The Cross(The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story) (2009)
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18% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
97% of users liked it
(140 ratings)
A former Sunset Strip street preacher and "Jesus coffee house" proprietor recalls his spiritual journey carrying an enormous cross around the globe. The time was the late '60s, the streets of Hollywood were filled with radicals, and Arthur Blessitt was determined to wake them up. In order to… More A former Sunset Strip street preacher and "Jesus coffee house" proprietor recalls his spiritual journey carrying an enormous cross around the globe. The time was the late '60s, the streets of Hollywood were filled with radicals, and Arthur Blessitt was determined to wake them up. In order to accomplish this, he opened a Christian coffee house and placed a rather large cross on the wall. Over the course of the next few months, Blessitt regularly carried the cross with him when he would head out to preach on the streets, never once realizing this was only the beginning of the 40-year journey that would come to define his life. Then, on Christmas Day, 1969, it happened: Jesus called on Blessitt to begin walking across America with the cross in tow. Four decades later, Blessitt had wandered 315 nations, including war-ravaged Northern Ireland and even North Korea. During that time he was arrested 24 times, and even taken before a firing squad for execution. In 2008, having walked an incredible 38,102 miles, Blessitt finally completed his mission. The Cross isn't about one man's journey to convert the world to Christianity, but the way that Blessitt was able to endure sometimes impossible conditions to deliver hope to the destitute, and inspire others to discover God's destiny for their own lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Rating, Runtime
- PG, 1 hr. 33 min.
- Directed By
- Matthew Crouch
- Genres
- Documentary, Faith & Spirituality, Special Interest
- In Theaters
- Mar 27, 2009 Wide
- Studio
- Gener8Xion Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Justin Chang, Variety
This wannabe-inspirational docu shares its hero's devotion to preaching the gospel. But the film's emotional manipulations come at the expense of a more complex, illuminating look at the man himself.
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Nathan Lee, New York Times
The gee-whiz rhetoric and breathless amateurism of The Cross is not likely to inspire.
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Kyle Smith, New York Post
The documentary The Cross is not going to displace The Ten Commandments as the official movie of the Easter season.
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Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
What inspired his faith in the first place? Does he have family? How did his constant wandering affect them?
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Jennifer Merin, About.com
It would be nice to be able to call The Cross a mockumentary. But the director's Christian Broadcasting background makes it extremely unlikely that his intention was provide viewers with a good laugh at the expense of the Blessitt Arthur.
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