Rowe McDonald has been given a second chance. With a successful LDS mission behind him, McDonald has his future planned out, until he's killed in a car accident. McDonald is then given 60 more days on Earth.

The award-winning film "Return with Honor: A Missionary Homecoming" tells how McDonald spends those last days. The film opens Friday.

Unlike other LDS films that have sometimes failed to reach a wider audience, "Return with Honor: A Missionary Homecoming" is called "a well-balanced look at faith" by movie reviewer Adam Mast, on the movie's Web site.

The movie recently won a Best Picture award at the largest film festival in the world, the New York Film and Video Festival.

Javen Tanner, the lead character, said one reason for the film's diverse appeal is the that the film is "not a religious tract ... nobody feels like they're being preached to."

"In art, when you stop preaching religion or politics, more people listen," he said.

In addition to the film winning Best Picture, Tanner was awarded Best Actor for his role as a returned missionary who suffers a fatal car crash and is then given a second chance at life.

With its widespread appeal, the movie still possesses a specific attractiveness to Utahns because of its local setting and BYU alumni cast.

Pleasant Grove, Hobble Creek and Provo, along with several other Utah towns, served as the backdrop for the film. In addition to acting, Southern Utah native Tracy Garner served as producer and writer for the film. The cast also includes Provo local Tayva Patch and BYU graduate Tanner.

While they were numerous, Utah actors and actresses were not a priority in filming, Garner said in a news release.

"It just turned out ... [this] way," Garner said. "A funny thing about our crew though, we had 33 people total that were BYU graduates."

Tanner is a visiting acting teacher at BYU this Fall Semester; however, he said while he is not sure how BYU prepared him for this specific role, he is confident that BYU has one of the best acting BFA programs in the country.

"There really is something wonderful about having a teacher ... who knows what you are going through as a young Mormon artist," Tanner said.

After receiving his MFA in acting from the renowned theater The Old Globe and acting professionally in New York, Tanner's acting theory is still centered upon LDS principles.

"Artists have to know how to let go of their technical expertise and ... let something larger take over," Tanner said. "For me, that something is God, or, more specifically, the Light of Christ. Without that something else, it's just a craft."

"Return with Honor: A Missionary Homecoming" will be released this Friday.

For more information visit www.returnwithhonormovie.com.

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Sep 2007