The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story

Note: This film won Best Picture at the International Christian Visual Media “Crown Awards” (November 2019).

When I first saw the trailer for this film, the preview piqued my curiosity and interest immediately. The thought of a virgin film company bringing to cinematic life the forgotten account of an Australian missionary to India intrigued me. I’m one who loves little known historical data that has slipped through the cracks in humanity’s collective memory over time, lying there until someone brings it once again to the forefront. That is what Aneesh Daniel has done in resurrecting the story of Graham Staines, the subject of this movie.

The opening shot of the film begins peacefully enough with the sound of voices singing within a church, a moment immediately interrupted by the fiery explosion of a Molotov cocktail. After some quick scenes of actual footage and voiceover explain the religious unrest that has been a part of the culture of India for hundreds of years, viewers are introduced to the protagonist, an unemployed, but ambitious journalist. This fictitious character, Manav Banerjee will be our constant companion as we watch the events of January 1999 unfold in front of us. The movie cleverly weaves Manav’s story around the true life of Graham Staines—his compassionate work and ministry.

The plot isn’t complex, but does contain some surprise twists that keep things entertaining. The movie covers a little over a week of time, but recreates a number of incidents; though some are fictionalized, that lead up to the one that drew international attention to the Staines family 20 years ago, as well as the days immediately following that happening. Though the title implies this movie is Graham Staines” story, everything unfolds from the viewpoint of Manav, the journalist, who is bound and determined to catch the missionary converting people to Christianity, a practice that is forbidden by law in India, but only if coercion or force is used. I appreciated the method of viewing a Christian’s life through the eyes of a secular observer, something that effectively draws one in and keeps you watching until the end.

Material of Possible Concern

Violence

As mentioned above, a blaze is started with a Molotov cocktail. This serves to simply emphasize the hostile attitude of some towards Christianity. The PG-13 rating here seemed like it was used more as an advertising gimmick than an actual content advisory, so take it with a grain of salt.

The following subject matter of note in this category is a major spoiler to those not familiar with the Staines story, but is necessary to include for parents with young children in mind. ***SPOILER*** A man and two children are sleeping in their vehicle when they are attacked, the car set on fire and the three perish in the flames. The shot is intense and dramatic, but cuts away so as to avoid any graphic imagery or prolonged footage of agony. An aftermath scene pans the burnt auto, but doesn’t reveal the deceased bodies. There is obvious buildup to this scene, allowing the viewer time to determine whether to allow younger audience members to see it. At a later point in the film, a flashback again shows the vehicle being attacked and torched, without any warning beforehand, but lasts no more than about 30 seconds. ***END SPOILER***

A handful of images focus on leprous people being treated. These scenes are almost entirely bloodless and quite short, but the real effects of this disease upon the flesh can be seen briefly.

Foul Language: No uses of any crude, rude, or blasphemous words whatsoever.

Nudity: There are two brief instances where a handful of female dancers in traditional midriff baring garments are seen, one follows the other almost immediately.

Sex: A married couple lie together in bed in one quick shot, but are fully clothed and just talk. A married couple embrace a few times. A guy jests with a newly wedded man about his wife with the line, “Pregnant already?” The joke is very mild. There are no scenes of kissing or any other explicit physical activity in this category.

Alcohol: Beer is shown being brewed at one point, and a character sips an assumedly intoxicating liquid in a fleeting moment.

Spiritual Lessons

A movie centering on the life of a Christian missionary should be expected to contain an abundance of Biblical material, and that is the case. I came away with many thought-provoking lessons.

Biblical marriage is exemplified by the two couples portrayed on screen (Ephesians 4:2; Eph. 5:25; John 15:12; 1 Peter 3:7).

Graham Staines and his family adopt the traditional garb, forms of greeting, and dialects of their Indian neighbors, following the Bible mandate not offend your brothers or cause them to stumble (Romans 14:13-23).

Staines partially quotes Titus 1:6 to his wife when speaking of how to deal with a culture that is hostile to Christianity. He also embodies the Scriptural command to be wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16) throughout the film.

Prayer is correctly portrayed as the means by which we discover God’s mind on our circumstances (Philippians 4:6-7).

Graham Staines personifies humility (Philippians 2:3) and sacrificial love when tending and caring for the leper population—obeying Christ’s words regarding the least of these (Matthew 25:40) and also notes that the Lord is the true Healer of infirmities, not himself.

One of Staines” young sons rightly mentions coming from dust (Genesis 2:7) in context of answering a query about national heritage and ancestry.

Mrs. Staines says that, “God is in control even when we don’t understand.” referring to the Almighty’s sovereignty over the affairs of men.

It was refreshing to see the way that the Indian culture still celebrated the birth of a baby as a gift (Psalm 127:3), especially with our Western society’s often abhorrent attitude towards infants and the penchant for murdering them in these dark times.

***SPOILER*** Staines” wife chooses to forgive his murderers, just as Christ commands us to do in the Bible (Matthew 5:44; Matt. 18:21-22). ***END SPOILER***

As the movie takes place in an Eastern nation, it is no surprise that false religious views are mentioned, in this case, the Hindu/New Age belief in Karma. The journalist, as a non-Christian thinks that sins in a past life are to blame for the affliction of leprosy on people, and his wife fears that complications of her birth are her fault because of a prior indiscretion. Unfortunately, Graham Staines doesn’t do a good job refuting this untrue thinking.

Perhaps the most powerful quote in the film was this one. “No inducement brings real conversion anyway.” What a truth that is! Real conversion comes from a broken, repentant heart. Inducement, force, manipulation, or even an emotional experience cannot bring us to this mindset, only the pure love of God.

Filmmaking Quality

With no background work to go by, I hadn’t a clue as to how good at story-telling Skypass Entertainment was. The strengths of this movie are the use of actual leper victims in some scenes, the inclusion of authentic Indian dialects in the dialog, and the fact that the entire story is shot on location in India. This, thankfully, prevented the creators from having to CGI any scenery or build unrealistic looking sets. The photography is done well, but, unfortunately, that is really the single jewel that shines in the moviemaking department.

Despite the addition of former Hollywood celebrity Stephen Baldwin, the acting is mediocre at best. Very little passion is displayed by any of the players. They don’t act badly per se, but lack gusto, and therefore the performances did not move me. Even the most emotional scenes are rather shallow, unable to land a hard punch to the gut. While I do give the film a “Good” rating due to the lack of morally offensive content, and its positive messages, the picture itself wasn’t anything awe-inspiring.

It was also a bit concerning to see the greater emphasis on repairing the physical state of people over their spiritual needs. I do understand that Graham Staines spent over 30 years ministering to the outcasts and sick, the movie portrayed him seeing this as more important than The Great Commission. In my pre-viewing research, I was unable to discover anything on-line that revealed the real character’s mindset on this topic. The closing statement in the movie would seem to confirm my concerns. “For 35 years, he (Staines) converted lepers into human beings.” This of course, is admirable behavior, but, in the world’s eyes, puts Graham into the same category as Mother Theresa.

***SPOILER*** After the murder of Mr. Staines and his two sons, it was also peculiar that the filmmakers failed to include any emphasis on the fact that all three now reside in Heaven and that as martyrs, our grief, while understandable, should be temporary because we can celebrate instead. As Paul so aptly put it, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). For whatever reason, the director portrayed the sadness, but neglected the hope we have of Heaven. ***END SPOILER***

In conclusion, I can recommend the motion picture to those considering seeing it, as there are just brief minutes of disturbing behavior and no other content that would be inappropriate for viewing. Just don’t expect a blockbuster or dynamic performances. Maybe Skypass Entertainment will build upon this initial film and go on to bigger and better things. We can only hope.

• Violence: Moderate
• Profane language: None
• Vulgar/Crude language: None
• Nudity: Minor
• Sex: Minor
• Occult: None

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