4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
The Smallbone family from Australia races through LAX airport trying to catch their connection to Nashville. Eventually, they arrive in Tennessee and their rental home has no furniture. Helen (Daisy Betts) is six months pregnant, and David (Joel Smallbone), and the six kids use their clothes as mattresses.
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“UNSUNG HERO”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, 2024; PG for thematic elements; Digital copy via Fandango Home (4K) or purchase Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: “Miracles are Everywhere”
THIS FAITH-BASED film in many ways is your prototypical immigration story: A family seeking a better life in a new country.
For the last decade, while touring across the U.S. and the rest of the globe, brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone of the Grammy-winning Christian band For King + Country, would tell their family story. Their parents and five additional siblings
moved from Australia to Nashville, with little to no money. Their father
David had been a successful concert promotor in Sydney, but lost everything. In the early 1990s, he moved to the U.S. with his family and a six-month work Visa. Once in Tennessee, the job offer that spurred the move was revoked.
Like most films of the genre, it openly speaks to the choir. Even so, the Smallbone saga retains universal appeal to all families. Variety said in its review, “To glean the amount of meaningful insight as Joel Smallbone clearly demonstrates with this feature, placing himself in his father’s shoes to fully understand a psyche in the throes of turmoil, is quite the dynamic feat.”
“Unsung Hero,” with a modest $6 million budget, received decent reviews from critics, while its core audience arrived in late April when the film hit theaters making $20 million in the U.S. It struggled in Australia, where it only made $670,000. Still, its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes hovers at 99 percent.
The supporting cast includes Kirrilee Berger (Rebecca), Paul Luke Bonenfant (Daniel), Tenz McCall (Ben), Diesel La Torraca (Joel), JJ Pantano (Luke), Angus K. Caldwell (Josh), Terry O’Quinn (grandpa James Smallbone), Lucas Black and Candace Cameron Bure (church friends, Jed and Kay). Look for members of the Smallbone clan in cameo roles.
(1) The Christian metal band Stryper from the U.S. was one of David Smallbone’s best concerts in Sydney. (2) David gets a phone call about his less-than-profitable two-week concert tour with Amy Grant and he still owes $500,000. (3&4) A surprise 40th birthday party for David, and later that night he tells Helen the bad news. (5) David and Helen decided to move the family to Nashville for a promising new job. His father Grandpa James (Terry O’Quinn) tells the family, “Great things are in store.”
EXTRAS
The 54-minute featurette “Miracles are Everywhere: The Making of” is included on digital platforms and physical discs. Joel and Luke tell of their hardship and struggles, which center around their mother Helen, played by Australian actress Daisy Betts. “She’s our unsung hero,” who homeschooled all seven children. “She taught us what it meant to love one another, to care for one another, to grow alongside one another, and to work hard and be diligent,” Luke says during the featurette.
Older brother Joel traded his frontman position, to co-write and co-direct with Richard L. Ramsey. Joel also plays his misguided father, who saw his family as an obstacle. Helen pointily corrects her husband, “Your family is not in the way, they are the way,” Joel recalls. “This film is certainly for mums, it’s about mum. It’s a story about immigrants and a story about finding yourself in a foreign land. It’s the American dream,” he says.
The ‘Making of’ details the 24-day production mostly captured in and around Louisville, Ky., with Luke, who’s also one of the producers, interviewing the cast and crew. The real parents, David and Helen, visit the movie set, providing support and prayers.
Additional extras include five deleted scenes; Luke and his older sister Rebecca Saint James, whose singing career is a subplot within the film, support Compassion International, a ministry that sponsors children around the globe; a short featurette “Faith in the Journey” highlights the family’s journey to the U.S; interviewing David and Helen, who was six-months pregnant when they landed in Los Angeles, and the six-minute animated short “The Bridge is Out!” from Pastor Greg Laurie.
(1-3) The U.S. Customs officers in Los Angeles give the family a tough examination, which makes Josh (Angus K. Caldwell) upset. Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger) calms him down with a song. (4&5) The Smallbone’s find the house empty, but the first night of sleeping on the floor is an adventure. (6) The family prays every day and posts their needs (job, car, rent, bills, groceries...) on the wall as a visual reminder of the need and answered prayers.
VIDEO
The footage was captured on the ARRI Alexa digital camera and mastered in 2K (2.39:1 aspect ratio). The visual difference between the upconverted 4K/HDR10 and HDR10+ on digital to the physical media Blu-ray (1080p) is minimal. A post-production film grain was added, and the clarity is nearly identical. The biggest disparity is the HDR color grading, showing a less reddish/orange tint on 4K. Overall, it’s toned darker with controlled highlights.
AUDIO
The Digital 4K includes the more enveloping Dolby Atmos soundtrack with effects and music cues rising to height speakers. The Blu-ray is encoded with the six-channel DTS-HD MA with less compression, providing a fuller soundstage from highs to bass response.
Don’t be surprised if “Unsung Hero” becomes a family favorite, but make sure you have the Kleenex on hand for those unexpected weepies.
— Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer
(1) The Smallbone family visits a local church and Jed (Lucas Black) and Kay (Candace Cameron Bure) provide a warm welcome. (2&3) David and the kids start a landscaping and house-cleaning business to help with the financial challenges. Trying to stir up work, they knocked on the door of Christian music producer and artist Eddie DeGarmo (Jonathan Jackson).
Sounds like a surprize must.