ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

YourFamilyExpert WHAT IS AMISH GRACE ABOUT?Tells the story of the 2006 massacre of Amish schoolchildren by a mentally unstable gunman, that religious community's subsequent forgiveness of the murderer, and their outreach to his widow.IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: B)Despite its status as a Lifetime movie and criticisms that it takes artistic liberties with actual events, Amish Grace emerges as a poignant and inspiring little movie. Due largely to acting and screen writing that are far better than expected, the film transcends its made-for-TV cinematography, editing, and musical score.It's true, some of the peripheral characters aren't well-developed and come across as caricatures, but the lead performances by Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride), Matt Letscher (The Mask of Zorro), Tammy Blanchard (Bella), and Amy Sloan (The Day After Tomorrow) are all captivating, each giving wholly credible explorations of pain, loss, redemption, and healing. The screenplay intelligently makes a case for forgiveness, love, and faith without any trace of condescension or criticism. The paradox of the Amish shunning those who've left their faith while forgiving the greater sin of murder is brought up, but sadly left unexplored; still, this is a minor issue for a film this well-performed and moving.Historical fiction has always created characters who are composites of actual people in order to streamline the narrative. Films like Titanic and Glory have done this to memorable effect, but rarely has this been attempted with events that are so recent. One may question the choice to focus on a fictional couple rather than actual people whose stories are certainly inspiring. However, by having protagonists who struggle and doubt more than the almost superhuman real-life Amish seemed to, the filmmakers have given the audience someone to relate to. Amish Grace, therefore, should be taken as very good historical fiction, not as history itself, though it will hopefully motivate viewers to learn more about the actual events.IS IT OKAY FOR YOUR KIDS? Amish Grace was rated TV-PG. It tastefully addresses the true story of the massacre of Amish schoolchildren by a mentally unstable gunman. The shootings occur off-screen and though the characters see the bodies, the audience does not. Though it contains nothing offensive and is appropriate for families, the film is thematically intense as it deals with the emotional and spiritual aftermath of murder, so parents be aware and ready to discuss the story with mature children.ANY WORTHWHILE MESSAGES? Forgiveness doesn't mean condoning wrong actions or letting someone escape consequences, it means letting go of bitterness and hate. You can find peace in loving those who've wronged you.

alisonrene This movie was horribly researched Amish speak with a German accent is one, they are also not encouraged to read out of the bible and it's also written in a difficult language that not even a lot of Amish can read. Another problem with this film is the Amish don't grieve long, they have a funeral and once dirt is thrown over the body they are not to speak of the deceased again I.e. they tore down the school after the shooting and built a new one in another location. The show Amish: out of order with Mose Gingrich explains how they deal with death and they certainly don't seek counseling from an outside source! Also the fact that she had accepted a dress from her sister who is shunned and pictures, if the elders knew she was receiving these things they would have shunned her as well. If the main character was actually planning to leave the Amish she certainly wouldn't have discussed it with her husband she would have just battled that decision on her own. And had they gotten a divorce there would be no exchanging of the child, the youngest daughter would remain in the Amish until she was old enough to leave the faith herself.

M Campbell I haven't been this delighted with a movie in a long time. The script was smart, the topic timely and important, the message clear, and the visuals very watchable. It's a rare movie that I can give my own double thumbs up to and recommend to anyone of my acquaintance without added disclaimers about what might offend or annoy them. This is a movie about the value of forgiveness plain and simple (no pun intended).The movie is based on the real life events that took place in Nickel Mine, Pennsylvania in 2006 when a gunman entered an Amish schoolhouse and shot ten school girls. The gunman then killed himself. The Amish community immediately reached out in love to the widow of the gunman.As you can imagine Christian teachings are a core part of the plot but there is nothing preachy about this movie. It's not meant to be an evangelical tool like some movies such as the "Left Behind" series . As I said before, this movie is about forgiveness -- the "mechanics" of forgiveness if you will. What does forgiveness look like using the Christian model? How is it done? To whom is it extended? The movie addresses these questions and more.One reason why I think this is one of the smartest scripts I've ever seen is the way these questions are presented. Nothing is sugar- coated. The hard questions are asked and the answers are not spoon-fed to us by writers trying to make their own private points but rather left be answered by each individual. Some answers are demonstrated for us by the players in the movie. Not everyone feels like they can forgive the killer and there are a wide variety of reasons given for this. For those who are determined to forgive we are given a glimpse at their inner struggle and the process they go through to reach the place where they can forgive and move on with their lives. It's made abundantly clear that forgiving people is not easy but is as vital to living as breathing.Another reason the script is smart is because it doesn't insult my intelligence or feel it has to show and tell me everything. The murders themselves are alluded to but there isn't a drop of blood to be seen in this movie. Reading up on the actual events the crime scene was described as horrific -- there wasn't a surface inside the one room schoolhouse that was not covered in either blood or broken glass. We don't need to see these things to know how horrible the slaughter was and I appreciate that. The acting is good enough that we understand very clearly what these folks were facing.For those looking for a factual retelling of the tragedy, this isn't it. A disclaimer at the beginning of the movie explains clearly that this is a fictionalized account based on a true story. It goes on to make clear that the main characters in the story, the Graber family, are completely fictional. The event is merely a vehicle to talk about forgiveness and the point is well made. This is not a documentary.So, whether you're "religious" or not, the message of forgiveness is completely applicable to anyone's life and the world would be a better place if more people practiced the unconditional forgiveness we're shown in "Amish Grace".

sol **SPOILERS** On the morning of October 2, 2006 Charles Roberts, John Churchill, or Charlie the Milkman as he's known in the Bart Township Amish Community walked into the little West Nickel Mines school and gunned down ten Amish girls, between the ages of 6 and 13, five of whom later died! As if this wasn't shocking enough a bigger shock was yet to follow with the Amish Community as well as the victims family members showing up at Charlie's house and expressing forgiveness to his grieving wife Amy, Tammy Blanchard, and her dad Henry Taskey, Gary Graham, for what Charlie did!This set off shock waves all over the country in the Amish ways of not letting a tragedy of even this magnitude have hate take over both their hearts and souls towards the now deceased, who put a bullet in his brain, Carles Roberts! It was only Ida Gaber, Kimberly Williams-Smith, the mother of one of Charlie's victims her 13 year old daughter Mary Beth, Madison Davenport, who couldn't bring herself to forgive Charlie for what he did. It was Ida's steadfast hatred towards not only Charlie but his wife Amy, who was completely devastated by what her husband did, as well. That's until one of the survivors of Charlie's murder spree and Mary Beth's best friend Rebecca Knepp, Darcy Rose Byrnes, told both Ida and her husband Gideon, Matt Letscher, the last world that Mary Beth said just before a crazed and deranged Charlie Roberts blew her away with his shotgun! It was something that a true believing person in God's undeniable love and mercy, even for someone like Charlie, could have uttered and it turned Ida's life around.In a world filled with violence hatred and revenge the Amish have lived the kind of life that most of us could only envy. With strong family ties and deep religious beliefs crime even petty crime is almost unknown in the Amish Community in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County where the murders took place. The very fact that a horror like what happened at the West Nickel Mines School did take place put the Amish living there to the test in proving to the world that they practice what they preach in forgiving those who sin even if the sin involves the murder of their own innocent children! Ida who was about to leave the Amish Community as well as her husband Gideon and take her surviving daughter seven year old Kaite, Karley Scott Collins, along with her was blinded by the hatred and violence that the crazed milkman Charlie Roberts inflicted on her and her family. It was Mary Beth's last words on earth directed at Charlie, who was just about to gun her down, that opened Ida's eyes. It was then that Ida, like her husband Gideon always told her, saw that hatred only survives if it's nurtured by those who have it in their hearts and stays with them their entire lives. And forgiving those whom that hatred is directed upon is the best way to cure it and the suffering and misery that goes along with it!