17 Miracles

Being a Mormon, I have heard the accounts of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies for years. “17 Miracles” made those stories more real than ever before and the film also portrayed stories that I hadn’t heard. The acting and direction of the movie are the reasons why it works. Because of these well-done cinematic elements, we sense the true nature of the events we see and therefore the drama is more genuine. The movie also contains some important religious themes.

The opening scenes establish the religious attitude of early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have a lot of faith and are brave. They also have respect for all people as seen when Levi and his fellow brethren desire to pray for those who died in the Donner Party. Back in pioneer times, men were called on the spot during religious conference to serve as missionaries and that opening scene really captures how that must have felt. The converts from England are well established on screen for us. I like the first miracle of the story. The scene where Elizabeth leaves her husband in middle of the night is an anxious scene and the subsequent miracle on the train is a great set up for the future accounts we will see played out. The company meetings well portray Levi’s fear but not lack of faith. He wants to get home but not run into the same problems as the Donner Party. There is an important scene with Brother Willie that explains that even staying and waiting for spring cannot be done. The handcart companies in real life didn’t have much of a choice. They were in tough times to begin with before winter came along. One lesson that the movie teaches is that faith without works is dead. In other words, we must use our own wisdom sometimes and not go forth blindly. Faith in God is very important but we must not forget to use our own minds that God has given us. If we make bad mistakes, we must accept the consequences. It is obvious that George is giving his fiancée his rations. This is confirmed during the reading of his poem later in the movie. Jason Celaya’s acting as his on-screen fiancée eats both of their rations is very powerful. The miracle of the pie seems too impossible but it must be true because of the simple way it is portrayed in the film. If that scene or the subsequent scene involving the miracle of the meat had been depicted in supernatural fashion, they would have lost their believability. The ending could have been a bit more concluding or resolving. I like how we see those who have died pushing Levi’s cart but it would have been nice to see the whole company finally enter the valley. The movie is full of familiar LDS actors. Nathan Mitchell, who was Joseph Smith on “Prophet of the Restoration”, plays Captain Willie and Bruce Newbold plays The Traveler. Newbold has been seen in church videos and movies for decades. I love the character of Albert. He gives a lot of heart and humor to the story.

I went to university with the editor of this film, Tanner Christensen, and it was good to see his name during the credits. As mentioned, I have heard a few of these stories prior to seeing this movie but to see them portrayed was very powerful. To experience new stories was also wonderful. The acting and direction make this movie believable and enjoyable. Things are done in a straightforward, genuine manner. A final message the movie shares with us is the power of faith, particularly that of Latter-day Saints. After you watch this movie, it is hard to imagine that people went through so much to get to a place “far away in the west”. Why did they do it? Why didn’t they just give up like the one family towards the start of the trek? Also, why didn’t they resort to that which the Donner Party did? It was because they knew that their religion was true. For those who see this movie, read this and are not members of my church, I invite you to consider the feelings you felt and you are welcome to ask me any questions you might have about Mormons.

4 Stars