MPAA Rating: PG for an intense accident sequence and some thematic material.
Appropriate for: Girls ages 10+
Genre: Biography Sports Drama
Length: 100 minutes
Year of Release: 2011
Soul Surfer is the true and touching story of a teenaged blonde, Bethany Hamilton, who lives in Hawaii with her Christian parents and two older brothers. As a toddler, Bethany was taught to surf by her parents, and, as children, she and her best friend Alana spent more time wet than they did dry. Now a teenager, Bethany’s true passion is surfing, and not only does she love it, but she is really good at it too. She believes she was born to surf. But when Bethany becomes the victim of a shark attack and loses her left arm in the process, she begins to wonder how this could be a part of God’s plan for her. Over the next few months, Bethany discovers the value of perseverance and the importance of trusting that God works out everything “for the good of those who love him,” even though her trials may not make sense at the time.
Now, before I get into all of the things that I loved about this movie, I can’t, in all honesty, avoid the one big problem this movie has: bikinis. While it might be expected in a movie about a teenage girl living in Hawaii, I must say that this movie has way too many shots involving underdressed girls, both young and old. Because of this reason, and this reason only, I do NOT recommend this movie for boys. However, this is a healthy movie for girls – a perfect mother-daughter flick and a great movie for a girls’ slumber party – but it is the wrong movie for men and boys to watch.
Other than this issue, I found very little to criticize about this movie and bucket loads to praise. This is one of those rare and valuable movies that dare to even mention a Christian faith in God, and it is refreshing to see a “Christian” movie acted, directed, and produced so professionally. While some of the acting in a couple of the minor roles could have been improved, AnnaSophia Robb (as Bethany Hamilton) and the supporting lead actors give an excellent performance and portray their characters with great effectiveness.
There are some very powerful messages in this movie that really touch my heart as a viewer, especially since this movie is based on a true story. Some of the lessons I was able to glean from this movie included the importance of perseverance, trusting in God’s ultimate plan, and having joy in the midst of sorrow. The part of this movie that touches me the most is the amount of trust in God and the overwhelming joy that this young girl has even though she lost so much.
It is also cool to see how Bethany comes to realize that God put her in the position she was in so that she could reach out to people that she would never have been able to reach before. By the end of the movie, Bethany realizes that the loss of her arm has given her the opportunity to share God’s love and greatness with more people than she possibly could have reached if she had never lost her arm. “I've had the chance to embrace more people with one arm than I ever could with two.”
Besides the bikini problem, the shark attack scene can be a little scary and there is a lot of blood involved, but nothing extremely gory is shown. Because of this, though, I would not recommend this movie for kids ten and under. There is also a part in the movie where Bethany goes to a night surfing party with her friend Alana without her mom or dad’s permission. Although her mother ends up finding out and talks to her daughter about it, I don’t recall Bethany ever getting any sort of punishment for her actions. Overall, however, Bethany’s relationship with her parents is very healthy, which is quite refreshing after so many movies where being friends with your parents is seen as weird or childish.
To wrap this up, I would like to stress that this is a wonderful and inspiring movie for girls, but definitely out of the question for boys who truly desire to follow Christ with their heart, soul, mind, and strength. To all those mothers out there, I highly suggest renting or buying this movie and watching it with your girls. There are some very powerful messages in there that can not be portrayed so well in any other way.
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