October 2 - Amish Grace

Today’s movie is a drama with a scene that happens on October 2. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

AMISH GRACE                      

Amish mother Ida Graber is considering sending her 14 year old daughter Mary Beth to live with her shunned sister and go to high school as Ida thinks Mary Beth is too smart to end school at eighth grade. The next day, October 2, 1996 Mary Beth starts working at a one room Amish school as a teacher’s aide. Charlie Roberts, who many Amish know as the driver of the truck that collects milk from their farms, enters the school, releases the boys then murders ten girls. [14:39 to 34:02]  Their families are devastated, but some Amish, including Mary Beth’s father go to see Amy Roberts, Charlie’s wife to tell her they forgive her. Ida can’t understand this, and neither does Jill Green, a TV reporter covering the story. Ida walks out of a grief counseling session. The next day when Ida is going with her friend Rachel to see her wounded daughter in the hospital, Amy Roberts appears and offers to take them. They get in the car, but soon Ida gets out. Ida asks Jill Green to drive her and her other daughter to Philadelphia to visit her sisters. In a grief counseling session the Amish have a emotional meeting with Amy Roberts where they say they are forgiving, not to excuse what Charlie did, but to find peace for themselves. Rachel’s daughter comes out of a coma and tells the Grabers that Mary Beth asked to be shot first and said she would pray for Charlie.  This story enables Ida to forgive Charlie. The Amish attend Charlie’s funeral. A new school is built.   

A touching story. It’s a bittersweet one though. Discusses forgiveness and hate and love.

Think No Evil by Jonas Beiler (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2009) p. 44

Producer - Larry A. Thompson

Director - Gregg Champion

Screenplay  - Sylvie White and Teena Booth

Runtime - 88 minutes

Released - March 28, 2010

Starring -

Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Ida Graber

Tammy Blanchard as Amy Roberts

Matt Letscher as Gideon Graber

Fay Masterson as Jill Green

Madison Mason as Levi Brennaman

Darcy Rose Byrnes as Rebecca Knepp

Karley Scott Collins as Katie Graber

Amy Sloan as Rachel Knepp

John Churchill as Charlie Roberts

Madison Davenport as Mary Beth Graber

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.