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Soul Surfer is a moving account of Bethany’s life as a young surfer, her recovery after the attack, the adjustments she’s made to her unique surfing style, her unprecedented bid for a top showing in the World Surfing Championships, and, most fundamentally, her belief in God.
#Soul surfer movie#
But the minute tragedy strikes - and does it ever - the movie finds its footing. The characters, especially Bethany's parents, seem one-dimensional and unrealistically saintly they just don’t seem real.
#Soul surfer full#
Pushing pain and panic aside, she began to paddle with one arm, focusing on a single thought: “Get to the beach.” And when the first thing Bethany wanted to know after surgery was “When can I surf again?” it became clear that her spirit and determination were part of a greater story-a tale of courage and faith that this soft-spoken girl would come to share with the world. To be honest, SOUL SURFER gets off to an iffy start, full of cheesy shots of beachy fun in the sun. How else could one explain the passion that drives her to surf? How else could one explain that nothing-not even the loss of her arm-could come between her and the waves? That Halloween morning in Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany responded to the shark’s stealth attack with the calm of a girl with God on her side.
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Soul Surfer has some marvelous surfing scenes (that’s real Bethany Hamilton in some of the long shots) and gorgeous Hawaiian scenery.
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It’s on a church-sponsored relief trip to tsunami-ravaged Thailand that the teenager realizes that there are lots of people in this world in a whole lot worse shape than she is.Īnd with that lesson under her belt – and with the support of a loving family – she methodically trains to get back up on that board. In fact, Bethany feels so sorry for herself that she gives away her surfboards. The Christian youth counselor ( Carrie Underwood) in whom Bethany tearfully confides admits she has no answer. She’s only 13, after all, and wants to know “What’s the big idea, God?” Though “When can I surf again?” is one of the first things out of the young patient’s mouth upon regaining consciousness, Bethany’s recovery is slow and painful. Doctors had to restart her heart with an electric shock. She lost 60 percent of her blood before getting to the hospital.
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Quick thinking by Bethany and her companions probably saved her life. The shark attack comes out of nowhere and is tastefully handled (limited onscreen blood), which doesn’t make it any less disturbing. But the film is less proselytization than simple observation. Without laying it on too thickly, Soul Surfer makes it clear just how important a role religion plays in the Hamiltons’ lives. The family apparently has no money woes (what does dad do for a living, anyway?), live in a nice house right on the beach, and spend most of their lives either in the water or on the sand. The first 20 minutes set up the parameters of Bethany’s seemingly paradisical existence. And having a cast of first-class actors doesn’t hurt. But director Sean McNamara finds the tension lines even in this ridiculously well-balanced clan.