Tragedy and loss have a way of rocking one’s faith not just in God but in life as well. Jess and Anayancy Thomas’ faith-based feature film, God & Salsa, addresses the difficult question of where is God in the midst of pain.
Raquel (Jovanna Vidal) is a professional therapist who is currently not up for the job. After the loss of her daughter to suicide, Raquel is not up to helping others and has all but abandoned her faith. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, teen Shane (Javier Luna) is witnessing the nasty divorce of his parents, Matt (Brian Fortuna) and Monica (Sarah Hernandez). Home is no longer a safe space, and after Matt moves out, Shane winds up in a hospital bed for a drug-related suicide attempt.
When Shane is released, Matt insists that Shane see a therapist against Monica’s wishes. Through a course of seemingly random events, the court mandates therapy for Shane and his family with Raquel. Matt sees this as part of God’s providence as Matt knows Raquel’s family situation and thinks she is the perfect therapist for Shane.
Therapy is a struggle for all involved. Shane wants nothing to do with it as he sits in sessions with AirPods set firmly in ears. Monica would rather pull Shane out and challenges Matt’s visitation rights. Raquel feels sorely underqualified as she is still dealing with her daughter’s death. In fact, to help her move forward, Raquel signs up for Salsa lessons.

“After the loss of her daughter to suicide, Raquel is not up to helping others…”
God & Salsa is probably one of the better films I’ve seen on the subject of suicide. It’s a truly delicate subject, here handled with empathy and respect. I say this because I’ve seen many faith-based films get preachy or overly optimistic about the subject. Having gotten a suicide phone call on several occasions, it’s a scary and tense experience. God & Salsa walks us through the pain and emotion in an authentic way and can be a guide if you ever experience it yourself.
There’s an interesting dynamic that occurs in Raquel’s journey back to faith. Thomas sprinkles scripture throughout, but they have this ingenious device involving Salsa…the dance, not the dip. When one steps on the dance floor, the rest of the world fades away, and it’s about the music and movement. The film then ties this idea of dance into faith and forgiveness for oneself. That said, when you turn on God & Salsa, you’ll notice right away this is a low-budget indie project. Small production budget, inexpensive cameras, and a mixed bag of acting. You’ll easily work past many of its shortfalls.
What director Jess Thomas does right is cast two strong leads in Vidal and Luna. Both are still on the actor’s journey, and both push themselves to give authentic emotional performances—both a 7 out of ten. The Thomases do their best to overcome their budget and resource challenges and produce a good-looking film with a lot of moving pieces.
God & Salsa is a poignant film touching on the subject of suicide through the lens of mental health and faith.
For screening information, visit the God & Salsa official website.