MovieChat Forums > Passage to Zarahemla (2007) Discussion > Sakura means Cherry Blossom, Sakerra mea...

Sakura means Cherry Blossom, Sakerra means…?


I couldn't figure out if he was making a joke about the way Utahns talk. Sakerra? Honestly? I think it's an actual name (in Utah), but Sakura is the name that means cherry blossom. The 'erra' thing doesn't happen in Japanese unless is ‘ira’. I don't know, maybe it is a special way of spelling/pronouncing it, that I've never heard of. If that's the case that I submit that it is really not nearly as awesome as Sakura.

Seriously though, this movie was not terrible. I wish someone besides Chris Heimerdinger could have done the screenplay though. And honestly, an author playing a character with his name in his movie? Really? Are we letting that go? I read Tennis Shoes among the Nephites, and I even met Mr. Heimerdinger once and I've got to say… I'm not a fan.

I found him to be a pretty boring speaker. He talked for two hours when I met him and I don't remember a word. Also, didn't really enjoy the books. I've always found his dialogue to be rushed and unrealistically urgent most of the time and then randomly really cute and marvelous for like up to three lines. Along with that inconsistency there's the problem with him getting caught up with plot bunnies that should have been eaten by larger, more interesting plot bunnies.

A good example for this story would have been the stupid gang members verses the actually interesting gadianton robbers from the past. Ummm. Duh. One of those lines needed to die, so we could spend more time developing ONE plot-line. Obviously the gang members were the story line that needed to be sacrifice to the gods of better story-telling. It was just, straight up, not interesting enough—also, it's been done. I get that he was trying to make a point about the 'modern day secret combinations' but there is a better way to do that. There has to be.

Alright, now I have to say something nice. I love that Heimerdinger puts a huge emphasis on nature being an important connection to spirituality. I think that's something a lot of LDS people shy away from, because it's a bit like liberal hippie nonsense, but it's totally charming and just another way that we are different from other Christian religions. The Native American connection is a wonderful, under-appreciated aspect of the LDS religion and should be explored further by other LDS writers.

Oh, characters were good. Would have been better if there were less of them… economy of characters is important, especially in a movie that's main pathos is supposed to hinge on relationships. The two main characters were actually likable, would have liked to see more of them together and less of other less interesting people. The whole drama with the younger brother being in a gang (Bloods? Were they in Long Beach? I don’t think it came up.) was only mildly intriguing, and he got to be downright annoying once he went all emo. It would have served the story better to make the brother more sympathetic and less of a dweeb.

Also, the whole thing with them stealing the car… I’m not personally acquainted with a lot of the laws in this area, but I’m pretty sure that the possibility of the siblings being separated after their mother’s death was not good. They really don’t like to do that, and also, why didn’t Kerra just tell them about her aunt and uncle in Utah? They probably would have been sent there legally, and if that didn’t work out, then they could freak out and steal cars and run off on their own. It just wasn’t practical, but I don’t know, maybe I’m giving the characters too much credit—maybe they’re really irrational and don’t think things through. But it didn’t seem like it, Kerra seemed like a decently intelligent person to me, aside from withholding information about the aunt, which was counterproductive. Or, maybe I missed something. Maybe she didn’t even think of them until they were on the road, that would solve it. Sort of.

There were lots of other little things. Summer Naomi is very charming, but a bit old-looking for the part. I forgive it because she’s adorable. There were a couple of shots where opportunities could have been taken to make everything look a touch prettier, and it didn’t happen, which caused momentary disappointment for viewers with a more artistic eye (like my mom who would sigh every few minutes and express what she would have placed differently). Why didn’t we see more of the violin tree? How amazing and random was that, I ask you? I wish I’d thought of a violin tree. Yeah, lots of little things…

Back to the movie not being terrible! The costumes and a lot of the cinematography was shockingly good all things considered. The music was… not as painful as some LDS-movie soundtracks and I’m pleased to report that I found myself saying once or twice “Wow, that person can act. Cool.”


Noli me tangere quia caesaris sum.

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