Review: 'Zarahemla' opens portal to fun LDS time travel
By Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune
October 11, 2007
2.5 stars (out of 4)
The rap against most Mormon-themed movies is there isn't much in them about Mormonism, just mild jokes about the culture. Novelist-turned-filmmaker Chris Heimerdinger breaks Mormon Cinema's green Jell-O mold in "Passage to Zarahemla," ambitiously transposing settings from the Book of Mormon into a stimulating action-adventure drama. Orphaned siblings Kerra and Brock McConnell (played by Summer Naomi Smart and Brian Kary), ages 16 and 11, are on the run from social workers and L.A. gang members, opting to hide out with relatives of their long-missing father in Leeds, Utah. Kerra remembers the woods outside the McConnell farm, where she once played with an imaginary friend named Kidonni. Returning to those woods, Kerra finds Kidonni (Moronai Kanekoa), now an adult, is quite real - a Nephite warrior. She also discovers the woods contain a portal that links modern Utah with the jungles of ancient America near the Nephites' capital of Zarahemla. Kerra reads up on the Nephites, via the Book of Mormon, while Kidonni prepares for an invasion from the evil Gadianton Robbers. But as the portal widens, suddenly the Gadiantons are running amok in Leeds, too. Heimerdinger, best known for his "Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites" books, makes a few rookie mistakes - adding one song-driven montage too many, or occasionally getting too cute with the editing. But he squeezes a lot of visual flair from a minuscule budget, and laces his adventure with bits of comedy (like when the Gadiantons try to raid a mini-mart) and lots of warmth. To his great credit, Heimerdinger explains Mormon beliefs to a potential crossover audience without watering down the LDS message. Not since Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" has a movie balanced its Mormonism and its entertainment value so well.
* WHERE: Area theaters. * WHEN: Opens today. * RATING: PG-13 for violence and some drug references. * RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes. * BOTTOM LINE: A popular LDS writer makes an assured film debut with a Mormon-themed fantasy adventure.
Passage to Zarahemla
by Jeff Vice
Deseret News
1 star (out of 4)
"Passage to Zarahemla" has one thing going for it — it's not the same movie that local filmmakers keep offering us over and over again. If nothing else, is isn't just another treacly drama or laughless comedy with some LDS themes.
Unfortunately, that's about all this adventure-fantasy does have going for it.
"Passage to Zarahemla" is laughably awful at times, with some jaw-dropping dumb plotting.
Also, this is a pretty violent movie — even more so than the considerably more professional "Work and the Glory" films. There's some disturbing imagery that definitely justifies the PG-13 rating.
Summer Naomi ("Beauty and the Beast: A Latter-day Tale") stars as Kerra McConnell, who has just lost her mother.
Fearing they will be separated by family services, Kerra and her younger brother, Brock (Brian Kary), have fled California for Leeds, Utah, where their long-missing father has relatives. But strange things have been happening in the nearby woods, where recent seismic activity has apparently opened a portal into the past.
As a result, Nephite warriors roam the forest, and Kerra is reunited with Kiddoni (Moronai Kanekoa), a childhood friend she believed was imaginary. However, the warrior warns her that his ancestral enemies are also nearby, and they may be planning an invasion.
Judging by the results here, writer-director Chris Heimerdinger should stick to writing books (he penned the successful "Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites" series). His filmmaking debut is pretty silly, though, surprisingly, it does boast some computer-graphic effects that are at least as good as those in such recent studio-released fantasy duds as "The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising" and "Dragon Wars (D-War)."
But the pacing is pretty sluggish, and Heimerdinger can't coax much from his cast, aside from some stiff performances. (Kary's conniving Brock is particularly irritating and unlikable.)
"Passage to Zarahemla" is rated PG-13 for strong scenes of violent action (stabbings, shootings, vehicular mayhem, children in peril and violence against women), some gore and blood, brief drug content (references), and slurs based on race. Running time: 107 minutes.
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