September Dawn (2007)

Undescribable Perfection

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I honestly can't say why this film doesn't rate higher than a 5.6 because it is certainly better than this score indicates. Now, I realize that it doesn't paint a pretty picture of the Mormon movement during this time period. But the fact is that this terrible event actually happened and pretending that the Paiute Indians were the only culprits involved simply doesn't wash. Likewise, the fact is that we may never know what Brigham Young knew--or when he knew it. God knows. And that's what is ultimately most important anyway. Be that as it may, while this film does capture some historical facts the director (Christopher Cain) and the writers also added some fictional scenarios quite liberally as well. For example, there is a love scene thrown in that clearly never happened. But it makes for good viewing and that's what typically matters most to Hollywood. That said, although I certainly don't wish to diminish the horrible crimes committed at Mountain Meadow, I also don't want to tarnish everyone belonging to the Mormon faith either. So for the sake of brevity I will just say that this was a very good movie with good acting which managed to keep my attention throughout the entire story. But this isn't an historical documentary and so it shouldn't be confused for one. In short, this is definitely worth a watch for those who can appreciate a film of this nature. I'll leave it at that.

This movie deserves better than it got. I almost didn't watch it after reading reviews and seeing that it had a '13' on RottenTomatoes. It is far better than that. Yes they tacked on a love story (although that was not badly done), but it follows the true history quite closely. And there is the rub for many of the Mormon faith. Even though the Church has been forced by facts to slowly and reluctantly admit to the truth, it has still tried mightily to suppress the incident. And you can see why. It was truly a sickening slaughter of innocents sanctioned by the highest authorities in the church.Having read American Massacre, an historical account of the MM massacre, I found this a reasonably accurate depiction of events. A fascinating if disturbing bit of western history.

This is the very definition of a mediocre film—it's a mix of solid performances (e.g., Jon Voigt, who seems to have cornered the market on cold, unflinching, ruthless elder statesmen/scary old white dude roles), interesting depictions of little-known historical events (like the Mountain Meadows massacre perpetrated by the Mormons), a misguided Romeo-and-Juliet style star-crossed lovers subplot (Mormon scion falls passionately in love with a young gentile woman—in the space of a week), and some of the lousiest writing ever to be foisted upon professional actors. I do credit the film for treating one of the most appalling events in the history of any religion with an appropriate mix of horror and detachment and for making a genuine effort to provide a dramatic context for the senseless slaughter of innocent pioneers at the hands of maniacal Mormon Church elders (Brigham Young among them). Other parts of the film just make very little sense, dramatically or historically—why waste 20 minutes of screen time depicting the Mormon scion's uncanny ability to "break" an ornery stallion? Why cast Dean Cain (yes, the Superman of "Lois and Clark") as Joseph Smith? (He's on screen very briefly but long enough to make you scoff at the awful casting choice.) So ultimately this film is a very mixed bag—recommended only for those who have a genuine curiosity about Mormon history.

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's exaggerated. And yes, it's not the actual 100% truthful story. But. Think of this (and I say this without offense to others): People (as myself) are often simple-minded. They, more often than not, look on the world as a black-and-white place where totally evil or totally good humans exist. And even if this is not the truth, to show how fundamental religion can warp peoples minds, sometimes exaggeration is the only way. This is exactly what "September Dawn" has managed to do, in my opinion. Just look at the wonderful and powerful acting done by Jon Voight and Terence Stamp! Sure there's a heartwarming but extremely cheesy love story mixed into the web of events. But if that makes the "gentiles" (the supposed enemies of Mormons) more explained and look more human in just one religious brain watching this film, then that will be enough! Then the film has filled it's motive. Sometimes, people (as myself) are like children, they need to be overwhelmed by feeling, and the harsh contrast between love in one instance (such as in the cheesy love story) and hate in the other (such as from the scenes of slaughter from the massacre). This black-and-white tapestry can be very educational, even if the true story gets somewhat hampered by it. And this film is just that: educational.