If you plant peas and beans, it won’t be long before you see pods on them. Tomatoes hang visibly on their vines and often weigh them down. Radishes poke up out of the soil. But potatoes – well, they’re another matter. You don’t really know if you have a crop until you dig them up at harvest time. So it is with faith: we seldom know whether our efforts to tell the good news will bear any fruit or not, but we must press on in the hope that they will. And that’s the subject of a new film on DVD titled Faith like Potatoes, a picture well worth your time and effort.
Where did this movie come from? While I was doing some shopping in a Safeway store, wondering what in the world to review this month (there being so few quality offerings currently available in the theaters), I happened to glance at a rack of DVDs on sale. What serendipity! There it was, this provocatively-titled film, available at a bargain price. And I’d never even heard of it.
What is Faith like Potatoes about? Angus Buchan is an African-born Scotsman living with his wife Jill and three children in Zambia. Times are very difficult: political violence has been escalating, and crops are not doing well. Angus and Jill decide to move to Natal in South Africa and make a new start. They go to South Africa and soon find some decent land and begin to build a farm, but it’s as though they’ve gone from the frying pan into the fire. Everything seems to go wrong; Angus has a serious anger problem and alienates a lot of people, both white farmers and their Zulu neighbors. Jill persuades Angus to take tranquilizers, but it soon becomes clear that Angus’s problem is spiritual, not physical -- for while Jill has a strong faith, Angus essentially believes only in himself and his own efforts. Finally Jill convinces Angus to come with her to a church service, and while there Angus experiences a kind of miracle: He is deeply touched by the message he hears and decides to give his life to Christ. But that’s only the beginning: On fire for the Lord, Angus begins to evangelize to his friends and neighbors and starts a country-wide prayer movement that embraces both whites and blacks.
I have only a few quibbles about the picture. One is that it contains some gruesomely violent scenes which, though central to the film’s storyline and message, may be too strong for younger children. Another is that it’s sometimes difficult to understand the dialogue, at least until your ear adjusts. A third is a bit more serious: Angus’s on-screen conversion happens rather too quickly, and we wish we could see more of the struggles he is going through. These are not serious detractions, however.
Faith like Potatoes is based on the true story of the real Angus and Jill Buchan and their children and friends. It’s in the same vein as the films produced in the last several years by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia: Facing the Giants, Flywheel, and Fireproof. Potatoes premiered in South Africa in 2006 and only made it to the USA this year. Apparently it has not been shown on the big screen. It may be available in your church library, however, and it can certainly be purchased economically. It’s a good picture for home viewing, but keep in mind the caveat given above about violence. Be sure to pay attention to the wonderful scene at film’s end where Angus and his friends dig up their potato field. And the showing, during the credits, of the real characters alongside the actors who portrayed them is inspiring.
Film Rating: PG
My Rating: 3 stars
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