"Christian Witness from Overseas"
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What You Need To Know:
For a low budget movie, HOME BEYOND THE SUN is surprisingly entertaining. This is a character movie with strong dramatic elements. The acting is surprisingly good. Shot on High Definition video, it lacks the standard film look, but the sound and the music are superior. Although there is no way a movie about persecution could be shot in China, the producers have taken been careful to create the illusion of China, which stands up most of the time. This is a strong Christian witness and worthwhile watching, and the producers are to be commended.
Content:
(CCC, AC, V, M) Very strong Christian worldview with the evils of Communism portrayed; no foul language; pushing, shoving, a woman is shot in the back carrying her baby, children are abandoned, threats, and car blows up; no sexual activity; no nudity; no smoking or drinking; and, bribery.
GENRE: Drama
More Detail:
For a low budget movie, HOME BEYOND THE SUN is surprisingly entertaining. The storyline is simple. Jenna, a young American teacher, goes to China to teach English at a wealthy boys’ school. She is also interested in helping an orphanage. At the orphanage, she meets Chu Lee, an 8-year-old Chinese orphan who captures her heart.
At the beginning of the movie, eight years earlier, Chu Lee’s mother is giving birth. The mother’s parents report Chu Lee’s mother to the authorities for not having a license to have a baby. She flees from the authorities and gets shot in the back by an over zealous Chinese policeman. Upon inspecting the young girls body the Communist official, Colonel Khan, reaches down to uncover the baby but only to find a blood covered Bible with a bullet hole in it. The baby, became part of what the Chinese call, the found forsaken, left on the steps of an orphanage run by a secret Chinese Christian.
Now, back in the present, Jenna engineers to have young Chu Lee adopted by an American family. However, Colonel Khan, the villain in the first scene, arrests the head of the orphanage, Mei Ming, and installs a tough Communist disciplinarian who refuses to sign Chu Lee’s adoption papers. The new orphanage matron demands that Jenna give her a bribe of $2,000. Jenna gives her all that she has which is $600, and when the Matron still refuses to sign Jenna threatens to inform the authorities about the demands made by this crooked official, and so the Communist Matron has Jenna arrested.
Will Jenna get out of jail? Can she get back home to America? What will happen to Chu Lee?
HOME BEYOND THE SUN is a character movie with some strong dramatic elements. The acting is surprisingly good with only a few short comings from some of the supporting cast. Shot on High Definition video it lacks the standard film look, but the sound and the music are very good. Although there is no way a movie of this topic could be shot in China, the producers have taken a lot of care in trying to create the illusion of China, which stands up most of the time with the interjection of actual China footage that was shot covertly by a second camera crew.
This is a strong Christian witness and worthwhile watching, and the producers are to be commended.
