The Last Sin Eater (2007)

In seeking her own redemption from the one man of whom she is most afraid, 10-year-old Cadi Forbes discovers a secret sin haunting her community of Welsh immigrants in 1850s Appalachia.

Director:

Michael Landon Jr.

Writers:

Brian Bird (screenplay), Michael Landon Jr. (screenplay),

Stars:

Louise Fletcher, Henry Thomas, Liana Liberato

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louise Fletcher	...	Miz Elda
Henry Thomas	...	Man of God
Liana Liberato	...	Cadi Forbes
Soren Fulton	...	Fagan Kai
A.J. Buckley	...	Angor Forbes
Stewart Finlay-McLennan	...	Brogan Kai
Peter Wingfield	...	The Sin Eater
Elizabeth Lackey	...	Fia Forbes
Thea Rose	...	Lilybet
Kim Myers	...	Iona Kai
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick	...	Bletsung McLeod
Valerie Wildman	...	Gervase O'Dara
Anne Cullimore Decker	...	Granny Forbes
Michael Flynn	...	Laochailand Kai
Molly Jepson	...	Elen Forbes

Storyline

Appalachia, 1850. A generation ago a group of Welshmen came across the ocean to build a new existence and with them they brought their own traditions and rituals. One of them is the sin eater, a mysterious person, forced to live in the woods and mountains, only to come out when somebody dies. He then pawns his own soul to take away the sins of the deceased. 10 year old Cadi Forbes meets the sin eater for the first time at the funeral of her grandmother and is immediately intrigued. Cadi is torn by guilt over the death of her little sister Elen and wants the sin eater to redeem her. With the help of Fagen, son of the ruthless village leader Brogen, and the imaginary Lilybet, she starts a search to find him, but by doing so Cadi slowly, but surely unravels dark and terrible secrets.

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Plot Keywords:

sin eater | 1850s | funeral | dark secret | abusive father | 

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Taglines:

A little girl's quest for redemption uncovers a dark secret... and the truth shall set her free.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, and some intense sequences of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Geheimnis der kleinen Farm

Filming Locations:

Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$246,483 (USA) (9 February 2007)

Gross:

$379,643 (USA) (16 February 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Believe Pictures, Last Sin Eater, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"The Last Sin Eater"
Composed by Mark McKenzie
Released by WORD Records

User Reviews

Poor editing destroyed a good movie

This movie had very good elements, a grieving family, a community secret, dark undertones, a message of hope.....but it was all destroyed by the editing. While this movie was being filmed, the emotions were palpable on the set; the hair on the back of my neck stood up many times. Unfortunately, the director was so concerned about not showing any violence on screen, that all the passion was edited out.

Mr. Landon edited the most emotional scenes like it was an MTV video. He did not allow many of the camera shots to stay with one character for more than 2 seconds. This created very choppy scenes and disconnected his audience from the story. Mr. Landon did allow the scenic shots to pan, and zoom in (they were beautiful shots due to the DP), but we could have done with shorter scenic shots and longer camera time during the emotional scenes.

The three most disappointing scenes were Brogan Kai choking Caddie, the Sin Eater taking Caddie's sins away, and the Indian Massacre scenes. When these were being filmed, many of the crew had tears in their eyes. You could have heard a pin drop, no one was breathing. These were intense, emotional scenes, and Mr. Landon edited them down to very bad, home movie play-acting.

It is ashame, because Mr. Landon directed this film very nicely, and the original camera shots stayed on the actors for a much longer time. Mr. Landon should not have been allowed in the editing room.