Review of End of the Spear (2005) by Jin Z — 24 Apr 2010

The film is based on a true story: In 1956, on a river embankment along the Curaray River in Ecuador, 5 very white Evangelical missionaries encountered the natives whom they were tasked to convert, the Huaorani. However, with almost no knowledge of the native language, miscommunication and misunderstanding ensued, and at some point during that first encounter, all the missionaries end up being slaughtered by the Huaorani.

The film becomes a new vehicle of this missionary quest, invites us in under this fluttering banner, and drives the viewer over the usual bumps of this kind of culture clash: primitives vs. moderns, alarmed dark-skinned natives vs. white Evangelicals on a mission, violent whites vs. pacifist whites, and the Huaorani, confused by it all and killing all the trespassers without distinction. And so begins a story of pure Christian Emo: Sin, Forgiveness, and Redemption.

Character development does not go past basic identities, and either the person is a generic Evangelical Christian oozing naive smiley-face goodness, or westernized settler with violent territorial tendencies, or they are the violently territorial, but misunderstood, Huaorani. Essentially, the missionaries insert themselves between two opposing firing lines. However, unlike some reviewers, I don't really begrudge the simplifications. They give the film a more iconic and allegorical momentum which fits the Christianized theme of it all.

In Christian Emo, the good guys win. Not only do the Christians hold back the violent white settlers with their steadfast faith, but the Christians also fire a volley of good deeds at the Huarani, and staggered with awe, the Huaorani capitulate. And so, the inevitable conversion of the Huaorani precipitates the final scene of reconciliation, first glimpsed at the beginning before it triggered the long flashback of the film.

Unfortunately this reconciliation scene, which should be the best, is one of the corniest. Not only does it introduce some oddball Christian Sci-Fi revelation, but the previously 99.9999% good protagonist launches into an uncharacteristically un-Christian moment of retribution-oriented fury. So, instead of being succinct, subtle and poignant, the film went for over-the-top theatricality. Nevertheless, the long anticipated moment of redemption has arrived, and thoughtfully at the end.

Despite the predictable ending and its unpredictable weakness, I still think the rest of the film has its moments, and if nothing else, the ethnographic detail is enough to make it a worthwhile watch.