“Song of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” is the true, moving and inspiring tale of how a Black church community in the colorfully named East Texas town of Possum Trot put their faith into action and helped the most vulnerable members of their community. Some 22 families, none of them with means, undertook the Herculean task in the mid-1990s of adopting 77 neglected and abandoned children from the Texas foster care system.
Led by Rev. W.C. Martin (a superb Demetrius Grosse) and “first lady” Donna Martin (Nika King, equally terrific) who adopted several kids in need, the residents united to help one other through the often overwhelming struggle of parenting badly broken teenagers and younger kids from the overburdened foster care system and giving them homes, support and love. Anchored and aided by the Martins and the unassuming clapboard church where the community worshipped, the adoptive families believed that their faith demanded they walk the talk.
Directed by Joshua Weigel who cowrote the script with Rebekah Weigel, “Song of Hope” recreates Rev. Martin’s impassioned, spiritual-filled services, putting the viewer inside the beating heart of a community that understands hurt, rejection and the loss of hope and tries to turn pain into something positive. One of the best scenes in the film features director Weigel as Pastor Mark, head of a well-off, neighboring white congregation more concerned with fundraising for a spacious new building than with getting its hands dirty by helping Rev. Martin when he comes seeking it. The film is a portrait of faith as action not as dogma or judgement.
“Song of Hope” should not be confused with another Angel Studios Christian-themed release, “Sound of Freedom.” Possum Trot would have been the better title, since the community itself is a character and symbolic of the movie’s mission. Stay for the closing credits that feature the real life counterparts including a message from the Martins who are every bit as down to earth and dynamic as King and Grosse convey in their finely etched performances.
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