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Faith of Angels

Content Caution

MediumKids
LightTeens
LightAdults

Credits

In Theaters

Cast

Home Release Date

Director

Distributor

Reviewer

Bob Hoose

Movie Review

It’s called the Hidden Treasure Mine.

However, young Josh Dennis isn’t exactly thinking of finding anything valuable in the mine’s ink-black tunnels. The only thing on his mind is something treasured that he hopes not to lose: his life.

His current situation is all his fault, in a way. When his dad brought him up here to camp nearby and to explore the mine with some other boys and adults, Josh was, well, really nervous. He felt so small compared to the older boys. So inexperienced, so timid. He just couldn’t shake those anxious feelings.

His dad was really cool about it, though. He saw Josh’s fear and sent the others off to explore while they stayed behind and set up camp. His dad smiled. He encouraged.

Josh knew his father wanted to join in with the others. He wanted Josh to stretch. But Josh also sensed Dad’s disappointment.

So, when the gang all came back for a meal, Josh told his dad he wanted to join in and explore the old mine with the rest of them. They were only going to search the maze-like mine tunnels for a few hours before bed. He could handle that. He’d hang at the back, stay out of everybody’s way.

But those tunnels were very, very dark. Without flashlights, you were completely blind. And, being a nice guy, Josh had given his flashlight to an older kid whose bulb burned out.  

Then he lost the group.

One moment, they were right in front of him, flashlights shining this way and that, excited voices talking about tunnels and treasures. And then … they were gone. He could hear the noisy group. But when he called out, they couldn’t hear him. He kept moving, feeling his way along, but the sounds only got farther and farther away. Did he take the wrong tunnel? Should he turn around?

That was, what, a day ago, Josh figures. At first, he had the light from his wristwatch to help him along. But after a while, that died out. Now he’s here, on the edge of what he’s sure is a high ledge. It’s so, so dark. And he’s afraid to move.

All Josh can do is pray and listen for any sounds of rescue. Surely somebody is searching for him, right? But he hasn’t heard anything. Not a sound. He just keeps thinking about the Bible’s story about a mustard seed. Even a mustard seed worth of faith can move a mountain, Jesus said. He has at least that much faith, he reckons. He can pray. Listen. Wait.

What Josh doesn’t realize is that the search has indeed been going full steam. When they discovered him missing, the campers rushed back in to search. Then they brought in the police. Then they brought in a professional search team.

But despite the team’s diligence, mapping miles of tunnels, marking every turn, every route, they found nothing. Heard nothing.

As they enter into day three, the efforts are looking pretty bleak. Even a search dog comes up empty. The local sheriff is pretty sure how this will end. He takes off his cowboy hat and wipes his brow. He’ll need to figure out the right words for Josh’s anguished parents.

Oh, and there’s also a guy named John Skinner who’s at war with himself. Several nights back he had been camping alone in the woods of Montana and distinctly heard a whisper in his ear. He startled awake at the words: Help them see.

Help who? he thought. See what?

John wonders what he can possibly do to help someone, somewhere, see something! But the whispers won’t stop.

Any outside observer would likely think it’s impossible to make all of these disparate things work together for the good of one lost boy in a maze of blackness. Especially since precious time is ticking quickly by.

Young Josh, however, continues to cling to his mustard seed of faith.


Positive Elements

Despite many indications that locating Josh is a lost cause, some members of the search team refuse to give up. They push on, delving over and over into the mines winding miles of tunnels.

John Skinner is another such individual. It turns out that he knows the Hidden Treasure Mine well because his grandfather was once a foreman there. But authorities refuse to allow him to get involved. He comes back repeatedly, prompted by the whispered voice of what he considers to be an angel.

Early on, we see Josh’s dad encouraging him and expressing his love for Josh repeatedly. Josh’s mom and dad are loving parents who feel powerless but refuse to give up on their son. And members of the community near the mine area gather and pray for Josh. This group later searches around the mine for anything that might be helpful to the search team.

Spiritual Elements

As mentioned above, John Skinner’s involvement is prompted by the whispered voice of what he ultimately considers to be an angel.

[Note: Spoilers are contained in this section.]

Along with hearing repeated whispers in his ear, John sees an individual whom he considers to be an angel. This person shows up in John’s church and then disappears. He also leads John to something special before disappearing from a rocky area near the mine.

In addition, John’s wife encourages him to persevere and keep trying to help despite the fact that no one seems to want his help. When he is later able to give that help, she thanks him. When John finally does get into the mine, he keeps pausing and relying on his intuition to lead him forward. And it’s implied that God’s spirit or God’s angels are involved in that process, too. (We see two of the “angel” figures in a mine tunnel.)

Josh, for his part, also has a broadly similar angelic experience: a vision of a grandmotherly figure who comforts him during his long stay in the mine. It’s clear that he sees her as a comforting angel. And when rescuers finally reach him, Josh asks, Are you angels?

Josh recalls an evening devotional that he and his family had in their living room. Josh, his sisters and his parents sing a praise and worship song together. And then Josh gives a lesson about having the faith of a mustard seed. But he ends up losing that tiny seed in the deep pile of their carpet.

Later, after Josh goes missing, his mom finds the dropped seed while praying. She takes this as a supernatural encouragement to have faith and keep praying fervently, which she does. She and her husband talk about their struggles with faith. And Josh’s dad groans about his reluctance to “be tested” in that faith.

Many people pray about Josh’s situation, including the local sheriff, who is not a man of faith. Several members of the first search team talk about ghosts or spirits in the mine that they’re exploring. None of them proclaims to be a person of faith either, but one member says that she does have questions about where people’s souls go when they die. “They gotta go somewhere,” she declares.

Someone declares, “Hope breeds hope. No matter what.” Ultimately, Josh declares that he wasn’t afraid, and he wasn’t alone because of his faith. We see church members singing hymns during a church service.

Sexual & Romantic Content

None.

Violent Content

We never see the rock ledge or the reported 200 foot drop that Josh is near, but we’re told about it and the deadly danger of a possible fall.

We hear of a different abandoned mine incident involving a fire that took the lives of scores of people.

Josh is carried out of the mine after five days. We hear that he is dehydrated and has a slight case of frostbite.

Crude or Profane Language

None.

Drug & Alcohol Content

None.

Other Noteworthy Elements

The local sheriff initially appears to be hardheaded and unable to listen to reason. But we eventually learn about another local mine disaster that ended tragically. Turns out, he’s very concerned about too much outside interference and involvement leading to the same result.

Conclusion

Faith of Angels depicts the true story of a young boy who became lost and seemingly unfindable in miles of pitch-black tunnels in an old abandoned mine.

Many may look at this film and find its faith-focused moments—times when people cling to biblical promises, see an angelic presence, and sense the tug of a supernatural guiding hand—to be outside the realm of possibility in our world.

However, if you look up the definition of the word miracle, well, outside the realm of possibility pretty much sums it up. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a miracle as a “welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.”

That’s exactly how the filmmakers behind Faith of Angels depict the events at the Hidden Treasure Mine leading to Josh’s rescue. In addition, closing-credit snippets show people at that real-world 1989 rescue effort proclaiming the very same thing.

This isn’t a perfect movie, but it is well-made and foul-content-free. And it leaves viewers inspired to take the time to pray … and to listen. You may be surprised, the film suggests, at what you hear.


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Bob Hoose

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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