Last Days is a beautiful and well-intentioned film, but stumbles badly

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Reel Rating: 3 out of 5 reels

Last Days tells the true story of John Allen Chau, an American missionary who was killed by the Sentinelese after he illegally landed on the island of the infamously uncontacted tribe. The media narrative about the story in 2018 was decisively negative, portraying him as either a simple-minded fool or a genocidal colonizer. He was even cruelly given a Darwin Award for removing himself from the gene pool.

Yet this oversimplifies the compelling story of a twentysomething who feared God and nothing else. Director Justin Lin (famous for his Fast and Furious films) wanted to make a film that didn’t “take sides” but treated its subject with respect. For the most part, he succeeds in creating a desperate but beautiful film that, unfortunately, trips at the finish line.

John (Sky Yang) was born to an affluent Vancouver family, and his father pushed him to become a doctor like himself. However, John developed a fierce devotion to Jesus and high adventure from an early age. When his father was arrested for writing illegal prescriptions, he abandoned any thought of an easy domestic life. He attended Oral Roberts University and joined the Protestant All Nations missionary organization, doing trips to Mexico, South Africa, and Iraq.

He finally set sights on the ultimate outpost, North Sentinel Island, the home of a rare tribe untouched by the modern world. Despite many obstacles, including a terrible first attempt, he remained determined to bring the gospel to these poor souls.

Throughout his journey, John is actively looking for signs from the Holy Spirit to guide his way. His father’s legal troubles convince him that a life of material goods is not worth living. A chance meeting with another missionary, an attractive female one at that, drives him to push further than other missionaries. It’s hard to fault his passion, but his discernment also seems to be in an echo chamber. He reads the Bible and prays, but he never consults a pastor, never weighs other options, or takes any significant time to contemplate his course of action.

This is unfortunately a familiar problem, especially with Protestants, but with Catholics as well. Discernment comes from the Holy Spirit while in union with the Church. It is also necessary to be humble and admit that apparent promptings from the Holy Spirit may in fact be our own desires. Even if virtuous, if they are our own, they can lead us astray.

This can be seen well in a chance encounter John has with a beautiful blonde tourist. He helps her group by becoming a chauffeur, and they invite him to hang out, drink, and party. They almost have sex before John reveals his reason for being in India. Like a good college-aged American, she accuses him of “genocide,” but he rightly points out her willingness to exploit the Indians in far worse ways. Confused, he spends the night praying.

The next morning, he confronts her at the airport. “I thought it was God’s will to evangelize the Sentinelese, but it was really you all along,” he joyfully exclaims. She shakes her head and walks off, leaving him with an intense sense of cognitive dissonance.

Even if one agrees with Chau’s intentions, it would be easy to charge him with being imprudent in his efforts. But that isn’t exactly true. He got inoculated against several ailments and spent time in quarantine to prevent the spread of pathogens to the natives. He researched previous attempts at contact and brought coconuts on his first voyage as gifts, just like a National Geographic team in the 70s. But he also did not know the language, bring any means of contacting the mainland, or indeed bring anyone besides himself and his own conviction. There’s a reason Jesus sent his disciples “two-by-two”, and with a sword as well!

During production, director Justin Lin said he wanted a “balanced” approach that did not demonize or adore Chau. The man was charismatic but not someone most would want to emulate. The key to understanding Lin’s vision lies in a subplot involving Meera (Radhika Apte), a police officer who tries to locate him throughout the film. In the penultimate scene, she calls him “lost,” relating his story to her own personal challenges. It is also heavily implied that Chau’s strained relationship with his father is at the heart of his drive to bring Christ to the natives.

For Lin and the secular world, Chau is not stupid but misguided. To them, the “cross is foolishness.” But while Chau had faults, he was not foolish. He understood the risk of being judged by the world but counted it as nothing compared to the gospel. It is easy to view his death as not somehow efficacious, but only God knows what seeds were planted. His story has certainly brought knowledge of the Sentinelese to a wider consciousness, not to mention what might have stirred in the hearts of the people themselves.

The most frustrating aspect of this whole experience is that one young adult had the courage to do what the Catholic Church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the infrastructure of billions, has failed to do. There should be Jesuits on this island right now; we have done far, far more with much, much less. This does not have to be done the way Chau did it, either. The Church, which has been present in India since the time of St. Thomas, could work with the government and gradually bring both the gospel and modern advances to these people.

Even if that comes with disease or other unexpected consequences, it will put them in a much better state than they are now, deprived of Jesus and His sacraments. Eventually, the Lord will come to them, and I hope to live to see a memorial to Chau’s efforts on the island.