Soul Surfer

this movie is a great movie to show to young girls. It is motivational, touching, and really well done. what an incredible thing to overcome.

My daughter and I absolutely love this movie and watch it all the time.

Most of us have heard of Bethany Hamilton, or at least of the surfer girl who lost her arm to a shark off the coast of Kauai. Fewer people know that she came from a Christian family, and that her faith played a huge part in her overcoming this obstacle and continuing on to become a national surf champion."Soul Surfer" features Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as the parents, and AnnaSophia Robb (from "Bridge to Terebithia") does a great job in the role of Bethany. The film starts with some scenes establishing her family's faith and their playful fun together. All of them have surfing background and interest, and their lives on the Hawaiian Islands are portrayed in heartwarming ways that only add to the coming terror. The movie gives us some great surfing scenes, some beautiful photography, and when it reaches the moment of the shark attack, we are fully engaged. Although restrained in its showing of the violence, it captures the horrible feeling of loss, fear, and parental anxiety.Soon, Bethany is questioning God's plan in all this, since her surfing days could be over. She wonders how she'll ever find a guy who will love her with only one arm. And she watches her best friend be featured in Rip Curl promotions, while she stands on the sidelines and bravely supports her. She also struggles with media attention, not to mention the expected challenges of cutting oranges and putting on her own clothes. The special effects are well done, and we feel the anguish of not only Bethany, but of her parents as well. They are strong in their faith, but they are not perfect, and each member of the family has an issue to deal with, whether its the father's desire to push his daughter back into surfing, or the mother's desire to help her daughter accept her new physical appearance as one of true beauty. We also have Carrie Underwood playing the role of Bethany's youth pastor, there to offer hugs, love, advice, and a life-changing trip to Thailand after the devastating tsunami.For those who find any of this cheesy or too easy, they are missing the point. This is based on a true story. It's not pie-in-the-sky answers given in a fictitious setting, but the real-life struggles of the Hamiltons, and how God sustained them through some tough times. Bethany's own answers to the reporters are often word-for-word from actual interviews, where she gave impromptu responses. With even Roger Ebert giving this movie a good review, it's hard to imagine why some viewers seem to have an ax to grind with the faith element. While some movies are nothing more than sermons tacked onto a weak story, this is a strong story that would be inspiring even if it weren't Christian-based, but becomes that much more intriguing when rooted in biblical wisdom.This movie is well-acted, full of excitement, humor, and a number of emotionally stirring moments, when inspiration can be found in the human will to live and move on, and even more so in the solid faith that can sustain even the hardest of blows when a life, even a teenage girl's life, is surrendered to God. My own teen daughters loved this story, as did my wife. It's not only the best Christian movie I've seen, but one of the best sports movies I've seen. This is one wave I'm glad I caught early on.

Definitely worth watching it

Was a gift for my BFF, she loved it...

If you don't remember or know the story of Bethany Hamilton, in 2003/2004 her story made international headlines when she had her arm bitten off by a shark. She and her family are Christians and used the media opportunity presented to them to lift up the name of Jesus whenever they could. Eventually, a feature-film was created and Soul Surfer is the result. This film tells the story, both the lead-up and subsequent events. It is a hopeful and encouraging movie that will leave you inspired to really believe that with God all things are indeed possible, just as His Word declares.It is a well-made, well-acted movie that has some notable talent such as Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, and AnnaSophia Robb. With plenty of surfing shots, you'll find yourself drawn into the world of surfing in a way you may not have ever seen on the screen if surfing's not typically your thing. Since most of us don't live on the beach in Hawaii and have a family that constantly goes surfing, it may seem like this might be a hard film to relate to. But, it actually does quite a good job of drawing you into "their story". It was also a joy to see that enough Christianity was left in the movie that you will not be left wondering where Bethany and her family stand - it is clear that they are Christians and that they live out of that worldview.I only have 1 real concern with this movie, and I'm just going to be blunt and honest here. I know many other Christian reviews have kind of skirted around this issue (the elephant in the room), but I'm just going to lay it out. Much of the screen time goes to Bethany and her close surfing friend. Both are beautiful, blonde-haired, teen girls wearing what you'd expect such girls that are surfing to be wearing. In other words, there's a lot of skin. I don't particularly find this a problem in-and-of-itself, but this combined with some of the scenes in the movie, I do feel could very much send messages to other girls watching this film that might not be the best for them. For example, there's a scene with Bethany and her friend where her friend wants to buy a real skimpy bathing suit that barely covers her breasts because it's "hot" - they even joke about how she's going to have to be careful or it might come off in the water. Then there's the scene with the same friend later on doing a photo shoot which honestly vaguely reminded me of a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition type shoot. The photographer was telling her "that's gorgeous" etc. as she does all her different poses, etc. The message that I worry that gets sent to young impressionable girls is just plain concerning to me as it reinforces the cultural messages that for girls it's all about showing skin & looking "hot". I know that part of it is just a byproduct of the fact that if you're going to make a movie about teen surfer girls surfing, there's pretty much going to be a certain hard-to-escape "tone" along these lines. But it just seems like it got accentuated in a way that I wish it didn't. If this is being shown to any girls (I'd say any age under 18), I'd say some good follow-up discussion might be in order. On the flip-side, I can fully understand why there might be some guys where lust is a real battle for whom this might not be the best film to watch simply because of the amount of skin/beach scenes, etc. (although there is definitely nothing sexual in the film). So there you go. That's the elephant in the room with this movie and I've just pointed it out.One of the concerns I thought I might have in regards to this movie, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it really wasn't nearly as much of an issue as I thought it might be. That is the issue of whether God CAUSED Bethany to lose her arm by the shark so that He could then do all that's happened subsequent for His glory. That is an implied and somewhat minorly discussed theme in the movie, but it's much toned-down from what I was worried it might be. I know different people have different theology on stuff like this, but I just think that to ascribe any tragedy of any kind to God's doing is quite a bold move. Now, we know that God specializes in taking tragedies and bringing good out of them - Romans 8:28 is indeed a promise that Christians that love Jesus can genuinely hold on to and believe. But knowing that God can work things out for our good and saying that God brought about or "wanted" the initial tragic event are two different things. There is hurt and pain in this world. There are sharks that will eat a human's arm if they see it in the water and they're hungry. It's part of the sin curse seen throughout our world, and sometimes those effects touch us. In other words, to say that it was God's WILL that Bethany lose her arm, I just think is quite the bold thing to say. Just because God allows something to happen to me in the natural course in this world to me doesn't necessarily mean that that's actually what He WANTS - and I think sometimes we make that easy-to-make mistake.Make sure after you watch this movie that you watch the 30-minute "Heart of a Soul Surfer" documentary that's on the Special Features part of the disc. It really shows more of the heart and Christian aspects to the story beyond what you see in the movie.All in all, this is an inspiring movie that will likely cause people to really evaluate whether they are really making a difference and using their God-given talents for His glory.Blu-ray: The quality of the blu-ray I watched was excellent with good detail and vibrant color.Reviewed by MoviesForChristianslaughandlift dot com/moviesforchristians

Sehr gut gespielt und bewundernswert was sie noch aus ihrem Leben gemacht hat.Super dargestellt.

ご本人の映像をYouTuberで見て、映画のDVDを買いました、映像も綺麗で感動しました。

Un des meilleures films que j'ai jamais vu. Le fond de l'histoire est très édifiant, les images de surf sont parmi les plus belles.Il reconstitue l'histoire authentique d'une jeune adolescente promise à un grand avenir dans la discipline sportive du surf, lorsqu'un jour toute sa vie bascule suite à une attaque de requin. Elle survit miraculeusement, surmonte son drame et reprend courage sur la base de sa foi chrétienne. Elle revient sur la scène du surf en participant aux championnats nationaux malgré son handicap.Un film authentique et challenging, à voir absolument, en famille et pour tout personne jeune d'esprit.

Great biography movie about Bethany Hamilton and her accident. How she dealt with the recovery process as a teenager.

I Love true stories