The
Other Side of Heaven
(Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
DVD
Release Date:
April
1, 2003
Length:
113 mins.
Rated:
PG
Format:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio:
English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles:
Closed-Captioned
Extras:
Audio
Commentary by Director Mitch Davis, Making-of Featurette, Still
Gallery
Set during the 1950s, this is a true
story about a 19-year old American missionary who is assigned a three
year duty at a mission on the small Pacific Island, Tonga.
It chronicles the experiences of John Groberg and the difficulties he
faced during his mission. Groberg's challenges range anywhere from
learning the Tongan language from scratch to battling a hurricane on
the ocean in a sixteen-foot boat.
As usual, Disney has produced a film that is suitable for family
viewing. It does have a strong religious theme to it so, depending on
your beliefs, you may or may not find it interesting on that level.
There are movies based on true inspirational stories that have greater
emotional impact than "The Other Side of Heaven", but for a
Sunday morning family movie, this isn't a waste of time at all.
DVD quality is on par with your average disc. However, the location of
the movie set contains imagery that benefits from DVD sharpness.
Little is offered in the special features. The audio commentary of
writer/director Mitch Davis doesn't blow you away, but it does offer
good insight into the culture of the Tongans, as well as a few amusing
anecdotes during filming. The behind the scenes featurette is
mediocre. It could have used the real Groberg telling more of his
experiences, particularly about surviving the hurricane on the ocean.
