By Paul W Dennis
Gospel legends Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans have roles in “Beautifully Broken,” a new faith-based film that tells the story of three families in ‘war’ from different parts of the world whose lives cross in an amazing plan God had for them that they could have never imagined.
The movie is based on the story about the convergence between Hartley and William Mwizerwa of Rwanda, a businessman who was targeted during the Rwandan Genocide, which resulted in the killing of more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus in 100 days, and spent years trying to move his family to the U.S.
Hartley’s story was also the subject of a 2014 documentary called “Through the Valley.“
Michael W. Smith says the movie title reminds him of himself.
“Everybody’s got stuff going on in their lives, every believer, every nonbeliever, I mean you just can’t avoid it,” Smith shared with the Christian Post. “We live in a broken world and unfortunately that’s my problem a lot with ‘faith-based films’ that seem to be nicely wrapped up in a bow. You don’t really get the raw things of what goes on in people’s lives and that’s what I love about this movie.”
“I was broken, almost lost my life when I was a teenager. And I’ve been rescued multiple times. And that is a beautiful thing and that is just an incredible relationship with Jesus that’s changed my life forever.” Smith told the Christian Post.
He said that change came after a lot of pain.
“Then I had this nervous breakdown, beyond, honestly. It was just that God came and He laid down beside me on the floor in my kitchen as I wept and convulsed for three hours, from midnight to 3:00 in the morning. I haven’t been the same since I got up off the floor,” he explained.
In Beautifully Broken, Smith plays a pastor on screen. He told Relevant Magazine the role came naturally to him, since he pastored a church for two years, and he has acted as a pastor before in The Second Chance. He admitted that he wants to take his acting career a step further, maybe to play “someone crazy,” but when he saw the script of Beautifully Broken, he couldn’t turn it down.
“I say no to a lot of stuff,” Smith shared. “But when I read this script about how all these three families are intertwined, I just thought, ‘Wow, this is remarkable’ and the fact that it’s true, and the fact that this pastor ended up in my hometown, Nashville, Tennessee, is remarkable.”
Smith said that if people walk into the theater with racism in their hearts, the film may help to soften their hearts and change them.
Gospel artist CeCe Winans performs the film’s title song “Beautifully Broken” together with Grammy Award-winning artist John Berry and Dove Award-winning singer Plumb.
VIDEO| Trailer
