End of the Spear

End of the Spear
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Hanon
Produced by	William Bowling Bill Ewing
Screenplay by	Bill Ewing Bart Gavigan Jim Hanon
Starring	Louie Leonardo Chad Allen Jack Guzman Chase Ellison Christina Souza Sean McGowan Beth Bailey
Music by	Ron Owen
Distributed by	Rocky Mountain Pictures
Release date	December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02) (Los Angeles) January 20, 2006 (2006-01-20) (United States)
Running time	102 minutes
Language	English Emberá Spanish
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$12,128,105

End of the Spear is a 2005 drama film that recounts the story of Operation Auca, in which five American Christian missionaries attempted to evangelize the Huaorani (Waodani) people of the tropical rain forest of Eastern Ecuador. Based on actual events from 1956 in which five male missionaries were speared by a group of the Waodani tribe, the movie tells the story from the perspective of Steve Saint (the son of Nate Saint, one of the missionaries killed in the encounter), and Mincayani, one of the tribesmen who took part in the attack. The two eventually form a bond that continues to this day.

Some secular critics believed the story may be seen as presenting an uncritical view of a situation where native peoples were eventually exploited regardless of "good intentions" such as concerns about SIL International.

There was some concern among various Christian groups that lead actor Chad Allen, who portrays aviator missionary Nate Saint in the movie (and his son Steve Saint as an adult), is openly gay. Some Christian groups that had initially planned to promote the film began to question whether they should. The real Steve Saint, who was heavily involved in the production of the film, has stated in interviews that he himself had reservations, but that God indicated to him that Allen was the proper choice. In the end, he couldn't see a better actor filling the role of his father. His public pronouncements did much to quell the controversy.

Other Christian groups (such as VCY America's Vic Eliason) wished the film had more explicitly portrayed the Gospel message (i.e. salvation through Jesus Christ). However, the Gospel presented in the movie is the same as it was presented to the Waodani; in concepts and symbols that are present in everyday Waodani language (with the name of "God" being replaced with "Waengongi", the name of the Waodani creator god who no longer communicated with the people).