing spears into some of them, while others are hit with machetes or similar blades. Some of the victims are a little bloody and one fires a warning shot into the air, while we hear but don't see the final missionary be murdered (as we see a tribesman slowly walking toward the man who nervously backs up in some water in which he then starts to float away with a spear in him). The various tribesmen then attack Nate's empty plane, whacking and tearing at it. A wounded missionary slowly dies in the rain. Dayumae's sister says that a man's baby grows inside her, prompting one man to jab the father repeatedly with a spear (we see some small, bloody holes). Mincayani then grabs the sister by the hair and raises his machete to kill her, but stops. Following his father's death, young Stevie is upset and throws rocks at a dog (we hear it yelp once). Men repeatedly shoot at Mincayani when they find him in their camp, with him racing to avoid the shots (and he finally dives into a body of water to elude them). While fishing, a stingray zaps Mincayani on the leg, leaving him feverish later on. We briefly see a dead and somewhat bloody tribesman (the result of unseen violence). We see tribesmen hunting (and a dead and somewhat bloody boar, as well as blow darts being fired at various monkeys that then fall dead from the trees). We see a huge snake enter the water and head toward Mincayani, another man and a child in a boat. We then see the POV of the snake approaching them via the water. There's a quick shot of the snake around the girl who's then pulled into the water. Mincayani and others jump into the water and jab their spears down into it. After a few moments, it appears the child is gone forever, but we then see Mincayani holding her, but then see that she's dead. Reviewed January 9, 2006 / Posted January 20, 2006

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