Worlds Apart (2008)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I shall give this movie a rating of 5, to be quite frank I am one of JW, some parts were actually funny and I could relate to the "cheers" part lol, anyway A lot of people are not seeing this from OUR point of view, lets get one thing straight, this girl was not an unbaptised publisher (when your not baptised but still go to meetings), this girl made a PROMISE to Jehovah that she will serve him!(at the beginning you see the girl being baptised) Another extremely important point the elders, I repeat the elders would NEVER "spy" on you or "suddenly" turn up at your door step that is NONSENSE!!! When I was going through a rough time when i was 13 yes the elders did come to see me but only to encourage and they were very caring about the whole situation. Now fast forward, when I stopped going to meeting for a while i didn't get any visits, I was engaging in sex, my mum probably knew but again there's nothing she could do, The elders only come to you if YOU APPROACH THEM!!! I wasn't "expelled" because I was not baptised, I didn't make a promise to Jehovah. AGAIN the elders WOULD NOT "expel" you if they have not spoken to you, what ******!!!! Yeah this is getting me even more upset. I've been in the world yeah I had some fun times but I had rough times, at the end of the day no one FORCES you to get baptised its your own choice, you cant make a promise to the grand creator and then suddenly decide "this isn't for me", see it from our point of view please. YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE LYING TO OUR OWN CHILDREN ABOUT A MAN COMING DOWN THE CHIMNEY AND GIVING THEM PRESENTS, AN EASTER BUNNY, TOOTH FAIRY??LOOOL at least we stick with our beliefs and don't lie to our children. I was never "brainwashed" when I was younger yes i was forced to go to meetings but its what my parents know what is best for me, as Im older now and still living with my parents I go to meeting because its what I want, YES I, AS IN ME want to do, and I believe it 100% I've been to other churches and they are damn well brainwashing, so don't come like JWs are brainwashing people I made my own choices thank u very much and yes it caused my family loads of stress my mother still loves me and talks to me, YOU are only DISFELLOWSHIPPED not "EXPELLED" if you are not sorry for what you did, get your facts right. The fact still remains she was not baptised..... How the elders are portrayed in this movies is ridiculous lol when they visit you they are friendly and not "daunting", im going to stop cuz ill only get more angry, on a last note I am happy worshiping Jehovah God, you can say that my parents were JWs yes but I KNOW its the truth, I have been to other churches and what Jehovahs Witnessess are preaching is the truth, we are loving people, if you want to make a movie about JWs then get it right, and we are ALLOWED TO WATCH TV AND PLAY COMPUTER GAMES THE ELDERS DO NOT TELL US WHAT WE CANT AND CANNOT DO!!!, obviously they put it in that movie to make us seem so boring and strict, I have LOADS of fun being a JW with my friends we drink, dance, listen to CHART music like Rihanna, Beyonce all of that we are free to listen to what we want its just up to our conscience......

A true story of the painful experience suffered by a good girl wanting to do right by her family whilst it dawns on her that the religious sect she was born into places a doomsday belief above simple humanity.She and her family are subjected to sentencing by a cabal of men who are called 'elders' whenever they stray from the path of Jehovah. Wrong doers who smoke, fornicate or receive blood transfusions risk being expelled from the chosen few who believe a happy life will be theirs after Armageddon.The strong irony of adulterous men being forgiven is in stark contrast to the wrath shown towards a teenage girl who loves her family deeply and wants to please them, yet is exposed to the normal temptations of an adolescent.We need more films such as this in a world where increasing religious fanaticism and evangelism are threatening the intelligent evolution of man and women kind.The girl on whom the film is based gives her stamp of approval by making a very brief appearance.The saddest thing of all is the excruciating loneliness suffered by those who are expelled from a tightly enclosed religious sect and treated as though they are dead. What a compassionate bunch of nitwits!

First, to expect this movie to be like every other movie is unfair. It does not exist for the sole reason to entertain you like "Die Hard" or "Shawshank Redemption." To say it was "melodramatic" is ridiculous. Why? Because this is what REAL JW's have to deal with, exactly. This is a recreation of their REAL world. I just watched it with a room full of exJW's, with multiple females in it having gone through nearly identical situations and even disfellowshippings. I know at least 3 others that have gone through the same. So it's really like saying some people's religion and even lives are "melodramatic." Well then, fine, if that's your prerogative having NEVER been a JW. This movie has tremendous value in it clearly showing you the overwhelming no-win complexity in choices that most non-JW (or maybe non-cult) people never have to struggle with. So, don't downgrade this highly accurate movie on that petty concept because of your ignorance. Not everything is about "movie" entertainment value.Second, further along the lines of so-called mistakes in accuracy: * A) There ARE dark depressing Kingdom Halls. Having previously been a JW for 25 years and attending DOZENS of them, I can say that they do indeed exist and I have been in numerous. * B) Elders in a few other countries ARE allowed to wear beards. * C) whether they closed the prayers correctly in completely inconsequential. * D) Students ARE often encouraged to not pursue education. I know many JW's who sacrificed careers and education because of 1975 alone. I personally was directly asked 15 years ago when I would quit college to pioneer. It happens plenty and is in writing in the WTS publications about how good pioneering is and potentially bad education is (because the kids start to think for themselves and never come back!). So don't downgrade this highly valuable movie on a handful of petty concepts because of your ignorance. That's like saying the whole Ferrari is weak because of the lugnuts.Really in addition to a number of other concrete or abstract aspects, this movie was in large part about her TRULY opening her eyes to the cult she was seemingly trapped in and standing up for herself enough, against everyone, to escape. Many of us exJW's have lost it ALL (friends, parents, children, spouse, career, health, retirement, education, etc) and fought through solitude, loneliness, pressure, etc. with integrity and more courage than most people will ever have to muster. She portrays this PERFECTLY and BEAUTIFULLY. So don't downgrade this highly accurate movie just because you haven't TRULY opened your eyes or mustered your own strength to leave in your own JW cult-controlled life, or if you never have been a JW yourself. That's unfair.That being said...Please watch this movie. Everyone.If you were a JW and went through a hard time (disfellowshipped or similar) then this movie may really touch you and help you feel understood.If you need to explain to someone else what it's like to be a JW and all the crazy games everyone plays in the cult, then this movie is almost certainly perfect to do so.If you want to understand that JW's are not just some nutcases that come knock on your door and are actually humans that are caught up in a difficult life of soul-crushing conformity and insanity-provoking mind-control, some of which is not really their fault (like if they were raised as a child in it and got wired that way), then this movie may really help you understand them and cut them some slack. It can be completely overwhelming to be a JW sometimes as perfection is expected/demanded and humans are not perfect. The pressure can be truly unbearable at times when you think your life and even those of numerous others around you may be LITERALLY decided upon based on your actions, doubts, and/or perfect conformity. And you may not have ANYONE around to share that with that will talk to you anymore. Literally look you in the eye and walk by as if you don't even exist.The acting was truly superb by EVERYONE in the movie, as well as any other aspects of a "movie" that you expect, as the awards it earned shows. I am very grateful for the time and effort they put to get it right, instead of just "close enough" while trying to make a $.Please watch this movie and think/feel what a small percentage of the REAL people in our world deal with on a daily basis. Everyone. This is NOT just another "movie," but so much more than that.

Worlds Apart is the first film in years that I have seen in the cinema more than once. Three times to be exact, and I can't wait to get it on DVD. It's hard to explain what it is that makes a film "re-watchable", but the fact that I each time I walked out of the cinema felt differently about Sara's dilemma, is one of the reasons that I felt I had to see it again. The film manages to maintain objectivity in its portrayal of the Jehovah's Witnesses. You are not forced or manipulated into disagreeing or judging them, but free to make up your own mind. Sara and her family's lives are great and carefree before she meets Teis. Some people need something like religion to hold on to in order to get balance in their lives, and the film's portrayal of the family is so charming (yet presumably realistic) that you can't help but envy the relationship between the family members. There is a mutual love and unconditional solidarity and respect that I at least have rarely seen in non-religious homes. I was not raised as and have never been a religious person, and I have never thought that I actually needed to bother with religious questions. But this opened the gates for me. I have rethought my whole religious standpoint. I don't see the fact that I ended up where I started, in any way as a bad thing. I needed to know why, and this film helped me.Sara's dilemma is so identifiable that everyone is ready to discuss it from the second the cinema lights go up. The fact that people take this film with them home and discuss it days after they have seen it shows how universal this religious question is. There is no definite right or wrong and everyone, young and old, rich and poor, (Europeans and Americans) can relate to the issue and have an opinion about it. That is besides, great acting, great musical score and cinematic finish (editing is i.m.o. exceptionally subtle and unique) what makes this film important. Because that is the feeling you have after watching it, that you've just witnessed something important, that you wouldn't have been without. Niels Arden Oplev yet again gave me an experience in the cinema that I won't soon forget, and I'm thrilled that this film will be representing Denmark at the Oscars (now we just need to get it nominated). I can't wait to share it with the rest of the world, and see if it affects you as deeply as it has affected me.