End of the Spear (2006)

Chad Allen
Louie Leonardo
Jack Guzman
Christina Souza
Chase Ellison

Directed by Jim Hanon

Plot: In the Ecuadorian jungles of the Amazon, the Waodani people, one of the most violent societies on the planet, live totally cut off from civilization. Their homicide rate has brought them to the brink of extinction. Somewhere not far away along the Amazon, five young North American missionaries and their families set out to find the Waodani. When one of the tribesmen lies that the foreigners on the sandbar have abducted and killed a tribeswoman, Mincayani and his fellow warriors find their site and spear the five Americans. The missing missionaries make headlines in the world’s media and a search ensues. When the Waodani see the helicopter and the size of the search party they think the foreigners will take their revenge, so they burn their huts and flee deeper into the jungle. Within months of the killings, a Waodani woman who had fled the tribe helps gain entry into the tribe for the wife of one missionary and the sister of another, as well as one of the missionaries son, Steve. In time, they come to live with the Waodani and through a series of events the spearing that was destroying the tribe comes to an end. Steve wants to learn which warrior killed his father. He leaves the tribe as a boy with this question unanswered. Steve returns as an adult when his aunt, Rachel Saint, who had spent the rest of her life with the Waodani, dies. The Waodani want Steve to live with them the way Rachel did, but Steve’s unanswered questions keep him from agreeing. Mincayani takes Steve to the river where his father was killed and confesses to spearing him. At that moment, Steve and Mincayani are forced to confront the true meaning of the life and death of Steve’s father and the other men who were killed

Review: To be honest I had never heard of this movie or seen anything about it. My soon to be mother in law told me about it and piqued my interest. I am a sucker for movies that are based on true events. (I dislike the learning channel, so I have to learn things elsewhere) Since I knew nothing about these events going in, it helped to get me more into the movie.

There is no Oscar worthy performances or big names here, but there is a good movie. I don’t know how accurate it is, but the way they handled everything about the tribes in this movie where very believable. Although the focal point of this movie is supposed to be the missionaries, you spend a lot of time with the tribes and it makes for a better film. The tribal customs and issues they deal with are more interesting. Although what these tribal people did was horrible, you almost feel sorry for them and understand why they are so violent and the nature of their lives. By the end of this film I understood how both sides felt and found myself wondering if I could be that forgiving to people who took the life of someone I loved. This is a very good movie and I believe a good learning experience for those into history and those religious people struggling with forgiveness.
 

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