DOES JESUS LOVE YOU? ASK THESE HAPPY CAMPERS.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

If you were one of those people shocked when evangelist Jerry Falwell said over the weekend that a Hillary Clinton presidential run would mobilize his followers more than if Satan himself hit the campaign trail, you might want to stay away from the new documentary ``Jesus Camp.'' If Falwell staggers your imagination, Pastor Becky Fischer is going to send you into catatonic shock.

Tending her flock

``Jesus Camp'' follows Fischer as she leads her annual ``Kids on Fire'' camp, a militaristic summer program designed to help Christian kids hone their ``prophetic gifts,'' limit their hypocrisy (i.e. attending church but still harboring doubts about, say, the literalness of the Old Testament creation account) and realize, above all, that ``America is supposed to be God's nation.'' The latter point is hammered home as children pray (some in tongues, as Pentecostal believers are wont to do) to a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush.

``Jesus Camp'' was directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, and it follows ``The Boys of Baraka,'' another documentary about the ways kids are affected by their environment and elders. Here they concentrate on three Missouri kids, all of whom are charismatic or Pentecostal, and therefore not shy about sharing their faith or their ``spirit-filled nature.''

Clearly, the filmmakers believe the kids are being brainwashed. This comes out both in the creepy music they use throughout the film, a score that would be more at home on ``America's Most Wanted'' or ``Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' than in a supposedly fair-minded documentary.

Not exactly unbiased

Then there's the complete lack of faith (pardon the pun) that Ewing and Grady have in their audience to judge the images without further comment. Enter Air America radio host Mike Papantonio who helpfully explains every 10 minutes or so how misguided these wacky fundamentalists are. Thanks, Mike. But I kind of got that from the clip where Fischer talks about how Old Testament believers would have put Harry Potter to death.

In the end, ``Jesus Camp'' contains more than a faint whiff of hypocrisy and condescension, and fails to ask even the most basic of questions. Like: When did Fischer become a Christian? What was her childhood like?

The filmmakers are out to demonize, not humanize, which means their movie ends up preaching to the liberal choir instead of shedding any real light on the evangelical Christian movement.

Glenn Whipp, [phone].

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JESUS CAMP - Two stars

(PG-13: discussions of hellfire and damnation)

Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady.

Running time: 1 hr. 25 min.

Playing: Laemmle's Town Center 5 in Encino; Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

In a nutshell: Doc about kids attending a militaristic Christian summer camp. Filmmakers have great footage, but they blow it by inserting creepy music and a talking head who underlines their own deep misgivings about the validity of the program.