By Gavin Boyle
Director Justin Lin discussed the heart behind his latest movie LAST DAYS and explained why he hopes audiences will watch the movie even if they have a differing point of view.
“We live in a world right now where everything is just moving so fast and, you know, news, something can pop up and it’s very easy for us to just judge, dismiss and move on. And I just hope that you can watch this movie and, you know, you could still have the exact same opinion but hopefully you take away that this is a human being,” Lin told Movieguide®. Lin’s tackled major stories before, with producing credits that include FAST X, F9, and STAR TREK: BEYOND.
“We can slow down and it’s okay not to agree, it’s okay to go find someone with a very different point of view and have a dialog.”
Related: Fast & Furious Director Is Bringing This Missionary’s Story To The Big Screen
“I think that’s what drew me to film when I was a kid, and I love that, and I feel like that’s been lost,” Lin continued. “Because now it’s all about, a lot of times with these films, you gotta establish your point of view. Well, that’s not what we wanted to do here.”
According to the Movieguide® review, LAST DAYS tells the story of John Chau, who made it his life goal to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people on an isolated island near India. After training to be a missionary, John set his sights on the most unreached places on earth. After preparing for several years, he sets out on his journey to North Sentinel Island. However, he’ll have to overcome the Indian Coast Guard and the indigenous people’s hate for outsiders.
The movie seeks to tell the story of Chau’s life that Chau wanted to tell, which he left in the form of journals and social media posts. Chau was very clearly inspired by adventure movies, which Lin tried to incorporate into his own telling of Chau’s story.
“It was clear from his writing and videos that he was influenced by adventure novels and Hollywood films,” Lin said. “I thought, can we make a film that uses what John left us as signposts, and then use the same cinematic devices I’m used to, to fill in the gaps as we try to connect with his humanity? That was an early choice.”
While he intentionally played into some Hollywood tropes to fulfill this vision for the movie, Lin also hopes that this project will help drive the industry in a new direction as it tells Chau’s story from multiple different angles.
“I think we have to. I mean, I feel like in many ways, we’re in this kind of algorithm loop of whatever’s successful, how do you make that again?” Lin said. “I’ve been in that loop too, and it’s not easy. It is a challenge. I’m not saying that that shouldn’t exist, but I also think that it does present an opportunity for people who have different points of view.”
It is amazing that Lin chose to focus on the life of a missionary as his first project since leaving Hollywood tentpole movies. LAST DAYS provides audiences an opportunity to truly understand Chau’s life, rather than believe him to be wrong in his actions simply because that is how the media spun the story. LAST DAYS is in theaters now.
Read Next: ‘Something’s Changed’: Actor Praises Hollywood Creators for ‘Telling Stories of Faith’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +2Share:
– Content: +2