'Spear' intriguing look at violence

END OF THE SPEAR -- *** -- Chad Allen, Louie Leonardo; rated PG- 13 (violence).

In 1956 Ecuador, five Christian missionaries from America landed their single-engine plane on a sandbar in the middle of the Amazon jungle and made contact with a group of natives who had, up to that point, had little contact with the outside, Western world.

The 40-year reverberations of that meeting are the focus of "End of the Spear," a based-on-true-events movie that is as intriguing and compelling for what it leaves out of the story as for what it tells.

The missionaries wanted to find the Waodani because of the tribes' notorious reputation for violence. By the mid-1950s, the movie's narrators tells us, blood feuds had nearly wiped out the tribe, and the Ecuadorian government was considering moving soldiers into the jungle to stop the bloodshed.

What makes "End of the Spear" so interesting is the way writer- director Jim Hanon frames the story. He spends more time with the Waodani than the missionaries, which is probably a good thing because, in many ways, their behavior is more confounding than that of the natives.

The five men were reckless -- especially when you consider that each apparently had young families to care for. Hanon doesn't even seem interested in asking a natural question: Was the men's zeal to spread the gospel responsible?

The missionaries hoped that spreading Christianity would stop the carnage and decided -- against advice -- to seek out the Waodani alone and without protection. It was a strategy that the son of the leader of the missionaries, Nate Saint (Chad Allen), found lacking.

"We can't shoot the Waodani," Saint tells his son. "They are not ready for heaven. We are."

Not surprisingly, the meeting didn't go well for the missionaries. All five men were speared and hacked to death.

Fearing reprisals for the killings, the Waodani burned their villages and fled deeper into the jungle.

Later, in a scene that provides more evidence of the missionaries' hubris and irresponsible behavior, one of the dead men's sisters and her fellow female missionaries -- with their young children in tow -- make contact with the Waodani, again without protection.

Um, where are the folks from Child Protective Services when you need them?

While Hanon doesn't cast a critical eye on the missionaries' actions, he is sure-handed when depicting the Waodani. We see how the vicious cycle of violence -- depicted with brutal frankness -- follows the Waodani like a plague.

But the Waodani -- especially tribe leader Mincayani (Louie Leonardo) -- seem weary of violence. When they give up "the way of the spear," it seems more out of exhaustion, not conversion.

The movie eventually jumps forward some 40 years to depict a meeting between Mincayani and Saint's now-middle-aged son (also played by Allen). The meeting leads to an emotional and surprisingly satisfying conclusion.

Allen, a former teen idol best known for his work on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," does a solid job in his two roles, creating two distinct characters. But it's Leonardo who turns in the film's most compelling work as Mincayani. He creates a character that is both frightened by his changing world and grudgingly aware that the violence can't continue.

Good, too, is the spectacular location shooting in the Amazon. Hanon creates a real sense of the harsh life in the jungle, complete with jaguars, dangerous anacondas and the ever-present threat of disease. Less successful is an overbearing musical score that is about as subtle as, well, a spear to the chest.

Still, "End of the Spear" is a worthwhile movie about the corrosive influence of violence, the power of forgiveness and the hubris of those who sought to spread the gospel. That last lesson, though, might not be one Hanon wanted to impart.

"End of the Spear" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence. Running time: 105 minutes.

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