New Hope (2012)
29KNew Hope: Directed by Rodney Ray. With Samuel Davis, Perry Frost, Ben Davies, Will Schwab. High school senior Michael (the son of a preacher and a Christian) is the new guy in a small town still reeling from a high school basketball star’s unforeseen suicide of a year ago.
“A new preacher has come from Colorado to the Louisiana town of New Hope and theyu0026#39;ve got the usual problems of settling in the new place that we all have. Especially Samuel Davis who is a high school senior and not wanting to start all over again in a new place. Some families would have boarded their son with another family until the senior term was up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut not this family because as it turns out heu0026#39;s got a destiny, that is to save New Hopeu0026#39;s star athlete Ben Davies from an overpowering grief and lead the team to a state championship. Davies has never gotten over the suicide of his younger brother, feels he should have spotted something. That doesnu0026#39;t work in a lot of instances even when it is not a subject for a Christian film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt also doesnu0026#39;t help that Davis is now taking up with Perry Frost who was the deceased brotheru0026#39;s girlfriend. Most of the film Davies is having a chip on his shoulder.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have to confess when I saw the title I thought this might be a gay film. Possibly the producers didnu0026#39;t know that New Hope, Pennsylvania is a popular gay tourist spot. Or maybe they thought theyu0026#39;d get a gay customer or two to watch the film and be saved.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOf course the fact that the kid brother who suicided might have been gay and not found a lot of support in this Bible belt town. Something I have never seen addressed in any Christian film, but itu0026#39;s the number one cause for suicide among teens.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd you sure wonu0026#39;t see that issue brought up in New Hope.”
