The Story of Possum Trot: Film Review
A Personal Review of the new Angel Studios Film, Sound Of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot
Today, July 3rd, 2024 Angel Studios’ new film Possum Trot, hit theatres around the nation. The film is based on a true story about 22 families in small town, Possum Trot, Texas that answered the call for the overwhelmed foster care system in Texas. The story was a true reflection of how the The Church is supposed to be. An interesting comparison of our current predicament was towards the final quarter of the film when Reverend Martin, played by Demetrius Grosse, went to visit another minister in the area for some financial help. Martin’s church at this point had already taken in a large number foster children all within a matter of months, and this already low income neighbourhood was beginning to wear thin on resources and making ends meet with the monthly bills. The second pastor had what many would refer to as a “Mega Church”ministry, with the goals of raising 1 Million dollars for a building upgrade and planning for a “church cruise” vacation, which appeared to be of the upmost concern to the pastor. This scene truly painted the stark difference between the church truly being the church versus the exploitation of a “ministry” with the motivation of growing itself for the sake of financial gain and influence.
A Heavy Reality
This film will pull on heart strings. It is extremely genuine in expressing the reality of taking in foster children from abusive backgrounds. It is a direct call to the church to care for the widows and orphans. The writers did not hold back with the dark results of extreme trauma and neglect many children deal with each day.
Political commentator, Candace Owens, did an interview with the film makers, Josh and Rebekah Weigel, who worked on the film via Angel Studios in partnership with The Daily Wire Plus. In an episode of her new podcast titled “Candace”, Owens highlights the fact that the film is very genuine about the difficulties of being a foster parent as Owens expresses that it is not something many could do.
What was perhaps one of the more touching aspects of the story was how the families of Possum Trot band together in support of each other, particularly when one or more of the foster parents were beginning to reach a breaking point while dealing with the extreme results of trauma with the children, or the financial struggles of a low income community. This depiction of how The Church is to be, in this film, should be a wake up call to all Christians.
Truly, A ‘Sound Of Hope’
It is certainly not news to many, maybe even particularly in Oklahoma, that DHS / Child Protective Services is a broken and corrupt system in many ways. However, examples like The Story of Possum Trot, may give many people a new sense of hope. There are, without a doubt, some good workers in DHS and of course some families that truly do need (hopefully temporary) intervention for the safety of the children. This film, and true story, is something to celebrate. However, this does not outweigh the extreme concerns of a sort of tyrannical government entity, that is DHS, as a whole, has become (nationwide) today. The setting of the Sound of Hope film is in the late 1990s and it is important to acknowledge that things may have changed since then. Of course, in the end, each individual is measured by their character, and Susan Mitchell, the case worker in this eastern Texas story, was truly one of amazing success. There certainly are good DHS workers within the system and this film hopefully leaves the viewers with a true sense of hope for our nation’s children.
Progress In Christian Film
A final highlight and acknowledgement is that we as a Christian community have finally, truly begun to break away from the corny old faith based films we used to seem to never be able to get away from. This film, much like the other Angel Studios productions, had quality acting, scripting, and story lining. It really goes to show that there is demand for quality production that does not have to promote perversion.
What we really need to see now is high quality, conservative, faith based films being produced right here in Oklahoma.
You can find showings of Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, here.
This is an editorial article based on a combination of opinions, research, and personal experiences.
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