Starring: Gaston Pauls, Santiago Achaga, Agustin Amoedo, Alexia Moyano, Alexandra Bard, Darren Dowler, Manuel Ramos, Daniel Roebuck
Distributor: Heritage Films
Runtime: 116 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2021
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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Argentinian-born Luis Palau became a worldwide religious leader and something of a successor to Billy Graham. With an evangelical Christian ministry of 60 years until his death in 2021, the movie is a personal and ministry history.
Evangelical preacher, Luis Palau, was not on this reviewer’s radar. This was a reminder that those who belong to particular churches are often unaware of other religious groups, their leaders, aspects of faith, approaches to the Scriptures, Gospel injunctions, confessions of faith. And there is the difference between Christians who emphasise the word of God, listening to the proclaimed word, preaching, and Christians who also have a more sacramental approach, religious rituals and celebrations.
Which means that this film is important for evangelical Christians who know of Luis Palau, and it is an opportunity for those unfamiliar with evangelical Christianity to observe and to learn. It can be noted that this strong perspective on evangelical Christianity is in no way aggressive towards others; there are no criticisms or suggestions of any rivalries. Of interest to Catholic communities is that it highlights the growing presence of evangelical Christianity in Latin America, inviting the audience to accompany Palau on his faith and preaching journey.
The film is straightforward in its style of storytelling, making it immediately accessible to its intended audience. It is a biography, admiring of its subject, showing his abilities as well as difficulties, not a hagiography. Rather, it is an acknowledgment and tribute.
Luis Palau was born in Argentina. The film gives glimpses of his early years – the conversion of his father, and his father’s sudden death from pneumonia in 1944 because of WWII medical supply limitations, when Luis was 10. The young Luis is devoted to his warmly caring mother. He hears radio broadcasts by Billy Graham which stirs his imagination about preaching.
The film shows him 10 years later as a young man, working in an office, but motivated by preaching the word, organising brief radio programs, supported by his co-workers, drawing the attention of visiting American evangelical authorities who suggest moving to the US for theological education and training.
The film then moves ahead another 10 years with Luis in Portland, Oregon, now married to local teacher, Pat, beginning a family. While their situation is difficult, there is help from the local church authorities. Then a proposal to go to Colombia for mission work is accepted. One of the main activities in Colombia is the organisation of a mass rally in Bogota in 1966. Despite initial suspicion from the authorities, Luis preaches to an assembly of 20,000 people.
There is a small significant sequence with Luis in the United States, where he and Pat go to a Billy Graham rally. Graham sits with them at a lunch break and is friendly and encouraging. The sequence is short but Graham (Dowler) makes a strong impression. He invites Luis to stand on the stage with him translating, with the same intense enthusiasm, Billy Graham’s words for the Hispanic community.
There is also a sequence, in the Presbyterian Church, where Luis is preaching and it has an effect on a member of the congregation who stands and confesses what is wrong with his life – leading to family reconciliation and further confessing.
The sequences are reminiscent of African-American evangelical churches and the congregations are alive with song, praise, and confession. Luis’ services are not more low-key.
And that is where the narrative of the film finishes. What follows is information about Luis Palau‘s 60-year ministry, and his death in early 2021. He was considered something of a second Billy Graham. He preached with energy over numerous decades. There are glimpses of his rallies from all over the world. He wrote books and was prominent in a radio ministry. The screenplay of the film, written by its director, Kevin Knoblock, who has made many documentaries (ranging from a study of George Washington to Pope John Paul II’s nine-days visit to Poland) stays with the faith ministry and does not include any of the social issues, sexuality issues, that preoccupy militant evangelicals.
At the end, there is a clip of a television interview with Luis. He has quite some verve in his old age, something of a twinkle in his eye, energetic gestures – which made this reviewer realise the limitations in the performance and the direction of the actor, Argentinian Gaston Pauls, in communicating the Luis’ early life. The actor is serious, sometimes rather dour, and, in retrospect, not particularly charismatic at all. So, it was something of a relief to get the moments of the actual Luis Palau.
This is a significant film for evangelical Christians. It is a film of interest for non-evangelical Christians, a reminder of the presence and power of these faith-based communities.
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