Wesley (film)

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Wesley
WESLEY-MOVIE-POSTER-640.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed byJohn Jackman
Written byJohn Jackman
Carolyn Haywood
Produced byLovinder Gill
Geoff Thompson
Starring Burgess Jenkins
June Lockhart
Kevin McCarthy
R. Keith Harris
Cinematography Arledge Armenaki
Music by Bruce Kiesling
Distributed byVision Video
Release dates
  • November 14, 2009 (2009-11-14)(premiere)
  • July 15, 2010 (2010-07-15)(DVD US)
Running time
117 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Wesley, also titled Wesley: A Heart Transformed Can Change The World, is a 2009 biopic about John Wesley and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist movement. The movie is based largely on the Wesley brothers' own journals, including John's private journal which was kept in a shorthand-like code that was not translated until the 1980s by Richard Heitzenrater at Duke Divinity School.

Contents

The film covers the critical period of John Wesley's life as he struggles with his own doubts and insecurities, leading up to his life-changing Aldersgate experience and the early development of the Methodist movement.

Wesley was filmed in a number of authentic 18th century locations in and around Winston-Salem, North Carolina, including St. Paul's Episcopal Church. [1]

Unusual for a lower-budget independent film, it features an original orchestral score recorded by a full orchestra. [2] The score, composed by Bruce Kiesling, uses snippets of Wesley hymns and portions composed to echo authentic 18th-century style. Kiesling, who has composed scores for a number of other films, is currently conductor of the Tulare County Orchestra in California. [3]

Funded in part by the Christian History Institute and Comenius Foundation, the movie was directed by John Jackman.

Cast

Reception

Jeff Paton from The Arminian magazine called it "Impressive for a religious film;" but criticized the poor effects and overplayed ideas of "a Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which was not a large part of Wesley's emphasis or ministry". [4]

Festivals and awards

Wesley has been featured in numerous international film festivals, including:

The film won several awards, including:

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Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Methodist Church</span> Christian denomination

The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology.

Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is an Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism originating out of the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Wesley</span> English Methodist and hymn writer (1707–1788)

Charles Wesley was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".

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References

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  2. Decwikiel-Kane, Dawn (June 9, 2009). "Symphony conductor is making movie music". news-record.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  3. Decwikiel-Kane, Dawn (June 11, 2009). "Symphony conductor leaving for California". gotriad-news-record.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
  4. Paton, Jeff (Fall 2010). "Wesley: A Heart Transformed Can Change the World" (PDF). The Arminian . 28 (2). Fundamental Wesleyan Society: 16. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
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