This article is about the film. For the book of the same name, see End of the Spear (book).

End of the Spear is a 2006 docudrama film that recounts the story of Operation Auca, in which five American Christian missionaries attempted to evangelize the Huaorani (Waodani) people of the jungle of Ecuador. Taking a unique spin on actual events from the 1950s in which five male missionaries were speared by members of the Waodani tribe, the movie tells the story from the perspective of Mincayani, one of the tribesmen who killed the missionaries, and Steve Saint, the son of one of the murdered missionaries. The two eventually form a bond that continues to this day. Image File history File links The-end-of-the-spear-poster. ... William Bismarck Bowling (September 24, 1870 - December 27, 1946) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. ... Chad Allen Lazzari (born June 5, 1974 in Cerritos, California, USA) is an American actor. ... Was an actor on the tv show Power Rangers Wild Force in 2002. ... Chase Ellison is a young American actor who plays Noah Newman, the son of Nicholas (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) on soap opera The Young and the Restless. ... Sean Michael McGowan (born December 21st, 1980) is one of the few American writers to publish photographic novels (similar to photo novels in that they are both literary and graphic, yet distinguished from them by using photography instead of illustrations). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Emberá (also Embera, Chocó proper, Chokó, Cholo) is a group of vernaculars belonging to the Choco language family in northwestern Colombia and southeastern Panama. ... USD redirects here. ... End of the Spear End of the Spear is a book written by Steve Saint. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Drama Documentary be merged into this article or section. ... The reconstructed frame of Nate Saints plane, on display at the headquarters of the Mission Aviation Fellowship. ... For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). ... The Huaorani, also known as Waorani, Waodani, or Auca (Quechua for savage), are an indigenous tribe of the Ecuadorian Oriente (in the Amazon region). ... Mincaye Mincaye (also Minkayi, or Mincayani; Huao Terero for Wasp) (born ca. ... Stephen Farris Saint (born January 30, 1951) is an American Ecuadorian author, pilot, and business professional. ...

Tagline: "Dare to make contact!"

Movie production

Released January 20, 2006 in 1,163 theaters across the USA, End of the Spear is Jim Hanon's second movie production and his first major one. His first was "Beyond the Gates of Splendor", which told the tale of the American missionaries in much the same way as Elisabeth Elliot (wife of one of the murder victims, Jim Elliot) did in her book, Through Gates of Splendor. is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Beyond the Gates of Splendor (also Beyond the Gates) is a feature-length documentary film that was first released in 2004. ... Elisabeth Elliot is a missionary who spent some years among the Waorani people in Ecuador. ... For others named Jim Elliot, see Jim Elliot (disambiguation) Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. ...

Despite the international attention that the murders originally received, critics were surprised that End of the Spear's distributor, Every Tribe Entertainment, was able to garner such a wide release for a low-budget film that cost only $10 million to make. Critics were not so quick to notice that the movie employed a little-known director, distributor and production company and spent less time on marketing in order to hire more experienced actors than usually work in Christian films. Part of the $10 million went towards securing special effects (by Double Edge Digital) and other visuals. The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... A Film distributor is an independent company, a subsidiary company or occasionally an individual, which acts as the final agent between a film production company or some intermediary agent, and a film exhibitor, to the end of securing placement of the producers film on the exhibitors screen. ... Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ...

Although the movie is set in Ecuador, it was filmed on location in Colon, Panama (the area of the Waodani remains virtually inaccessible). Although initial speculation was that most of the actors portraying Waodani would be actual Waodani, the movie employed mostly native Emberá Panamanians, who were extensively coached in dialogue, culture, and mannerisms by Waodani consultants. The language used in the movie is actually their language instead of the Waodani. The end card of the movie promises that half the profits from the film will be given to charities that protect the interests of the Waodani and other native peoples. Col n is a sea port city on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. ...

Concerns

Some critics believe the story may be seen as presenting an uncritical view of a situation where native peoples were exploited regardless of good intentions, [1] such as concerns about SIL International. SIL International is a worldwide non-profit evangelical Christian organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document lesser-known languages in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy and aid minority language development. ...

There was some concern among various Christian groups that lead actor Chad Allen, who portrays aviator missionary Nate Saint in the movie (and his son Steve Saint as an adult), is openly gay. Some Christian groups (such as Doug Phillips' Vision Forum) that had initially planned to promote the film began to question whether they should. The real Steve Saint, who was heavily involved in the production of the film, has stated in interviews that he himself had reservations but that God indicated to him that Allen was the proper choice. In the end, he couldn't see a better actor filling the role of his father. His public pronouncements did much to quell the controversy.^[1] Chad Allen Lazzari (born June 5, 1974 in Cerritos, California, USA) is an American actor. ... Nathanael Nate Saint (August 30, 1923 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Stephen Farris Saint (born January 30, 1951) is an American Ecuadorian author, pilot, and business professional. ...

Other Christian groups (such as VCY America's Vic Eliason) wished the film had more explicitly portrayed the Gospel message (i.e. salvation through Jesus Christ). However, the Gospel presented in the movie is the same as it was presented to the Waodani; in concepts and symbols that are present in everyday Waodani language (with the name of "God" being replaced with "Waengongi", the name of the Waodani creator god who no longer communicated with the people).^[2] VCY America is a Christian organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... Ordained minister and recipient of an honorary doctorate from Bob Jones University. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This list contains members of the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador who are known for their connection with events surrounding Operation Auca. ...

Due to the limitations of the movie format, they have had to compress various events and limit the number of characters. As a result, the main Waodani protagonist, Mincayani, is not actually one person in real life but rather a composite of the real-life Waodani named Mincaye and various other Waodanis. Some of Steve’s sister’s experiences ended up being attributed to Steve in the movie and the dramatic climactic reconciliation between Steve as an adult and Mincayani did not actually happen as depicted in the film – it was more of a slow, growing love and friendship between the real-life Steve and Mincayani.^[3][4][5][6]

Box office

Opening with a stronger-than-expected first weekend (January 20-22, 2006), Spear took 8th place (behind four other new and expanding movies) with $4.3 million USD. End of the Spear became one of the few independently released Christian movies to draw more than $1,000,000 in its first three weekends of release. By the time the film left the box office, it had made $12 million. It has since made over $20 million more in rentals and video sales.

Critical response

Spear had a mixed response among film critics, while being received more positively by filmgoers.

Rotten Tomatoes Meter, an average of critics' ratings, as of January 8, 2007 had given the movie 57%; 19 positive, 28 negative reviews (avg. rating: 5.2/10)^[7] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Boxofficemojo, which is also rated by users, had more than 2/3rds of viewers give the film an 'A' rating.^[8] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The film won a Crystal Heart Award ^[9] as well as the Grand Prize for Best Dramatic Feature^[10] at the 2005 Heartland Film Festival. The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. ...

Extra Footage

The DVD and some theaters where the movie was shown also included extra footage after the movie ended showing the real life Mincayani (Mincaye) and the real life Steve Saint in our modern day. Mincaye visited Steve Saint in America with humorous results while trying to understand American culture.

Cast

Mincaye Mincaye (also Minkayi, or Mincayani; Huao Terero for Wasp) (born ca. ... Chad Allen Lazzari (born June 5, 1974 in Cerritos, California, USA) is an American actor. ... Nathanael Nate Saint (August 30, 1923 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. ... Stephen Farris Saint (born January 30, 1951) is an American Ecuadorian author, pilot, and business professional. ... Was an actor on the tv show Power Rangers Wild Force in 2002. ... Dayuma Dayuma (also Dayumae) (born ca. ... Chase Ellison is a young American actor who plays Noah Newman, the son of Nicholas (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) on soap opera The Young and the Restless. ... Stephen Farris Saint (born January 30, 1951) is an American Ecuadorian author, pilot, and business professional. ... Sean Michael McGowan (born December 21st, 1980) is one of the few American writers to publish photographic novels (similar to photo novels in that they are both literary and graphic, yet distinguished from them by using photography instead of illustrations). ... For others named Jim Elliot, see Jim Elliot (disambiguation) Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. ... Rachel Saint (1914-1994) was an evangelical Christian missionary from the United States who worked in Ecuador. ... Elisabeth Elliot is a missionary who spent some years among the Waorani people in Ecuador. ... T. Edward McCully, Jr. ... Matt Lutz (born Matthew Christopher Lutz on October 15, 1978 in Anderson, Indiana, USA) is an American film, television, and theatre actor, who played Phil Newberry on the Hallmark Channels McBride murder-mystery series from 2004-2006, and has had significant roles in the films A Walk to Remember... Peter Fleming (1928-1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. ... This list contains members of the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador who are known for their connection with events surrounding Operation Auca. ... Roger Youderian (January 21, 1924 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian missionary to Ecuador, where he was killed by Huaorani Indians. ... This list contains members of the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador who are known for their connection with events surrounding Operation Auca. ...

References

is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official site
• End of the Spear at the Internet Movie Database
• Official movie trailer