By Gavin Boyle
A GREAT AWAKENING writer, director and producer Joshua Enck shared how audiences will learn about the impact faith had on the creation of the American colonies through his movie.
“You can’t help but be inspired by what the Lord was doing. It was truly providential to put, you know, George Whitefield, you know, who’s complete opposites of Ben Franklin, to put them together. You know, only the Lord can author that,” Enck told Movieguide®. “And so, that was what inspired this film the most — was that God used these two unlikely people, put them together, they became best of friends and business partners. And I really do believe that without George Whitefield behind his pulpit and without Ben Franklin behind his printing press, I don’t think we would have had the impact of the First Great Awakening like we had. Together, they were like lightning.”
The movie reveals how Whitefield and Franklin’s friendship not only helped spark a revival in faith across the budding country but also helped unite the young nation’s people and set the foundation for its morals.
Related: New Movie Spotlights Unlikely Founding Friendship That Inspired America’s Faith
“A GREAT AWAKENING tells the true story of an unlikely friendship that resulted in one of the most defining moments in American history,” a press release reads. “With the colonies on the brink of collapse, the Reverend George Whitefield sparks the first Great Awakening, uniting an entire generation with his thundering proclamation of liberty in Christ. In a miraculous turn of events, one of Whitefield’s closest friends and greatest promoters becomes none other than Benjamin Franklin.”
“With the nation’s freedom hanging in the balance, Franklin discovers true liberty cannot only be written into law – it must be awakened in the hearts of the people,” the release continues.
The movie has found success in its first weekend in theaters landing as the No. 6 domestic release over Easter weekend. Its success continues the trend of explicitly faith-based movies connecting with audiences across the country.
“We are very excited about Roadside’s first partnership with producers Sight & Sound” on A GREAT AWAKENING, Roadside co-president Howard Cohen told Deadline. “‘The film showed in our exit polls that it brought in both faith-based viewers and history buffs.’ It also received an A+ Cinemascore, boding well for play in the weeks to come.”
Movieguide® concurred with audiences, finding it an extremely entertaining and enlightening movie that delivers a story with strong Christian themes. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
A GREAT AWAKENING is full of jeopardy, dramatic conflict and engaging dialogue. The acting is excellent, which means the directing is very good. A GREAT AWAKENING has some elements that are not for little children, including Whitefield being bloodied, his scary eye, a bawdy scene with Franklin, etc. However, for older children and adults, A GREAT AWAKENING delivers a powerful insight into American history by showing that The Great Awakening created the United States of America.
It is amazing to see movies like A GREAT AWAKENING perform so well in theaters and continues to reinforce the fact that audiences desire uplifting, faith-based movies above all else.
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