''Saving God'' is a 2008

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written by Michael Jackson and directed by Duane Crichton. The film stars

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles as IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series and gang kingpin Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction''. He also ap ...

Dean McDermott Dean McDermott (born November 16, 1966) is a Canadian actor best known as a reality television personality with his wife, actress Tori Spelling, and as the host of the cooking competition ''Chopped Canada''. He played the role of Constable Renfi ...

and

Ricardo Chavira Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in the Netflix original s ...

, and was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on October 18, 2008 by

Cloud Ten Pictures ''Cloud Ten Pictures'' is a Canadian film production and distribution company located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada that specialized in producing "end times" Christian films. Overview Cloud Ten was formed by brothers Peter LaLonde and P ...

and Clear Entertainment.

Plot

''Saving God'' follows ex-convict turned pastor Armstrong Cane (

) as he returns to his family neighborhood to preach. As he attempts to rebuild the now crime-ridden area, he also tries to help a young

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...

named Norris (

Dwain Murphy Dwain Murphy is a Dominican-born Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Eric in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'', Giles in ''The Line'', and Bishop in '' How She Move''. Murphy has made an appearance in Tom Clancy's '' Splinter Cell ...

) turn his life around.

Cast

* Cole Mellows as son *

as Armstrong Cane *

as Henry James / Blaze *

as Rev. Danny Christopher *

Genelle Williams Genelle Williams (born February 18, 1984) is a Canadian actress who is best known for her roles as Kim Carlisle in ''Radio Free Roscoe'', as DJ in '' The Latest Buzz'', and as the innkeeper Leena in '' Warehouse 13''. Career Acting in high scho ...

as Ashley Ellis *

Kate Todd Kate Todd (born December 12, 1987) is a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Lily Randall in ''Radio Free Roscoe'' and Sally in ''Life with Derek''. She is also known for her continuing role as Erica in the ...

as Sherri Butler * K. C. Collins as Mike * Richard Leacock as Officer Earl * Kim Roberts as Dr. Munson * Kedar as Deacon Jake *

Ardon Bess Ardon Bess (born 1941) is a Canadian actor best known for appearing in a Heritage Moment television commercial about the 1958 Springhill mining disaster portraying survivor Maurice Ruddick. Early life and education Bess was born in Kingstown, ...

as Ken Salter *

as Norris Johns

Reception

DVD Verdict's David Johnson felt the film was "well-acted, smartly paced, realistic and surprising in its plot twists" that achieves a more realistic feel through the persuasive performances of its actors.

The Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values. D ...

reviewer Edwin L. Carpenter considered the film to be "well written, directed and acted" and awarded the film its "Seal of family approval" and rated it "five Doves."

Ted Baehr Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of ''Movieguide'', a website ...

of ''Movieguide'', writing for GoFish Productions, felt the film started in a predictable fashion and that the story was weak at times, but did praise its ending. He also felt Ving Rhames' performance was "stellar".

Awards

*Best Foreign Film – Drama at the 2009 International Family Film Festival *Best Director - Feature Narrative at the 2009 FirstGlance Hollywood 9 Awards *Official Selection at the 2009 Real to Reel International Film Festival

References

External links

* * 2008 films Films about evangelicalism Cloud Ten Pictures films 2008 drama films Films about Christianity 2000s English-language films {{2000s-drama-film-stub