'Sun Moon' Movie a Beautiful Story about Discovering Joy and Purpose

Sometimes life just doesn’t make sense. Despite our best efforts to find meaning through what is happening in our lives, it’s often downright hard to accept that God is working through our circumstances for good.

Perhaps the source of your longsuffering is potentially life-changing; your job has been eliminated due to downsizing, or you and your spouse have lost a baby after trying to start a family for nearly a decade. Whatever the case might be, the emotional pain that ensues often paralyzes us with fear, hopelessness, and a high degree of emotional distress.

In the new Pure Flix original movie Sun Moon (streaming now), Kelsey, a young, vivacious twenty-something, has been left at the altar by her fiance. Rather than pull the blinds down low and wallow in her own self-pity, she takes a leap of faith and travels halfway around the world to start over again. It is there that Kelsey discovers joy and purpose despite cultural differences and difficulties. She learns that cultivating unexpected relationships can be exactly what we need in order to draw closer to God.

I recently sat down with actress Mackenzie Mauzy (Into the Woods) who plays the lead character Kelsey in Sun Moon. In our conversation, she shares why being forced to find newfound strength in our lives can rebuild or reshape a present circumstance to get us through to the next phase in life, one that is more beautiful than we can imagine.

First off, if you were trying to get someone to watch Sun Moon what would you say to encourage them to give it a look? What would your sales pitch be?

Well, first of all, it’s such an amazing opportunity to see Taiwan. I think they did a really good job at showing some of the beautiful parts of that country. Also, I think that Kelsey’s story is relatable. It certainly was to me. This is a journey of figuring out who you are after going through a heartbreak and being disappointed and sort of trying to understand what your purpose is. It’s also about redefining your relationship with God after you feel like you’ve really reached a low point. I think that’s complicated and it happens to a lot of people in different ways, whether it’s loss, heartbreak, or disappointment. And so, to follow her journey, I think she’s also got a pretty good sense of humor in a way. She navigates it, but it’s a great adventure and it was for us to actually film it as well.

I’m sure you get lots of scripts that come your way to consider. What was it about Sun Moon that made you want to take the role as Kelsey?

I felt connected to her when I originally read the script. I’ve learned in my life about how I think when I’ve held on too tightly to expectations of what I feel like my life needs to look like. It can hold me back from seeing all that it could be, and maybe even all that it already is. And I felt like her position and where she sort of starts in the movie, this decision to just sort of take this leap of faith and go to Taiwan and, and just kind of put herself out there and figure out who she is. It’s like, ‘Here I am, God. Let’s see what happens. I was just inspired by that and I saw some of myself in pieces of it. Also, I have a big travel bug, so I would just love the opportunity to go there. And I did love being there.

So, this movie was actually filmed on location in Taiwan?

Yes. All the scenes that are domestic in the movie we filmed in Nashville in 2021. And then our visas fell through because the island went on lockdown. So, we had to wait until 2022 to go over there. But we filmed about 60% of the movie in Taiwan.

What I love about this movie is that in addition to being so sweet and heart-warming, it’s funny. Traditionally, faith-based films that are comedies are sort of few and far between. Why do you think it is important for Sun Moon to have such humorous moments in it?

I think that when people are going through hard times it’s important to find those moments of lightheartedness or moments with the light in it. Also, there’s just naturally a dynamic when you’re in a new country and you don’t speak the language, there’s a language barrier. It’s when there are good intentions and everyone is trying to connect. I think there are some really funny moments. And also in general, because she starts out so hardened, numb, confused and sad. There’s also the storyline with her mom who’s dying. I think some of the themes are quite heavy. So, to have moments that are humorous and to really lean into those, it gives the audience some breathing room. And also, it’s just fun to play as well. Naturally, there are some pretty funny moments that happen when you’re traveling in general.

So many times in life, God calls us to take a leap of faith in our lives, even when we don’t want anything to do with it. In your character Kelsey’s case, what does that leap look like? Why was it important for her to take this leap of faith?

I think she was hitting a wall. She gave up her job, her apartment, and all these things to get married to this guy who left her. She is feeling mad at God and feeling numb, and she just doesn’t know what her life means at that moment. This is what I thought I was meant to be. I was supposed to be this person’s wife. And now that’s gone and she has this opportunity. She’s adventurous. Obviously, she has a bit of an adventurous spirit, but I think just getting out of her environment and challenging herself in this way, that she didn’t fully know what she was doing. But over the course of this journey she has to really face herself and figure out where her hope has been centered, and also just understand who she is now and, and what her relationship with God is on the other side of this disappointment.

For me, this is a movie about finding strength in our lives and using it to rebuild or reshape a present moment or circumstance and getting through to that next phase in life. Why is it so important for your character to not only re-find herself but use this newfound strength to move on?

I think that there was such a capacity for her to just feel not wanted, like God abandoned her. Her fiance doesn’t want to be with her. I don’t think her journey has any purpose. It was so important to figure out who she is and feel connected to God’s purpose for her life because ultimately it opened up her future and her experiences moving forward. And I think it’s hard when you go through something like that. I’ve been through really hard loss in my own life. Grief is tricky. Just keeping one foot in front of the other, moving forward, and just trusting even underneath all of the confusion that there’s a purpose for your life, I think it opens you up to meeting people, starting new relationships, and just so many things that you wouldn’t have seen before. Ultimately being able to step into a new phase of your life is a new kind of strength because the alternative is just staying in this sad, depressing space. And there’s always space for grief. Obviously, you have to, to mourn things but there is beauty on the other side of it. If you just keep moving forward and discovering where this strength is, you can access it.

After audiences have seen Sun Moon, from your perspective what would you like to see people get out of the viewing experience? What is your greatest hope for the film?

I hope that they feel inspired and not alone. I hope that they can look at their relationship with God and their own experiences and maybe see how He’s worked through difficult times. I also hope they get a little bit of inspiration to look into Taiwan and everything that it has to offer because it’s a very, very beautiful place. I was talking to someone this morning who didn’t really even know where it was. It’s an island off the coast of China. The people there are so wonderful. I hope that viewers gain an interest in the country.

Watch a Trailer for Sun Moon: