2:45 p.m. My review for IMDB of "Soul Surfer" -
Jan. 2, 2020
"Soul Surfer" aired a few times this weekend on byu-tv which is owned by Brigham Young University which is owned by the LDS/ Mormon church. I've been a bit surprised, because of the immodesty of the actors and one scene with the parents that byu-tv would chose to air the film. When I saw the film years ago in a theater I was shocked that two Christian girls would be running around on a beach in bikini's - and church on the beach ???? I know that other denominations and traditions have standards different than my own, but it still surprises me.
I was also surprised on the other end to read that during the making of the film there was some discussion of leaving out the Christian elements, and I am surprised in reading the other reviews that there were some who didn't care for the Christian elements. I don't get it. The Christian elements are the entire story. A belief in God and His part in our lives is the entire thing of what life is about.
The story line isn't original, but compared to other similar stories of the injured athlete coming back, it is real. In "Ice Castles" we have a fictional Alexis/ Lexie Winston returning to skating after becoming partially blind. We see her grit and her learning to make adjustments in the practice of her sport based on her new reality. In "Soul Surfer" we have a similar situation with 13 year old (in real life) or 16 year old (in the film) Bethany Hamilton with some ups downs and and first deciding to give up and then later coming back to her sport figuring out ways to make it work with her new situation. Bethany though in contrast to Alexis/ Lexie is real. In contrast unlike Lexie we see Bethany learning how to use her reality for the good of others. Her trip to Thailand shows her teaching children traumatized by a recent tsunami how to surf, using surfing as a means of getting over their trauma. She is not just a "Gidget" hanging out on the beach everyday during summer for her own enjoyment and to spend time with the boys. She uses her new fame and new reality in a platform to speak to others - shown a bit in the film, but not as much as I wish that it had. We hear her youth leader saying to her - "I don't know why terrible things happen sometimes, but I have to believe that something good is going to come out of this." When asked by a reporter (in the film - I don't know if it happened in real life) if she could go back and change the day that she lost her arm if she would and she replies that if she did she couldn't be talking to them now. We see her as well reaching out to her fans.
Taylor Firth, the skater turned actress who played the 2010 "Lexie" has a quote on line where she talks about having a God given talent and using that talent. "Ice Castles" chose not to show "Lexie" crediting God in the use of her talent, but gratefully "Soul Surfer" did.
There is a scene where we see Bethany being able to "feel" that a wave is coming. We all have something in our lives where we just feel and know how to do what we are doing, what we are meant to be doing. Bethany is an example of not giving up on that.
Yeah, the girls run around with practically no clothes on - outside the LDS/ Mormon tradition do people really do that ??? - but in spite of that, it is a film not to be missed.
Jan. 2, 2020
"Soul Surfer" aired a few times this weekend on byu-tv which is owned by Brigham Young University which is owned by the LDS/ Mormon church. I've been a bit surprised, because of the immodesty of the actors and one scene with the parents that byu-tv would chose to air the film. When I saw the film years ago in a theater I was shocked that two Christian girls would be running around on a beach in bikini's - and church on the beach ???? I know that other denominations and traditions have standards different than my own, but it still surprises me.
I was also surprised on the other end to read that during the making of the film there was some discussion of leaving out the Christian elements, and I am surprised in reading the other reviews that there were some who didn't care for the Christian elements. I don't get it. The Christian elements are the entire story. A belief in God and His part in our lives is the entire thing of what life is about.
The story line isn't original, but compared to other similar stories of the injured athlete coming back, it is real. In "Ice Castles" we have a fictional Alexis/ Lexie Winston returning to skating after becoming partially blind. We see her grit and her learning to make adjustments in the practice of her sport based on her new reality. In "Soul Surfer" we have a similar situation with 13 year old (in real life) or 16 year old (in the film) Bethany Hamilton with some ups downs and and first deciding to give up and then later coming back to her sport figuring out ways to make it work with her new situation. Bethany though in contrast to Alexis/ Lexie is real. In contrast unlike Lexie we see Bethany learning how to use her reality for the good of others. Her trip to Thailand shows her teaching children traumatized by a recent tsunami how to surf, using surfing as a means of getting over their trauma. She is not just a "Gidget" hanging out on the beach everyday during summer for her own enjoyment and to spend time with the boys. She uses her new fame and new reality in a platform to speak to others - shown a bit in the film, but not as much as I wish that it had. We hear her youth leader saying to her - "I don't know why terrible things happen sometimes, but I have to believe that something good is going to come out of this." When asked by a reporter (in the film - I don't know if it happened in real life) if she could go back and change the day that she lost her arm if she would and she replies that if she did she couldn't be talking to them now. We see her as well reaching out to her fans.
Taylor Firth, the skater turned actress who played the 2010 "Lexie" has a quote on line where she talks about having a God given talent and using that talent. "Ice Castles" chose not to show "Lexie" crediting God in the use of her talent, but gratefully "Soul Surfer" did.
There is a scene where we see Bethany being able to "feel" that a wave is coming. We all have something in our lives where we just feel and know how to do what we are doing, what we are meant to be doing. Bethany is an example of not giving up on that.
Yeah, the girls run around with practically no clothes on - outside the LDS/ Mormon tradition do people really do that ??? - but in spite of that, it is a film not to be missed.