BodEquip Ministries - Equipping the Body of Christ to Live Abundantly.

Movie Review: Sheffey

Quick Plot Summary: Showcases the life of Robert Sheffey, a circuit-riding preacher in the 19th century..

Rating: Worthwhile
Suggested Ages: 7+

This movie tells the story of Robert Sheffey, an interesting and inspiring circuit-riding preacher in the 19th century southern U.S. It is based upon true events, though some things surrounding Sheffey may be folklore. This movie is a very interesting portrayal of a man that seemed to just be passionate about Jesus and bringing people to Him. It is not really a documentary per se, but you will feel like you've gotten to know Sheffey after seeing the movie. Simple faith, love put in practice, concern for people and all of God's creation, the power of prayer, the importance of being born again, dangers of alcohol, importance of forgiveness, dead religion vs. genuine faith, the futility of living for this world as opposed to living for God, and much more are prevalent themes in this movie.

It was produced/filmed in the late 1970's by Bob Jones University. Now, my first thought when I found this out, even before watching the movie, was: "How good can the quality of this film possibly be, given it was basically done by a Christian University in the late 70's?" Well, the answer to that is: "Better than you might think!" Although you can definitely tell this was a non-Hollywood production from the late 70's, the quality level is actually reasonably good all things considered - especially since the film was remastered for Blu-ray. The acting is a bit stilted and the dialog is definitely predictable in places, and I did think there were a few scenes that bordered on being "cringe worthy". But overall, this 2+ hour movie was reasonably done - it held my attention - and the acting, while not great, didn't really distract too much - it was alright all things considered.

Not everything in the film is necessarily 100% on the mark - and some of the "Christianny scenes" were VERY predictable. But I do believe this movie can be a real encouragement to Christians of the importance of really believing and living out our faith. As for kids watching this, I think this can definitely be a "family night" movie, but be aware that younger children might get bored with it.

Reviewed by Christopher Long,
BodEquip Ministries

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