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Parents' Guide to

End of the Spear

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Christian missionaries "save" Ecuadorian tribe.

Movie PG-13 2006 112 minutes
End of the Spear Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 3 parent reviews

bdmiller
bdmiller Parent of 8 and 14-year-old
September 26, 2023
age 15+

Not all movie violence is eyeball junk food

This is a good film first--entertaining, thought-provoking, sometimes riveting and emotionally wrenching. Secondly, it also observes real-world evangelism, violence, and sexuality between real people. Those things are often exploited with no weight on characters who are on-screen caricatures and we accept or even emmerse ourselves in Hollywood sex/violence/power, and then in reviews we blast such manipulation as unhealthy. Some reviewers have associated this film with other films that utilize such subjects as junk food, but my feeling was that all of the difficult subjects broached in this film are depicted realistically and in a way that is healthy to see, to contemplate and to dicsuss. I think it's a valuable film to share with mature children.
Tswhittaker
Tswhittaker Adult
April 14, 2021
age 12+

Inspired

See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Set in the late 1950s, END OF THE SPEAR is drawn "from a true story," in which Christian missionaries try to save Ecuadorian "savages" from themselves. The story centers on Nate Saint (Chad Allen) and his young son Steve, who, along with other missionaries, venture into the jungle to convert the Waodani tribe. Though Nate and his fellows speak no Waodani, they imagine they will be greeted as saviors. The Waodanis have good reason to fear the foreigners. They attack and kill Nate, whose last words are the only Waodani phrase he's learned -- "I'm your friend." Astounded to hear his language from a stranger, warrior Mincayani (Louie Leonardo) is haunted by the memory for years. The wives of the slain missionaries vow to continue their work, several deciding to go into the jungle, along with Dayumae, who was raised by and works for Nate's sister. Mincayani is suspicious of the white ladies, but his tribesmate Kimo (Jack Guzman) accepts Jesus Christ as his personal savior (using his own language and martyr myth to structure the conversion) and helps the strangers settle in.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (5 ):

Heartfelt but clumsy, Jim Hanon's anachronistic film raises more questions than it answers. This "story" is hardly new, and here it is told with a particular forcefulness.

Then again, this Christian saga insistently promotes nonviolence, especially welcome given the preponderance of mainstream media violence committed in many religions' names. Further, the casting of the irrepressibly out and undeniably charismatic Chad Allen quietly assumes some openness on the part of the film's audience. Still, End of the Spear does fall back on unpleasant stereotypes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the film's two main themes. One, is evangelism an effective and fair or aggressive and intrusive way to change an entire community's behavior and culture? And two, how does the film make the case for nonviolence rather than vengeance, in response to devastating violence? How does the film use stereotypes to make this case -- generous and collaborative women, enthusiastic but ignorant white men, and violent and primitive natives?

Movie Details

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