How GOD’S COUNTRY SONG Tackles Difficulties in the Christian Walk
By Movieguide® Contributor
GOD’S COUNTRY SONG speaks to a lesser publicized reality of the Christian walk – pain, suffering, and sorrow – which is important to highlight because it reveals God’s redemptive power.
“We all have heartbreak and issues, and I think we all want to relate to somebody else,” lead actor Justin Gaston told The Christian Post. “I think, especially as Christians, we need to be there with open arms; we’re all messed up and all broken. We are all in need of a Savior. And just that honesty and admitting that, it’s a place where we connect with everyone instead of pretending to have everything together.”
The movie follows Noah (Gaston), a troubled country singer who is trying to find his big break. His plans get derailed when he finds out he has a 5-year-old son, whose mother recently passed away. Reliant on alcohol and lacking a relationship with his own father, Noah must decide if he will give up his country music dream to raise his son or abandon his family to make it big.
The story of addiction hit home for director Johnny Remo who lost his daughter to heroin several years ago. That loss inspired him to use his storytelling talents to inspire others struggling with addiction that recovery is possible.
“We wanted to do something to let people know that you can talk to family, you can talk to people, that your loved ones want to help. You can talk to medical people, that’s what they do,” Remo said.
The movie also stresses the importance of fatherhood and sacrificing for family. Filmmakers hope the movie inspires men to step up and care for the fatherless. Raised by a single mom, Remo understands the difficulty of growing up without a strong fatherly figure in your life.
“I had the greatest mom in the world, but it was very difficult for me because my mom could only teach me so much,” Remo said. “God gives you two parents for a reason, a very good reason. And she did the best that she could on the mom side, but you need that other side.”
Along with Gaston, the movie stars Academy Awards nominee Mariel Hemingway, John Laughlin, Christopher Michael, Justene Alpert, JJ Miller, and country music star Coffey Anderson. GOD’S COUNTRY SONG includes 15 original songs which Anderson and Gaston sing throughout the movie.
GOD’S COUNTRY SONG is now available for streaming on PureFlix.
Movieguide® previously reported on a television series made by PureFlix, A THOUSAND TOMORROWS:
A synopsis of the show reads: “Follows bull rider Cody Gunner and the enormous cost he would be willing to pay for a few seasons, or just a thousand tomorrows, with the person he loves more than anything.”
However, one of the challenges that Ali faces is her battle with Cystic Fibrosis.
“Ally has cystic fibrosis and it’s a really big aspect of the show and it’s something that we deal with pretty much in every episode,” Reid said. “When I took the role it was really important to me to do a lot of research into the illness and learn from the people who experience this in their daily lives.”
“I think Ali handles it so bravely, it is this really difficult disease but she handles it
with such grace and with such strength,” she continued. “It really puts you know a lot of us to shame because she’s handling she’s dealing with this very big thorn in her side and we go through our daily lives and a cold shuts us down. She just has this tolerance above anyone else’s and I really admired her for that.”Through his relationship with Ali, Ford said that his character, Cody, also learns more about himself over the course of the show.
“I think that he learns that he has to undergo some internal changes in his thinking and in his response to what other people have done to him in his life,” Ford said. “I think that his relationship with Ali allows him to open the door for forgiveness to his father which is huge.”
“Cody also realizes that despite how great he thinks riding angry might make him, there might be another way,” he added.
Despite some heavier subject matter, Ford and Reid noted that A THOUSAND TOMORROWS presents the story in a family-friendly and uplifting way.
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