Liahona, Liahona

Salt Lake City, Utah, the capital of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, better known as the Mormon Church. Here starts a trip through a devout, mystic America, proud of its pioneer origins. At once an exploration of the Mormons’ theology and lifestyles, a trip in the footsteps of their prophets, and a disturbing reflection on the United States and their relationship to History, Liahona succeeds in drawing a complex portrait of a mysterious and little known community. Talena Sanders material is precious, extracted from the abundant production of Mormon proselytism, and her view on the subject is unique. Indeed, she grew up in this Mormon America, and she builds her own film by relying on various perspectives: first she favours the “inner” words and images of Mormonism, and then she contrasts them with an outer reality of whom she progressively becomes the voice. The thread she unravels throughout the film gets tangled and richer with these multiple voices —preachments, hymns, personal accounts, and their cold and accounting counterweights— without ever breaking. Liahona finds in this its strength, beauty and wholeness, which are similar to the landscapes of wide open plains shown throughout the film, their deserts scattered with cathedral-like rocky areas whose timeless beauty reminds us that those who live there also inherit, whether they want it or not, this collective history. (CG) span style=”color: transparent;”>Talena SANDERS