BOB ABERNETHY: Later this month, a new movie opens that has already received rave, even awed, reviews. It is Robert Duvall's THE APOSTLE, about a Pentecostal preacher in the rural South. As a moviemaker, Duvall is fascinated by the country preacher as a unique American type. So his story is not a caricature but an exuberant and respectful portrait of one man's sin and redemption. From California, Martha Bayles is our reviewer.

MARTHA BAYLES: It's hard to walk down the street here in Burbank, California, without seeing a lot of movie posters. This is where many movies are made. And the posters show everything under the sun. One thing they don't show very often, however, is Pentecostal Christians.

It takes someone like Robert Duvall, one of America's most respected actors, to bring a character like Sonny, the apostle, to vivid life. For 15 years, Robert Duvall has been working on THE APOSTLE, a film that he wrote, directed, produced, financed, and starred in himself. I asked him whether he had grown up in the Pentecostal Church.

ROBERT DUVALL (Actor): No, but it always fascinated me. Years ago when I was traveling across the country, I happened to go to this small town to do a little research and I happened to go to this one little church one night. It was a nice revelation. I'd never seen anything like this, either culturally or spiritually or whatever. The American preacher -- one of the few true American art forms. So I always wanted to try to do it right. I'd seen it done wrong. I'd seen it done -- what I sensed was -- in a patronizing way.

BAYLES: All of that research certainly benefited Mr. Duvall's performance, which is already being talked about for an Oscar. But I couldn't help being curious about his character, a white man preaching to a mostly black flock. Do black and white really mix in the Pentecostal Church?