NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When for King and Country star Joel Smallbone approached filmmaker Andy Erwin with the idea of directing a film about his family’s story — and starring as his own father in it — Erwin thought he was “nuts.”
“I said, ‘You’re nuts. Absolutely crazy,’” Erwin, who is behind a slew of faith-based hits including “Jesus Revolution” and “I Can Only Imagine,” told The Christian Post
“But I said, ‘You’re crazy enough where I believe in you. Let’s do this thing.’ It wasn’t too long before we realized this is a really special movie. This is one of those underdog stories that highlights the power of family and faith. What this family went through is unbelievable. This immigrant family lost everything and still succeeded.”
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“Unsung Hero” tells the true story of the Smallbone family, known in the music industry as brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone of the Grammy Award-winning Christian band for King and Country, and their sister Rebecca, better known as singer-songwriter Rebecca St. James.
The film follows patriarch David Smallbone (Joel Smallbone), who, after his music company collapses in their home country of Australia, moves his wife and six children — with one on the way — to Nashville, Tennessee, in the hopes of a brighter future. However, the family faces a series of unforeseen challenges and is forced to rely on one another, their local community and their faith to sustain them as they survive in a foreign country.
In addition to Smallbone, the cast of “Unsung Hero” includes Candace Cameron Bure, Daisy Betts, Kirrilee Berger and Lucas Black. Lady A’s Hillary Scott appears as Luanne Meece, the song leader at their local church, while “Nashville” star Jonathan Jackson plays Eddie DeGarmo from the CCM duo DeGarmo & Key.
Speaking to CP at the red carpet premiere of the film, Erwin, whose company, Kingdom Story Company, produced “Unsung Hero” alongside Candy Rock Entertainment, said that already, audiences are relating to the Smallbones’ story and the honest way it’s brought to the big screen.
“I don’t know what it is that makes this one stand out, but there is something magical that happens when audiences watch it. They just stand and cheer. I haven’t seen that in my career. I don’t know what separates this one, but it has the secret sauce,” he said.
“We gravitate toward true stories. Especially as Christians, our goal is not to preach to the choir; our goal is to preach to as many people outside the Church as possible. We have to have something they can relate to. You can preach at them all day long, and that’ll turn them off. But if you can share your real-life struggles and say, ‘This is what I went through,’ through a Christian worldview, that will resonate. Sometimes, in the Christian community, we are uncomfortable with tension, but when we can embrace it and point to Jesus, that’s when people see it and say, ‘I want that.’”
Throughout the film, matriarch Helen Smallbone is depicted as the backbone of her family. It’s her unrelenting faith, commitment to her husband and reliance on prayer amid difficulties that sustains her family as they face an uncertain future. According to Richard L. Ramsey, who directed the film alongside Smallbone, the title of the film is a nod to Helen Smallbone’s resilience.
“People will identify with a lot of the characters in this story,” Ramsey said. “When the Smallbones finally do succeed, the rush of hope it provides is so invigorating. They relied on God, they prayed for the miracles in their life. Helen Smallbone is really the ‘unsung hero’ of this story, and people are really resonating with that.”
Music also plays a significant role throughout the film, with nods to early CCM stars like Stryper and Michael W. Smith. Rebecca St. James’ attempts to break into the Christian music industry are dramatized, along with the numerous rejections she initially received.
Reflecting on her early years in CCM, St. James, who eventually became one of the industry’s most visible faces in the 1990s, told CP that as a teen, she “wasn’t super tuned into the rejection part of it.”
“I had dedicated my talents, my gifts to God and just wanted Him to use my life,” she said. “I would say, ‘Just lead me,’ and I think I trusted Him to lead me the right way, whether that was music or something else. So, my dad carried the weight of that rejection a lot more than I did. As I got older, I carried it more. It’s a hard industry, and I was alone — my brothers have each other. But God got me through and it really deepened my relationship with Him.”
The film also features a reimagined version of “Place in This World,” a 1991 song by Michael W. Smith, performed by for King and Country along with Smith.
Smith, who attended the “Unsung Hero” premiere with his wife, Deborah, said he was “honored” when approached by the Smallbone brothers to re-record the song, which hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it came out several decades ago.
“I think the song is so relevant. It was relevant back when I wrote it, but we just have a whole new generation going through an identity crisis, trying to find purpose and meaning in life. I think it’s the perfect song for 2024,” Smith told CP, adding he is “excited” for the song to be a part of “Unsung Hero.”
“It’s great to see a film like this, where there were a lot of trials, but the family comes out on the other side of it, they persevered. It’ll give a lot of hope to people who are going through stuff, and I think a lot of people will gravitate toward this film because of that.”
For St. James, watching her family’s story on the big screen is “emotional” — and it’s one she prays will encourage viewers struggling to see God’s hand in their own lives.
“These are stories we’ve been telling for years,” she told CP. “It’s a very redemptive story, but it’s honest about a very discouraging time in our life. I think it’s needed right now because so many people are discouraged in their faith, in their marriages, in their lives. Our story really has a message of hope. We trusted God together, and we had each other. It’s a really needed message.”
Watch the trailer for “Unsung Hero” below.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
