The hero was made to be a procrastinator. He kissed the heroin at the MOST horrible point. Is thinking your daughter has a become a human trafficking victim seem like a moment for romance?! That's what drove me to create an IMB account to leave this review.

Decent performances by some: the Heroin, her daughter, the son, the uncle, the shopkeepers, the trappers (she would have never fallen asleep. - doesn't make sense!). Good plot, some good actors. Horrible direction and writing. Most frustrating, frankly insulting movie I've seen in a long time.

As an author who has done video editing, been behind the camera, and hails from an academically rigorous theological background, I watch movies from an analytical standpoint and evaluate these elements: characterization, writing/dialogue, plot, acting, theological fidelity, editing and authenticity.

Based on these elements, in my opinion Lauren LaStrada and Shane Hagedorn were the biggest standouts of Wild Faith, the 2018 International Christian Film Festival runner-up for best movie award. They were so good it makes me want to see which movie won, for comparison.

Lauren LaStrada and Shane Hagedorn knocked it out of the park. I can see why Lauren won Best Actress, she's so good it makes me want to be a producer just so I can give her a star vehicle.

Shane Hagedorn played the perfect long-suffering man, suffering unjustly at the hands of a sanctimonious church.

He showed a stalwart man brimming with intestinal fortitude, who didn't let himself be baited by friend, foe, or even family. Their portrayals were flawless.

I particularly loved Melissa Anschutz as the native American tracker and look forward to checking out her other movies. I think she, like Shane and Lauren, have very bright careers ahead of them. I was also really intrigued by Christine Marie's portrayal of a dubious circus woman, and thought she had a very interesting performance (and was heartened by her character's true colors at the end).

I despised the deceitful sheriff character, the misguided pastor, and was glad that character repented at the end. I had special enmity for the main bad guy, so my strong visceral reaction to them told me the characters were well-written (thanks to DJ Perry, writer), and that their acting was good.

This movie is theologically sound, and I appreciated that. It could have been a movie about today's America. In many ways.