The Mysterious Islands - A Review

Recently, I mentioned to a publicist that I would be interested in reviewing some Christian films.  Right afterwards, I wondered what I had done.  I mean, if I were to review my own films, I could rip some of them pretty well apart.  And a lot of movies young filmmakers send me, especially faith-based, are just downright awful.  And if the production value is severely lacking, sometimes the theology is downright destructive.

So the first movie came in the mail.  It's a documentary called The Mysterious Islands.  First, let it be known I'm not a big fan of docs.  They tend to move slower than I like.  And I've always been a fiction-kind-of-guy.

Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  I have to put a disclaimer at the end of this post because the FTC mandates, but as you know from my posts, I will shoot straight with you.  The Mysterious Islands, first of all is beautifully shot.  The filmmakers use some of the best cameras available to present a stunning portrait of the Galapagos Islands.  The sound is solid.  The faults are hard to find.

This movie is a documentary, following Darwin's journey 150 years ago, where he came up with his idea for his theory.  Years later, he published his book "On the Origin of the Species."  Coming from a distinct creationist view, the filmmakers do a solid job of presenting the evolutionist side and then shining light on the discrepancy of this "theory."

One of the problems I have with us creationists is that we try to disprove the evolutionist by arguments of faith, not science.  You can't go to an evolutionist and say the world was created in six days because the Bible says so.  He doesn't recognize the authority of your source.

What I like here, is that the filmmakers take the "scientists" of evolutionary theory to task on their own science.  Evolutionist present their theory as fact even though it's never been proven scientifically.  If we evolved, then were are the missing links?  Darwin excitedly wrote that we would find them in a hundred years.  Well, they're not there.

That's just one of the things addressed by this documentary.  I also like the exercise of playing "natural selection" out, if we said evolution was true.  What you discover is some of Darwin's famous "disciples."  Like Adolf Hitler.  The whole theory here is that some man species are less evolved than others.  There's records of people like Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger discussing how it would be unfortunate if the blacks learned how they believed.

The flaws for this film are hard to find.  It's a bit slow for me, but that's the style of documentaries.  The music is absolutely wonderful, but a bit dramatic at times and feels forced.  But that's about it.  These guys know what they're doing and they've crafted a beautiful and stunning story.  I recommend this documentary.

For trailer and more info, click here.

Oh and for you FTC types, here's the disclaimer:
“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”