As a boy who grew up in the potato fields of Idaho, John (Christopher Gorham) never expected to travel to such a foreign locale and teach them about his faith. Just getting through customs was an adventure in itself, and then he hits the Culture Clash and struggling to learn their language. He learns to sleep on the floor; he has a Tongan missionary partner, Feki, guide him through the quirks of the people; he deals with typhoons and even being shipwrecked at one point. But through all of that, Tonga became his home and the people there became his family.
Much of the story is framed through the letters to his sweetheart back home, Jean (Anne Hathaway).
A sequel, called The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith and starring Gorham and Natalie Medlock, was released in 2019.
This film provides examples of:
- Call-Back: Feki brings up the Mormon history story of early church leaders Brigham Young and Heber Kimball shouting, "Hurrah for Israel," to their families when they headed off on a mission to England. When Feki was released from his mission, he shouted the same thing to John when departing by boat.
- Dress Hits Floor: When Mele propositions John.
- Heal It With Fire: When the soles of John's feet are eaten by rats, he has to have his feet cauterized by the sun's rays.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When dealing with a famine after a typhoon, the local priest who fought against John's presence on the island from the beginning gave him an orange and they made their peace with each other in Christian charity.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: In his first speech to the Tongan congregation, John Groberg accidentally tells them he has always wanted to serve as one of the Lord's...outhouses.
- Training from Hell: John was tired of messing up the language and spent several days on a sand dune reading the Bible in English and Tongan until he was relatively fluent.
- Translation Convention: After John learns the language, the rest of the movie is in English
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue
