The Saratov Approach

2013

Action / Drama / Thriller

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 67% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 87% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 2232 2.2K

based on a true story russia ransom kidnapping missionary based on true story

Director

Garrett Batty Photo
Garrett Batty

Top cast

Corbin Allred Photo
Corbin Allred as Elder Tuttle
Bart Johnson Photo
Bart Johnson as Senator Smith
William Rubio Photo
William Rubio as News Anchor
Rocky Myers Photo
Rocky Myers as Agent Miller
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
759.02 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds ...
1.45 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jedi-bob-582-180583 6 / 10

Almost as good as Saints and Soldiers

I like the direction that LDS cinema is starting to take. I heard about this movie from my uncle, who had just finished his mission in Russia when this story was happening, so he had some close personal connection to it. And the film turned out about like I expected it to, which is not a bad thing.The first thing audiences will notice is the excessive use of hand-held camera, Bourne-style but in the wrong genre of film. Hand-held was a good choice generally, but every single shot was bobbing and moving around, often so much that it pulled me out of the story and reminded me that there's a camera in the room, a camera that won't sit still.The next thing I noticed was that the camera assistants were not that good--focus was noticeably soft on a bunch of the shots, and many of the rack focuses were either too fast or too slow. I have worked on plenty of student productions that did much better than that.The screenplay was pretty decent, actually. I am a screenwriter, so this is the area I pick on most closely, and they did all right. I felt like they relied too much on tears and violins to create emotional tension, but that happens in every single LDS film so I won't complain about that. I would have done some things differently, like not shown the ex-missionary who calls the parents, or given the parents something to do other than mill around the house looking concerned and/or crying. But the story moves forward in a way that builds tension and sets the stakes high, but allows room for some powerful moments.On the whole, I would set this movie on the shelf right next to Saints and Soldiers. LDS cinema in general hasn't gotten to the point where it can really compete with Hollywood, but as far as LDS cinema goes The Saratov Approach is a pretty solid addition.
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Reviewed by caf-19 7 / 10

It's a clean, compelling, competent movie. Watch it!

So my husband picked out the movie this night. He mostly likes movies that "Are real". This movie is based on a true situation that did occur with some Mormon Missionaries. So guess what? It's going to be about 1) Mormons 2) Religious faith 3) Religious faith during times of intense trouble. Most people cannot deal with this subject matter in a mature or objective way anymore, preferring instead to be titillated by the glut of porn, violence, horror, and Computer Animated silliness.

I found this film a refreshing break from the endless morass of film mediocrity. An interesting story told without gratuitous sex, endless F-Bombs, or piles of oozing intestines falling out on the floor - imagine that?

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