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Cast: Heather Wallis (del Rio) - Virus, Slacker 2011, Pictures of Superheroes
Dane Seth Hurlburt - Corruption.gov, Wasting Away, Jesse Thunderwake: American Icon
Andrew Sensenig - I Love You Phillip Morris, W., Mad Money
Esther, a young woman praised for her virtue and devotion, has been given the opportunity of a lifetime. When her fundamentalist Christian sect falls on hard times, Esther finds employment at a local health food store to supplement the group’s income. At the store, Esther gets a chance to share her faith with her new manager, Gabriel, a devout skeptic and preacher’s kid.
The friendship with Gabriel helps Esther determine her human worth while helping to reframe her faith in a whole new light. Paradise Recovered attempts a modern-day retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan while addressing hard questions involving faith, tolerance and spiritual abuse in modern culture.
"Paradise Recovered" evolves around a young lady living in a very cult-like Christian sect where she is told what is right and what is wrong, how to behave and they even have an arranged marriage set up for her. When the young man who is chosen to marry Esther is caught in bed with her she is tossed out of the sect. Her co-worker Gabriel is a preacher's kid who has his own opinions and thoughts on faith and he questions Esther and the way she has been taught. Gabriel and his roommate Mark try and loosen Esther up and show her a good time while opening her eyes, heart and mind to all things religious.
The film has a number of twists to it as it moves along so I am not going to go any deeper on plot details here. "Paradise Recovered" is a faith based drama that never gets over preachy but it still gets it's message across, it's an intelligent film that shows the fine line between having faith and crossing the line into cult territory.
The cast give amazing performances that are natural and effective. Heather Wallis is cute and wonderful as Esther, Dane Seth Hurlburt is terrific as Gabriel and Oliver Luke play's Mark his roommate, Oliver is fantastic as the third wheel and provides a good bit of the film's humor.
The film was featured at a number of festivals across the country and was well received which is no surprise. A funny, sober, intelligent film with great direction and wonderful performances. "Paradise Recovered" is a film that will quickly gain a following on DVD, those that enjoy these faith based stories are sure to love it but I also recommend it to anyone that likes a good drama mixed with a bit of comedy and romance.
A real gem of a film that is highly entertaining while still tackling a tough subject matter.
You can Pre-order the DVD HERE.
Released by Monarch Home Entertainment
**** Out Of *****