Sight & Sound’s first full-length movie tells true story of ‘peace on earth’
FERGUSON – Eight years ago, I remember worshipping at First Baptist Church, Ferguson. It was the Sunday after a second round of unrest and rioting following the announcement that the police officer who shot Michael Brown would not be indicted. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the incident, it was a time of pain, anger and fear. Things were tense that cold, quiet morning.
As the service began, the congregation began to sing. “It’s a little early for a Christmas song,” I thought, hearing a description of bells tolling declaring peace on earth. Then we came to a mournful turn in the lyrics:
And in despair I bowed my head / “There is no peace on earth, ” I said / For hate is strong and mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good will to men
That desperation was followed by a triumphant about face:
Then rang the bells more loud and deep / God is not dead, nor doth He sleep / The wrong shall fail, the right prevail / With peace on earth, good will to men
The powerful words of that carol that gave me chills in 2014 come of course from the poem, “Christmas Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the backstory behind the man and his poem are the focus of a new movie by Sight & Sound, I Heard the Bells. Known for their biblically based theatrical performances in Branson and Pennsylvania, this is Sight & Sound’s first movie, and they hit it out of the park. If this is what they’re going to produce, I hope and pray they make many more.
Based on a true story, we follow Longfellow and his family in 1860s Massachusetts. Perhaps because his poetry is so accessible, Longfellow is an impossibly famous and successful poet. Even his pastor is starstruck to see him in the pews for the Christmas Eve service! He is a playful man and quick with his wit. When his youngest daughter asks him if it’s Christmas yet, he coyly replies, “It’s not Christmas until we hear the bell,” as he chases her about the room. Yet the date for the story hints at the pain and struggle that would come for the Longfellows.
One member of the family dies a tragic death in an accident that leaves Longfellow permanently scarred. Thrown into a deep depression and mired in grief, he refuses to write or even take care of himself or the rest of his family. Further, his eldest son renounces his faith and heads off to fight for the Union in the Civil War, refusing even to read his father’s letters. “God is either dead or He’s asleep,” the son snarls as he runs off. Hate is indeed strong.
As Longfellow desperately seeks counsel from his pastor, he’s reminded that God most definitely is not asleep, and He still speaks through the Bible. I won’t spoil the show, but it’s not ruining the plot to say that ringing bells bring not only hope for a familial reunion, but spiritual reconciliation for Longfellow.
I Heard the Bells is a wonderful Christmas story that deserves a chance to enter your family’s annual rotation when it comes out streaming soon (along with the poem itself). It’s very well acted, especially by its star, Stephen Atherholt. He gives Longfellow a mischievous, imminently likable quality. It has moments of playfulness and humor that will help keep younger children engaged. I Heard the Bells is not rated, but if it were, I’d place in the PG category. Despite its heady themes of loss and despair, it’s presented in a family friendly manner that is rooted ultimately in the source of the “peace on Earth and goodwill to men” that Luke wrote about in his second chapter; a peace that refers not only to a war or unrest in a Missouri suburb, but in mankind’s very soul.