But I won't be talking about Source Code in this post just because I think we covered most of it in our "vlog".
I would like to talk about Soul Surfer. It is a PG movie that recently came out and let me tell you, I really enjoyed it. Like I said in the video post, most PG rated movies are directly towards children, not necessarily for all ages. This movie, however, was appropriate for all viewers.
If you haven't seen trailers, this movie is about a 13 year-old girl named Bethany Hamilton who grew up in Hawaii and had been out in the water ever since she was little. She started entering championships at a very young age. At 13, she got sponsored and was going to enter the BIG championship. While out on her board with her best friend, she was attacked by a shark and lost her left arm. According to her friends and family, she didn't cry or panic at all (pretty sure I would be doing both, I am terrified of sharks). About a month after the attack, she got back into the water, learned how to surf with a disability and entered nationals.
This movie is based on a true story. Bethany Hamilton was played by actress Anna Sophia Robb. Her parents were played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. I would really like to emphasize how awesome the family in this movie was portrayed. Think back to movies you have seen and answer this:
How many movies have BOTH parents, happily married, never divorced and even after so many years of marriage, they are still in love, happy and able to play?
For me, the movies I see fall under these categories:
1) Parents are divorced and fighting
2) One or both parents have died in some sort of accident
3) They are still married but unhappy
Think even to television shows, for one example: Disney Channel. Out of all the shows they run, 2 at the moment have happily married parents. But that is for a different blog, maybe someday.
My point is this:
The parents in Soul Surfer laughed, played, and went to church together. You just don't see that.
But now to my biggest point.
How many movies have Christian families? And before you answer that, I'm not talking about "hinting" christians. No, I'm not talking about Christian "references" where the movie could go either way. I am talking about church, bible verses, prayer, mission trips, and faith. All of those were in this movie and more. To me, this made the movie (Not because I'm Christian and biased, that's not my point even if it may be true) because the family gave all their struggles to God and gave Him the credit for their strength.
One scene in the movie, Bethany is crying to her youth director and asking why God would do this to her. The youth director did not give a direct answer but she told her that maybe God wanted her to see life from a different view. After this talk, she went on a mission trip and saw all the people suffering because of a natural disaster. She saw people without food and water and ones hurting from loss of a loved one. Long story short, she realized that surfing wasn't everything, it was not the meaning of life. Even through her pain and suffering, she realized she was still blessed.
I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a movie that was really this open with Christianity. People are standing up for what they believe in now and I like it. I know they are just actors and they may or may not believe in their character, but the fact that Hollywood would come out with a movie like this, tells me our world is turning back around.
On the other hand, Soul Surfer received bad reviews from the critics. One critic gave the movie a C rating because (and I quote) "For a movie about surfing, the focus needs to be a little less on her Christian walk"
I read that and was shocked. It is a true story, yes it has surfing, but I think that all the things she overcame was way more of a story than her surfing. The fact that she had enough determination to get back in the water and re-learn how to surf is awesome, but because she was able to grow in her walk with Christ is what really captured me.
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