Faith Like Potatoes: Movie Review

Who would have guessed that God could reveal His power through potatoes. Faith Like Potatoes, a South African movie originally released in South Africa in 2006, was released in the US in April of 2009. I apologize for this review being a few months late, but those who haven’t seen the movie, please, read on…

Faith Like Potatoes is based off of the book of the same title, which tells the story of the Zambian farmer of Scottish decent, Angus Buchan, who authored the book. This was the first time I had seen it, and found it in the archives of the local Redbox. Like Quiznos, this movie has a funny name, but a serious story.

I’ll start off by saying, I really enjoyed this movie. I’m sure the title gives it away, but the main theme is “faith”.  It made me reflect about the faith (or lack thereof) that I have in my life. How I always am trying to control and rationalize every dilemma or problem. The movie did well at portraying a human life reality throughout the film. There weren’t many cliche themes or quotes.

I’ll let it be known that I am not always of fan of Christian based films.  Often times, due to a low budget and inexperienced actors, they tend to be cinematically rough to watch. Of course this could be due to my moth-like attention span, and constant demand to be entertained. However, the stories are always inspiring, and leave you wanting to adjust something in your life for the better, or making you appreciate the blessings in your life. The story is what sometimes (Sometimes? who am I kidding? 99% of the time) is lost and at the bottom of Hollywood’s priorities. Faith Like Potatoes’ acting was surprisingly good, and I didn’t feel like I was watching actors. There were also some well written comical scenes that were effortlessly funny. The landscape scenery was a beautiful backdrop that almost out shined the action in front.

My favorite part about the movie was how it touched on the fine line of faith and foolishness. There truly is a fine line that somehow separates the two. The faith that can move mountains is right on that line.  Often we make the mistake of playing it too safe on the side of faith and not exercising it, or jumping beyond faith into the land of the embarrassing of not only yourself, but Christians as a whole.

Though you may not be a potato farmer in the hills of South Africa, the stress of work, the strains of a marriage, and the need for faith in God, translates well into Americans’ lives.  I would recommend this movie to anyone, and was glad I found this little gem.

Rating:

4 1/2 out of 5 sheep.

Recommended for families, individuals, and church groups. There is an accident scene that is a little graphic, and may not be suitable for little children.

Faith Like Potatoes was rated PG for some thematic material, an accident scene, mild language, and brief smoking.

Faith Like Potatoes [IMDB]

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