The Cross is a 2009 documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 directed by Matthew Crouch

Matthew Crouch

Matthew W. Crouch is an American Christian broadcaster and television network executive with as Vice President of the Trinity Broadcasting Network , which was founded by his parents Paul F. Crouch, Sr., and Janice Bethany Crouch...

, in his directorial debut. The film chronicles Arthur Blessitt

Arthur Blessitt

Arthur Owen Blessitt is a traveling Christian preacher, most known for carrying a cross through every nation of the world.-Early life and career:...

's Guinness World Record

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

-setting journey of 38,102 miles of forty years "into every nation and major island group of the world" while carrying a twelve-foot wooden cross.

Production

Twenty years ago Crouch had made a documentary about Blessitt . Then, in the summer of 2008, Crouch and Blessitt "ran into each other" on the cusp of Blessitt's final trip to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of the continent of Africa, which gave them the idea to create a brand new documentary that would finish telling the story of Blessitt's journey.

Box office

The Cross opened on March 27, 2009 in 221 theaters, and grossed approximately $300,000. It made $741,557 total.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features original songs by Javen and The Katinas

The Katinas

The Katinas are a Contemporary Christian music group. The family of five brothers hails from American Samoa, and moved to Washington, USA after the death of their mother in 1988. The group's members sang in church as children, and began playing fairs, soon moving up to nationwide slots opening for...

that are inspired by the film as well as an original score from first-time composer Matthew R. Long.