The Other Side of Heaven

"An Epic Journey."

2001 1h 53m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

29%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 71🥫29%Rotten Tomatoes●38Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 5,164

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

John H. Groberg, a middle class kid from Idaho Falls, crosses the Pacific to become a Mormon missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan island kingdom during the 1950's. He leaves behind a loving family and the true love of his life, Jean. Through letters and musings across the miles, John shares his humbling and sometimes hilarious adventures with "the girl back home", and her letters buoy up his spirits in difficult times. John must struggle to overcome language barriers, physical hardship and deep-rooted suspicion to earn the trust and love of the Tongan people he has come to serve. Throughout his adventure-filled three years on the islands, he discovers friends and wisdom in the most unlikely places. John H. Groberg's Tongan odyssey will change his life forever.

“An Epic Journey.”

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Cast

Christopher Gorham
John H. Groberg
Anne Hathaway
Jean Sabin
Joe Folau
Feki
Miriama Smith
Lavania
Gerald R. Molen
President Coombs
Nathaniel Lees
Kelepi
Alvin Fitisemanu
Tomasi
Peter Sa'ena Brown
Kuli

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mitch Davis
Writers: Mitch Davis
Languages: Tonga, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 67% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Tonga, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Other Side of Heaven Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mitch Davis, shot by Brian J. Breheny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kevin Kiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Steven Ramirez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mitch Davis directs. Brian J. Breheny behind the camera. Kevin Kiner scores. Steven Ramirez cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Tonga, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 67% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Tonga, English.
4Part of the "The Other Side of Heaven Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Mitch Davis, shot by Brian J. Breheny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Kevin Kiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Steven Ramirez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Christopher Gorham and Anne Hathaway and Joe Folau carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "An Epic Journey.".
11IMDB entry: tt0250371 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
13Classified under 11 themes, including "missionary", "hurricane", "biography", "based on memoir or autobiography".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian J. Breheny
Original score: Kevin Kiner
Editing: Steven Ramirez
Production design: Rick Kofoed
Costume design: Barbara Darragh
Makeup / hair: Michael Krehl
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $4,720,371
Return: 67% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Other Side of Heaven (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 38/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 5,164 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 win total

Part of

The Other Side of Heaven Collection

The Other Side of Heaven

Also by

Mitch Davis

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2025-05-24
★ 4/10
A Mormon lad ventures to the South Pacific In 1953, a graduate of Brigham Young University (Christopher Gorham) accepts a 3-year mission to reach the people on an island in Tonga. He faces many challenges as he keeps in touch with his beloved back in Twin Falls (Anne Hathaway). “The Other Side of Heaven” (2001) is a coming-of-age adventure augmented by the paradisal locations of the South Pacific. It works to some degree because it’s based on the real-life story. What happens with the boy, for instance, really took place, not to mention the protagonist’s feet injuries. While this was shot before Disney’s “The Princess Diaries” (2001), producers decided to delay its release until after that one’s debut in order to capitalize on the anticipated success of Hathaway. It’s not actually a Disney flick, but was distributed by that company in the wake of Hathaway’s popularity. This brings us to one of the criticisms of the movie: Anne’s role is relegated to the beginning and end, with some letter-oriented narration in between. The heart of the movie is the protagonist’s relationship with about 25 Tongans on the island and the waters nearby. The dealbreaker for me is that the youthful missionary is a Mormon, which is (wisely) kept from the potential viewer investigating the DVD/Blu-ray or reading superficial blurbs online. Basically, you’re duped into thinking it’s a story of an actual Christian missionary. For those not in the know, Mormons basically believe that Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon and LDS teachings supersede Holy Scripture. This is not to say that a person under the label of Mormon CAN’T be a true believer since God goes by belief in the heart and the corresponding fruit. Let me put it this way: Just because you put a label of beans on a can of corn, doesn’t make the corn a can of beans. Forgetting all that, I just felt the proceedings were curiously superficial, although there are some highlights. If you want real-life depth with jungle adventure in the South Pacific, check out “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) or “The Bounty.” Even fictional flicks like “Return to the Blue Lagoon” and “Six Days Seven Nights” are superior choices. This is somehow too light, but it didn’t have to be. Christopher Gorham returned to the role for a 2019 sequel, although another actress replaced Hathaway for the role of Jean. It runs 1 hour, 53 minutes, and was shot in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, which is due east of Tonga; and also Auckland, New Zealand (e.g. the BYU scenes). GRADE: C/C-

Production companies