Renowned director and actor Kevin Costner recently discussed the profound influence of faith on his upcoming film “Horizon: An American Saga.” In an interview with The Christian Post, the 69-year-old Oscar winner emphasized how faith served as a guiding force during historical migrations.
“Faith is what guided people out there to the unknown,” Costner said “They just leaned on it. There was this promise, but the promise was not enough. You had to go on faith. And people brought the religion with them west.”
“I grew up a Baptist, and church has always been a part of my life. …So, I don’t mind it bleeding into a movie,” the actor said. “I don’t force it in. But when I think about why people went west when they said goodbye to people back east, they never saw them again; there was some kind of trust that people needed to lean on because they were often in situations where they didn’t even know what they were doing. They were out of control; they needed faith.”
The three-hour film, the first of a four-part series, stars Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, and Luke Wilson. The first installment will be released in theaters on June 28, and “Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2” will be released on August 12. The third film is slated to be released in 2025.
Costner has been working on the project since the 80s and has invested $38 million of his own money. He told CP that the years-long creation process required a steadfast belief that the film would come to fruition in its own time.
“I’ve had hands over me, for sure, in my life, and I’m like anybody, I try to force it,” the “Yellowstone” actor said. “I try to force things through force of will, and I’ve been able to do that a lot in my life. But I’ve also found that things come in their own time. I think that’s how my career’s gone, to be honest. Everything in its own time, I didn’t burst onto the scene as a teenager. It took me a while. So, I trust my journey.”
Scripture verses are subtly infused throughout the film, particularly when characters are faced with times of trial. In one scene, a settler quotes Psalm 91 – “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
“I wanted [Scripture to] obviously relate to the situation,” Costner said. Costner, a father of 7, told CP how the film showcases the theme of family, including that his youngest son, Hayes, 15, appears in the film as Nathaniel Kittredge.
“Anybody can make a movie about a gunfight, and I’m going to get you to those gunfights, and those gunfights are going to be terrifying, and they’re going to be loud,” he said. “But I think just a woman trying to bathe because she feels so dirty, or a mother and daughter who realize that some hell is going on above them and the only way they’re going to survive is if they share breath, I feel the closeness. I feel like that really has an important part in Westerns.”
Although the film is rated R, Costner hopes that audiences would pass on the story to younger generations, highlighting the belief that “violence and humanity can go together.”
“I think a lot of people are going to say, ‘I’m going to bring my son and daughter because they need to understand what their great-great-grandmothers and grandfathers went through,’” he said.
Read the complete story at ChristianHeadline.com
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