Michael's Movie Grade: A+
A wonderful documentary about Johnny Cash's Christian faith.
In this film, Johnny Cash's sister Joanne Cash states that she has heard many times from people who have become Christians thanks to Johnny Cash. This is hardly a surprise as John's life is in many ways is the ultimate redemption story. Here is a man, who became addicted to drugs, hurt his loving family deeply, constantly disappointed those who loved him and often acted incredibly selfish. Despite his incredible talent many of us would have written off his case as hopeless. However, this is not what God saw when he looked at Johnny Cash. God saw a man who could give a lot of hope to people who needed it. When John turned his life over to God, he became the type of man that many Christians would look up to. Though he was still deeply human and had some major setbacks (some of which weren't mentioned in this film), he had truly dedicated his life to God and would often put others in front of ourselves. The comfort this gives those who can feel like they are well past the point of redemption is immeasurable. This comes through wonderfully in this movie which (while it doesn't have time to cover everything) conveys not only how high the high points in John's Christian walk were but how low the low points were. Because of this the film becomes a wonderfully moving experience.
If you are a die-hard Johnny Cash fan (like I am) or you have read Pastor Greg Laurie's (who also produced and appears in the movie) book of the same name (on which this film was based), you probably won't get much new information here, but that doesn't mean that this film is not still more than worthwhile. Among the many people interviewed for this movie was John's younger sister Joanne Cash and any scene with her makes this a must watch for any Johnny Cash fan. Not only does she tell some wonderful stories about her brother, but she also brings a lot of heartfelt emotion to the film. You can tell how much she deeply loved her brother with every word she says. She is not the only one that personally knew John, who speaks in this movie. We also hear from John Carter Cash (his son), Rev. Jimmie Snow (his pastor) and Franklin Graham (the son of John's close friend Rev. Billy Graham). Not only this but the film's narrator is Marty Stuart, who is not only a wonderful country singer and country music historian but also was John's son in law. The presence of those who actually knew John as well as how personally they talk about him, brings a strong air of authenticity and personalness to this movie. This will make the film extra special to even those of us Johnny Cash fans who knew most of the information coming in.
This movie is also helped by the wonderful direction of Ben Smallbone. As well as feature films, Smallbone has also directed various music videos for the Christian rock band, For King & Country. Having that kind of experience he knows how to make a film that consists heavily of people talking into something that is also visually interesting and cinematic. He does a wonderful job of this and often very effectively uses various images and montages to convey the emotional state of Johnny Cash various times throughout the film. This puts the movie a step above many similar documentaries.
Really my only complaint is that a lot of details were left out of John's life but considering that it is impossible to tell the full story while keeping the film at a manageable runtime is impossible, it is hardly something worth complaining about.
A must see movie, whether you are a Johnny Cash fan or not.
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