For Prophet movie review

MOVIE TITLE: For Prophet

This Christian comedy will be available on VOD on July 26, 2024.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 45 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B-

IN A NUTSHELL:

For Prophet tells the story of Damon Fisher (Ben Marten), a struggling entrepreneur who encounters the relentlessly encouraging Archangel Raphael (Valentina Garcia), revealing that he has been chosen by God to become a part-time prophet with the divine mission to save his crumbling and corrupt hometown.

To make matters worse, Fisher must also battle an endlessly trash-talking demon in the form of an ever-present cameraman that only he can see. His marriage, his business, and his sanity are all pushed to the brink on his spiritual quest to discover the ultimate value of faith.

The film was written, directed, and produced by Mark Stewart Iverson. Already, the film has been nominated 25 times for awards at various film festivals and won 14 of them.

THINGS I LIKED:

I was impressed with a lot of the actors. The cast did a great job overall.
Enrico Natale plays the cameraman/demon. His snide remarks and over-the-top humor were entertaining. He also helped produce the film.
Valentina Garcia was a standout in the film. She’s adorable and hilarious, and has already won “Best Actress” from several film festivals!
Christians will see that it’s clever that the small town’s name is Mount Zion.
The soundtrack is lovely.
The title of the movie has double meaning.
The title cards between scenes were helpful and cute.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The schtick about the cameraman begins immediately without showing us how that works. If you haven’t seen the trailer or read the film’s description before watching the movie, you might be confused about where that voice is coming from or who the snarky cameraman is and why he follows the protagonist around.
There are a lot of over-the-top, wacky people in this small town. It’s a lot to take in.
Non-Christians won’t be persuaded to turn to God.
In many scenes, there is too much going on that can be distracting. For example, in one scene, the main guy is being interviewed on a radio show but Raphael cries loudly, making it hard to hear the conversation. Other times, various characters are talking and the demon (man with the camera) talks at the same time. Many scenes felt too chaotic.
There is so much yelling and anger. We only get relief at the very end when almost everyone is finally happy.
The demon carries a camera in Acts 1 & 2 but not anymore in Act 3.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored and confused. So will some adults.
We several two people throw up.
The angel Raphael says she’s non-binary and gets annoyed when people use her wrong pronoun
Talk of the death of a parent and a miscarriage in a marriage

THEMES:

Angels and demons
Marriage
Truth
Faith
Helping others
Political corruption
Social services
Hearing with spiritual ears

FUNNY LINES:

“I find whispering to be more dramatic.” – Raphael whispers it (Valentina Garcia)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Doctors aren’t healers anymore, okay; they’re diagnosers. They point and they name.” – Damon (Ben Marten)
“I want to serve the living.” – Damon (Ben Marten)
“The truth is always best.” – Cassandra (Stephanie Wohar)
“To me, God is love.” – Dr. Sharon Fisher (T’Keyah Crystal Keymah)
“God morning!” – Raphael (Valentina Garcia)
“Take a faith walk.” – Raphael (Valentina Garcia)
“God is going local, not global.” – Damon (Ben Marten)