- Steve Saint, opening lines of End of the Spear

In the rainforest of Ecuador lived the Waodani, a tribe so savage that their violent culture had brought them to the brink of extinction. In 1956, five missionaries made contact with the Waodani with the hopes of bringing them the gospel of Christ and turning them from their savagery.

Those missionaries - Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully - did make contact, and were subsequently speared to death on the sandbar landing strip they nicknamed “Palm Beach.” What happens when Saint’s sister, Rachel, along with the missionary wives, go to live with the tribe is the haunting true story of faith and forgiveness told in the film, “End of the Spear,” which opens January 20th.

Many Christians have heard the story of Jim Elliot and Nate Saint before, but probably not from Waodani’s perspective or with a real understanding of the amazing power of forgiveness that transformed an entire people group. You get a glimpse in this beautiful drama.

The film opens with a long sequence showing life in the tribe, including the brutality that the Waodani inflicted upon each other. The filmmakers were thankfully able to depict the violence with almost no blood or gore while still showing us the savagery. We also meet a young girl, Dayumae, who leaves her tribe to go live with the “foreigners” when her mother threatens to kill her.

The story shifts to missionary Nate Saint, told through the eyes of his son, Steve, and Saint’s plan to reach the Waodani before the government steps in with military force to put an end to their violent culture. Saint’s sister Rachel lives on the edge of Waodani territory. Dayumae, now a young woman, lives with her and has come to accept the foreigner’s faith. When the women go to live with the Waodani after the missionaries’ deaths, Dayumae provides the natural link between the two cultures.

The film has some very powerful moments, including the scene where Dayumae realizes that it was her family that killed the men on the sandbar. The film’s final scene on the beach, almost 40 years later, between Mincayani and a now adult Steve Saint will tear at your heart. Be sure you have plenty of tissues handy.

What are missing from the film are the expected blatant references to Christianity. There are a few times when the men refer to themselves as “missionaries,” and we see a headline in Life magazine that reads, “"Go Ye and Preach The Gospel - Five Do and Die." But other than one sentence spoken by Dayumae to Kimo there is surprisingly little explanation about the spiritual reasons the men wanted to reach the Waodani or what they hoped to accomplish.

We don’t see anyone praying or reading the Bible. When Saint leaves to fly to the sandbar, no one prays for the mission. We don’t see anyone praying during an attack on the village by a rival tribe, or during an outbreak of polio (although one of the women radios to Shell Beach to pray for them). I’m not talking about gratuitous religious references just for the sake of making it a “Christian” movie, but places where you would expect missionaries to respond with prayer and Scripture. (There was more talk about the Bible on last week’s episode of “Lost” than in the movie.) As believers, we assume that all of that took place, but its absence might lead some to believe that the Waodani responded to the kindness of the women rather than Christ.

Without a clear understanding of what Saint, Elliot, Fleming, Youderian and McCully hoped to accomplish and by what means, they look a little silly standing on the sandbar, blaring taped music and shouting into the jungle. When they are approached by a Waodani man, woman and girl one of the men drops his pants and stands there in his underwear as they all repeat in Waodani, “We’re just like you.” Considering that the Waodani men wear almost no clothing it probably made sense but was a little out of context nonetheless.

Having said all that, it can’t be denied that the film is beautifully made, well-acted, heart-wrenching and poignant. The quality of the film rivals any major studio release currently in theaters. The film was shot entirely in the rainforest, using actors from the Embera tribe as well as Waodani tribe members intermingled with Latino and Indian actors. It brought to mind “Dances with Wolves” in the way that it portrayed the Waodani, in their own language and culture, without looking like some cheesy, low budget movie.

And even without the overt religious references the aspect of forgiveness provides a compelling storyline. That a son could forgive his father’s killer and then go live with the tribe can only be explained by the grace of God, and should provide a great starting place for spiritual discussions with friends.

Watch the trailer