Soul Surfing -- Good for the Soul

Brought to you by the same company who produced Fireproof and Courageous, Soul Surfer tells the based on a true-story of Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack, but managed to find a way to surf again despite all the struggle she went through to get that way.

The move itself was quite enjoyable and, at some times, moving. This comes not only from the story itself, but the heavy Christian overtones that color the film. I find this interesting because of the time we live in. There are so many religious disagreements in America today -- remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance; ban the phrase "Merry Christmas" and replace it with "Happy Holidays"; argue over the religious implications of things like cloning, stem cell research, and gay marriage.  There are a plethora of other issues, however, theses should suffice enough to show that religion is a touchy subject at the moment.

For example, while in Thailand, Bethany sees what losing everything is. After losing her arm, Bethany thought she had lost everything in the world because she felt that she could never surf again. Her mission work in Thailand opened her eyes that surfing isn't the only thing in the world, but also restored her faith and courage within herself so she could surf without fear once more. (It did, however, help that she got a ton of fan-mail.  I just feel that her time in Thailand taught her much more than the letters).

Also in Thailand, Bethany realizes that love is far more important than anything else in the world because it's something that connects everyone to one another.










Finally, at the end of the film, Bethany leaves us with this one thought. She was asked whether or not she would change the day she got bit, but she declines because now she has the "chance to embrace more people than I ever could have with two arms," meaning she can spread more love and give others like her courage to keep living in a way that would never have worked unless she lost her arm and kept trying to surf and compete instead.

There are also a lot of powerful scenes that have nothing to do with faith.

For example, when Bethany gets home from the hospital and fails at helping make lunch, she takes her Barbie and breaks it's arm off. This is important because ever girl wants to be Barbie at some point because she is the pinnacle of little girl beauty. By breaking her Barbie, Bethany is revealing that she does not feel she can ever be beautiful again. At the same time, however, she is showing that she might be able to figure out how to see herself as beautiful with only one arm.




Also, Bethany learns that winning isn't everything. The only important thing is that she tried. She was able to see herself as an inspiration to all her fans, changing her perspective. That's why, at the end, she is able to say that her last wave ride counted even though the judges disagreed.

Finally, the cast of this movie was fantastic, especially AnnaSophia Robb (Bethany Hamilton), Dennis Quaid (Tom Hamilton), and Helen Hunt (Cheri Hamilton).

It surprises me, then, that movies like this can be successful in theaters and DVD sales. I guess that there are more people who enjoy these religious films than I originally thought.