‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Director Justin Lin Discusses His New Film About Murdered Missionary John Chau

“Last Days” carries a PG-13 rating for some violence, strong language, sexual material, and smoking. Some missionaries in the film swear, drink, and smoke. The film also contains one scene that depicts a missionary who almost has sex with a woman he met earlier that day but leaves the room after she removes her shirt.

ChurchLeaders asked Lin why he included scenes that some might find questionable. “When I first read Ben’s [writer] script, my first reaction was, ‘Hey, did this really happen?’” Lin said. “Then I started reading John’s journals and posts, and very quickly realized that’s not the exercise. John is the storyteller, and for me to question facts wasn’t the reason I wanted to make the movie.”

Lin continued, “I wanted to connect with him. So my first connection with John was actually as a storyteller. The decision was to honor what John left us with, but there were a lot of gaps.” He asked, “So how do you approach that?”

RELATED: Father: John Chau’s Death Is the Result of ‘Extreme Christianity’

“It was clear from his writing and videos that he was influenced by adventure novels and Hollywood films,” said Lin. “I thought, can we make a film that uses what John left us as signposts, and then use the same cinematic devices I’m used to, to fill in the gaps as we try to connect with his humanity?” Lin explained, “That was an early choice—this isn’t a fact-finding mission; it’s a film trying to connect with his humanity.”

Lin shared that he hopes “Last Days” will spark dialogue among people who have different opinions. “My hope is you can watch this film, have your opinion, then seek out someone with a different opinion and have a dialogue,” he said. “That’s what drew me to filmmaking—dialogue. And I hope this film sparks that.”

“Last Days” is now playing in theaters. Watch the full interview here.