
government, the LDS Church in Salt Lake, or the Tuttle and Propst families are going to pay the ransom (though the families would do it in a heartbeat if it got them their sons back). Poor choice: as Nikolai and another man, Sergei (Alex Veadov) brutally beat them and hold them for ransom, believing that as 'rich Western Christians' they will get them a nice bounty. Propst suggests coming back another day, but Tuttle insists on pushing on. Propst and Tuttle go on the appointed day, accidentally forgetting the Book of Mormon. They are surprised when Nikolai (Nikita Bogolybov) asks them to come to his apartment to hear the message. These two elements combine, don't necessarily clash, but still tug at my mind after watching.Įlders Propst (Maclain Nelson) and Tuttle (Corbin Allred) are LDS missionaries in Russia (I should note that for the most part, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints dislike the term 'Mormon', so I'll try to be respectful of their beliefs but will on occasion refer to them as Mormon).

The second is that behind it, there is a bit of proselyting behind it, and for better or worse it can be used as a tool to promote the Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons). The first is that it is based on a true story, so it isn't hard to respond emotionally to the story.


When it comes to The Saratov Approach (in my mind, a clunky title since I'm not sure exactly what the 'approach' refers to, though I have my ideas), two things stick to my mind.
