The Other Side of Heaven

The Other Side of Heaven follows John H. Groberg, a young man from Idaho Falls who leaves his family and his sweetheart Jean behind in the 1950s to serve as a Mormon missionary in the kingdom of Tonga. Settling into an unfamiliar island world, he faces a language barrier, physical hardship and local suspicion as he tries to win the trust of the people he has come to serve. Letters exchanged with Jean sustain him across the distance, and over three years in the islands he forms friendships and gains understanding in places he never expected.

Mitch Davis wrote and directed the film, his first feature, and later returned to the same story with The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith in 2019; a decade before that sequel he directed Christmas Eve. Christopher Gorham plays Groberg, with Anne Hathaway as Jean, and Joe Folau, Miriama Smith, Gerald R. Molen and Nathaniel Lees in supporting roles. Molen produced alongside John Garbett.

Made for about 7 million dollars, the film took in roughly 5 million at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.3 from around 5,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 from a much smaller base of 71 votes. A critics' rating of 4.7 from 42 reviews sits below what audiences gave it, placing the film modestly with both groups.