Aimee Semple McPherson (film)
Encyclopedia
Aimee Semple McPherson is a feature length drama
tic biopic about evangelist
"Sister" Aimee Semple McPherson
.
The cast includes Mimi Michaels
, Rance Howard
, and Kiera Chaplin
. Richard Rossi
wrote, directed and also acted in the film. Rossi shot the film with a $300 consumer camcorder
. The movie has a jittery, sepia-toned 1920s motif
, employing silent film cards and a period look with a contemporary documentary
style. The film was made under a special agreement with the Screen Actor's Guild for experimental film
s with budgets under $75,000.
Rossi admitted telling his own story allegorically through telling Sister Aimee's. In November, 2001, Rossi, a healing evangelist, received restoration treatment for depression and healing from childhood abuse at Healing for the Nations ministry in Atlanta, Georgia. "I was trying to help everybody else, but I was feeling empty inside," Rossi said. "It was like I was trying to fix the whole world, but I couldn't fix myself. It was a pretty lonely feeling."
, the film "goes much deeper" than previous portrayals of McPherson, including The Disappearance of Aimee
, a 1970s television
movie starring Faye Dunaway
and Rossi's own 37-minute 2001 documentary film
Saving Sister Aimee.
Christianity Today
praised the film, saying "Rossi gives insight into the emotional dysfunction arising from Pentecostalism
's adulation of flawed and charismatic leaders...the film veers into psychohistory
and reflects the psyche of the writer/director." The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
, (the Pentecostal denomination
Sister Aimee founded), released a press statement that they do not endorse the film because of Rossi's exploration of McPherson's personal struggles. VideoHound's Movie Retriever gave it two stars out of four.
The film was released on DVD on April 22, 2008.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic biopic about evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
"Sister" Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
.
The cast includes Mimi Michaels
Mimi Michaels
- Early life :Michaels was born in Great Neck, Nassau County, New York. She left to attend the famed LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York City, which she calls "The best decision of my life!" After graduating, on the high school dean's advice, rather than accepting a place at the...
, Rance Howard
Rance Howard
Rance Howard is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Life and career:Howard was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt in Oklahoma, the son of Ethel Cleo and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. He married Jean Speegle Howard...
, and Kiera Chaplin
Kiera Chaplin
Kiera Chaplin is a Northern Irish-born British actress and model, a granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and a great-granddaughter of Eugene O'Neill.-Biography:...
. Richard Rossi
Richard Rossi
Richard Rossi is an American filmmaker, actor, producer, musician, church planter, and healing evangelist...
wrote, directed and also acted in the film. Rossi shot the film with a $300 consumer camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
. The movie has a jittery, sepia-toned 1920s motif
Motif (art)
In art, a motif is an element of a pattern, an image or part of one, or a theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other...
, employing silent film cards and a period look with a contemporary documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
style. The film was made under a special agreement with the Screen Actor's Guild for experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
s with budgets under $75,000.
Rossi admitted telling his own story allegorically through telling Sister Aimee's. In November, 2001, Rossi, a healing evangelist, received restoration treatment for depression and healing from childhood abuse at Healing for the Nations ministry in Atlanta, Georgia. "I was trying to help everybody else, but I was feeling empty inside," Rossi said. "It was like I was trying to fix the whole world, but I couldn't fix myself. It was a pretty lonely feeling."
Critical response
According to Christianity TodayChristianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
, the film "goes much deeper" than previous portrayals of McPherson, including The Disappearance of Aimee
The Disappearance of Aimee
The Disappearance of Aimee is a 1976 telemovie drama. It was directed by Anthony Harvey for Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions.It stars Faye Dunaway as the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, with Bette Davis and James Woods...
, a 1970s television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
movie starring Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
and Rossi's own 37-minute 2001 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Saving Sister Aimee.
Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
praised the film, saying "Rossi gives insight into the emotional dysfunction arising from Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
's adulation of flawed and charismatic leaders...the film veers into psychohistory
Psychohistory
Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. It attempts to combine the insights of psychotherapy with the research methodology of the social sciences to understand the emotional origin of the social and political behavior of groups and nations, past and present...
and reflects the psyche of the writer/director." The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
, (the Pentecostal denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
Sister Aimee founded), released a press statement that they do not endorse the film because of Rossi's exploration of McPherson's personal struggles. VideoHound's Movie Retriever gave it two stars out of four.
The film was released on DVD on April 22, 2008.