The word “prophet” derives from the Greek word “prophetes,” meaning one who’s called to be an advocate or to speak for God. In the cinematic, contemporary retelling of prophethood, “Mountain Top” (2017), that relationship is reversed: An advocate, or attorney, is called to be a prophet.

Reluctantly, attorney-turned-pastor Mike Andrews (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) agrees to represents eccentric old gardener Sam Miller (Barry Corbin) in court. This is after a six-year break from practicing law, during which all Mike did was minister to his Appalachian town parish.

Sam’s been accused of embezzling church funds to the tune of $100,000 and has been imprisoned on a felony charge. His habit of prophesying things about Mike and his wife, Peg (Valerie Azlynn), though, convinces Mike to attempt to get Sam released.

Investigative reporter Braxton Hodges (Danny Vinson) tries to help Mike expose the truth about why Sam’s really in prison. For his part, Sam tries to show an excessively cynical Mike the truth about why Mike, too, also winds up in prison alongside Sam.

It turns out that Sam may be helping Mike get out of a spiritual prison of his own making. The prison threatens to rob him of the very faith he’s been aiming to inspire in others.

Mike is fond of hiking and biking up to the mountain top in his town. Subconsciously, that reflects his yearning for a higher perspective, a loftier view of life. Here, the air, metaphorically speaking, is clearer. It also embodies the meaningful relationship between the mountain top and men of God. In that rarified air, prophets are able to better discern God’s will and interpret it for their people.

Know-it-all church ministers dismiss Sam as a “crackpot.” However, because he’s open to Sam’s prophetic interventions, Mike is blessed with a mountain top view, as it were. He not only sees the same things differently, but he sees different things from what he’s accustomed to seeing down in the plains. This hearkens to the biblical teaching that the wisdom of God is the foolishness of man, and vice versa.

Despite all the time he’s spent in prison, Sam figures that the worst kind of prison is the prison of “wrong thoughts.” It’s one in which he was locked up for years until he found the key and opened the door. What is this key? It’s proximity to God’s soft, sure voice, which prophets aspire to when they climb mountains.

Proximity to God’s Voice

There’s nothing exotic about Sam’s habit of chatting to God. It’s like monks of old, who spoke in the presence of God either through a simple, short prayer or through deeper meditation. Like them, Sam seems to say that you are (or you become) what you set your heart and mind on. If you set them on evil, what do you think you’re going to become?

Mike’s struggling to pray. His mind’s racing in fear or faithlessness. Still, he finds an anchor in silently praying or meditating on the scriptures. Rather than demanding an immediate or spectacular outcome, he sincerely trusts the process: knees bent, hands folded, and eyes closed. Rather than basing his idea of what’s possible in the future on his idea of what happened in the past, he leaves God to define (and redefine) what’s possible.

Before Sam takes the witness stand, Mike whispers to him, “Leave Papa out of this.” Mike isn’t condescending. He’s discreet. He means well. He fears that Sam’s references to “Papa,” his nickname for his fatherly God, may undermine his credibility as a witness. Only later does Mike realize that Sam’s enviable familiarity with God isn’t an act; it’s part of his spontaneity.

Screenwriter and director Gary Wheeler uses the motif of the confidentiality oath to draw parallels between prophets, who are called to be advocates for God, and advocates, who are called to be prophets of God. Mike says, “Preachers are like lawyers.” It’s as if Wheeler’s saying that people don’t need to be pastors to be prophets.

Every believer is invited to be attuned to God’s heart and mind. Through a life of sincere prayer and scripture reading, anyone can learn to truthfully interpret God’s will, not as a struggle but as a skill.

In one homily, Mike feelingly says, “Hearing God’s voice is the birthright of every true believer.”

Check the Internet Movie Database website for plot summary cast, reviews, and ratings. You can watch “Mountain Top” on Roku, Hoopla, and YouTube.

These reflective articles may interest parents, caretakers, or educators of young adults, seeking great movies to watch together or recommend. They’re about films that, when viewed thoughtfully, nudge young people to be better versions of themselves.

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