HILLSONG: LET HOPE RISE REVIEWED
“Hillsong: Let Hope Rise” took awhile to get a release. Apparently there was some distributor trouble that caused the film to sit for a bit. But, why the big deal over this group? After all, do you know anything about Hillsong United? They’re only the biggest makers of praise music around. Oh, you don’t know what praise music is? Well, let’s break down…Hillary.
Hillsong United sounds like a mix between Sigur Ros and Coldplay. I know that comparison gets used a lot, but it is very apt. This is a new kind of Christian music coming out of Australia. Having formed around 1998, they’ve been slowly building a huge crossover audience. It’s just that these are the guys that normally don’t get mainstream airplay.
The documentary builds to the group performing a sold out show at The Forum. While the guys who shot that Jay Z documentary nail the major shots, something feels amiss. Does the nature of Christian music not sync up to this kind of documentary? The band fits and the nature of the show design works. I want to overcome my biases, but the movie does everything right and leaves me cold. Check it out for yourself and try to convince me otherwise.
FILM STATS
- 1 hr and 43 mins
- R
- Pure Flix Entertainment
