T.C. Christensen, noted LDS filmmaker (pictured here a bit younger than he is today. See his filmography), premiered a new film tonight at the north visitor's center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Only a Stonecutter: The Story of John Rowe Moyle. This 15-minute film, starring veteran LDS actor Bruce Newbold, gives the history of this British convert who lived in Alpine, Utah and for 20 years walked the 22 miles to Salt Lake City each week (leaving at 2 am to arrive at 8 am) to carve the granite on that growing edifice (the last years of his life doing so on a prosthetic leg). It is a brief story of one of the supporting saints in church history, and I hope it will prove a new genre of historical films focused on everyday men and women who in their own small ways showed great faith and built the kingdom.
Done much in the church style that Christensen knows well, it is an affecting story of dedication. One only wishes that it were twice its brief length to allow the significance of the man's contribution to sink in a bit more. I worry that Legacy has indirectly given a model to other Mormon filmmakers of a rather hurried narrative. The music sustains a simple, sweet theme, but then (as so many institutional films) it is laid on like sugar when the bare story could convey the sentiment without gilding the lily. But these are small faults in a small film with big heart. Christensen said he didn't know about distribution (it is not going to be playing at the Temple Square visitors center), but joked that it should be given to all the bishops to hand out to people who might complain about working in the nursery of the Primary. As a bishop, I'd take him up on it. We need reminders of the simple faithful saints, and it is not always necessary to have the grandiose or epic dramas of church history all the time. Kudos for Christensen. The premiere was an interesting affair, with the large auditorium overflowing with Moyle descendents, cast and crew. I hope he will enter the film in the upcoming LDS Film Festival.
Do you know the plans to distribute the film? I wasn't aware that the Church was making short films currently.
Posted by: Trevor Banks | January 08, 2008 at 01:11 PM
Hello, I am a Communications lecturer working and living in Belgium.
I am curently organizing the second edition of the Mormon Film Fetival in Brussels and would like to get in touch with T. C. Christensen as the aforementioned production could fit nicely in the program line-up.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Claude Bernard
Posted by: claude Bernard | January 09, 2008 at 06:18 AM
Recently, I attended a small group meeting of local pastors and church leaders, during which several topics were discussed related to church growth and future trends. The use of the Internet was among the topics on the agenda and I found that here in the Bible Belt, although an increasing number of churches had web sites, most of these sites primarily functioned as venues for delivering information to members.
Posted by: church history diagram | September 16, 2008 at 01:18 AM
I do agree that Legacy was too hurried a narrative, and although I have not seen this film, I would agree a longer film would probably give more justice to the story.
Yet, I have my doubts. You have to balance telling a story with getting the story out when you make a film. Often if you make a longer film than you loose potential audience.
However the fact that Christensen (with Gary Cook) has made "The Restoration" and "Joseph Smith: Priophet of The Restoration" which have all the same actors shows that multiple motion pictures can be drawn out of the same base films.
Posted by: John Pack Lambert | January 30, 2009 at 10:01 PM