At the risk of being accused of speaking evil of the Lord's anointed, I have to say that this film represents poor judgment on the part of the LDS leaders who conceived and approved it.
Over the years, the LDS Church has made some fine missionary films: "Man's Search for Happiness," "Together Forever," "How Rare a Possession," "The Mountain of the Lord," "Legacy." True, these films are emotionally heavy-handed. They're not calculated to win praise for their subtlety, or irony, or ambiguity, or provocativeness, or originality, or any of the other qualities that make for great cinema by the standards of literary criticism. But these films aren't trying to meet those standards. They're proselyting tools. And judged by the standards of that genre, I think the films I've listed above are well-conceived and well-made.
I cannot say the same for "Testaments." This film is to the Book of Mormon what "The Ten Commandments" is to the Book of Exodus or what "Ben Hur" is to the Gospels--and I don't intend those to be flattering comparisons. I'm reminded of a comment made by a character in LDS playwright Eric Samuelsen's drama "Gadianton": "It is pretty awful. I mean, that book's supposed to be scripture, and they turn it into this cheesy melodrama."
In the south visitors center on Temple Square, they used to show a short film that, like "Testaments," set scenes from Christ's ministry in the Old World (as described in the Gospels) side-by-side with scenes from his ministry in the New World (as described in the Book of Mormon). The film was moving and did a fine job of presenting the Book of Mormon as Christ-centered and as a companion volume to the Bible. Most importantly, in my opinion, this film presented the Book of Mormon with the dignity owed to a sacred text.
In "Testaments," that dignity is seriously compromised. What we get in "Testaments" is part scripture, part romance, part courtroom thriller, part political thriller, part disaster flick, part family values entertainment, and part Indiana Jones-style adventure.
Dare I say that this film represents the literatures of men mingled with scripture?
Walking into "Testaments" today (my second viewing), I heard an LDS teenager ahead of me say that she's seen this film six times. Afterwards, I heard this same teenager and her mother commenting, between sniffles, on how the ending always "gets them." OK. So the film's a tear-jerker. If I want to see a good tear-jerker, I can go to my local cineplex or video rental store. A good missionary film has to do more than make people cry. What I want to know is: Does "Testaments" convince non-LDS viewers to take the Book of Mormon seriously as a sacred text? Does it inspire viewers--LDS or non-LDS--to live more Christlike lives?
Let me clarify: I have nothing per se against fictionalizations of scripture, and I believe that God is great enough to touch people's lives even through cheesy fictionalizations of scripture. I haven't heard any yet, but I'm sure testimonials are forthcoming from people whose lives were transformed by this film.
But a fictionalization of scripture is not scripture. "The Ten Commandments" is not the Book of Exodus. "Ben Hur" is not the Gospels. "Testaments" is not the Book of Mormon. It should therefore not be used in place of the Book of Mormon, which is exactly what's happening every time this film is screened. People who ought to be watching a film designed to showcase the spiritual power of the Book of Mormon are instead being shown a fictionalization of the Book of Mormon designed to make them cry. They're being cheated.
