Soul Surfer
Tags: inspiring, christian film

Plot synopsis:
In 2003, teenager Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii with her parents Tom and Cheri, and two brothers, Noah and Timmy. All are surfers, but she and her best friend Alana Blanchard have grown up with a passion for the sport and enter a competition. Her church youth ministry leader, Sarah Hill, is disappointed when she has to withdraw from a planned mission trip to Mexico because of the contest.
In the competition, Bethany and Alana place first and third, respectively. The following day, Tom goes to the hospital for knee surgery, and the girls go surfing with Alana's father Holt and brother Byron. As Bethany dangles her left arm in the water, a tiger shark is swimming just under her surfboard and notices her arm floating in the water. It unexpectedly attacks, ripping off her arm below the shoulder. Holt, Alana, and Byron get her out of the water where Holt makes a tourniquet out of his swimshirt to put on her while Byron calls 911 as Cheri is also informed. An ambulance meets them on the way to the hospital. Just before starting Tom's knee surgery, Dr. David Rovinsky is called to the emergency room to treat Bethany. Besides losing her left arm, she also lost 60% of her blood and Dr. Rovinsky calls her survival a miracle.
The onslaught of paparazzi also proves to be a great strain on her family and their privacy. The Hamiltons are grateful to Holt for his quick and active thinking and decisive action that saved her life. Her injury prevents her from participating in the Rip Curl photo shoots, but she wishes Alana well.
Bethany perseveres and after a recuperation period, gets back in the water, and learns to surf with one arm. Inside Edition offers to provide a prosthetic one that is cosmetically perfect and has bendable joints, in exchange for an interview. She angrily rejects it when she learns it will not help her surf as it is not weight bearing, as a result of the size of her arm stump.
Bethany eventually re-enters the competition, telling rival Malina not to go easy on her, and rejects a five-minute head start offered by the judges. She does not perform well because she cannot stay on the board long enough to go out and catch a competitive wave so Malina wins. Disappointed at this loss, she decides to give up competitive surfing and her friendship with Alana is strained following an argument.
Bethany decides to surprise Sarah by joining the youth group on another mission trip to help the people of Phuket, Thailand who were devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Despite her recent tragedy, she joins her youth group to help the Thai children get over their fear of the ocean. They are understandably afraid of the water, including a little boy. She decides to go into it with a surfboard, hoping this will coax him into it. It works, and the realization that she can use her gift to inspire people motivates her to take up surfing again.
Tom, who believes that Bethany possesses a great surfer's instinct for sensing when the best waves will form, rigs a handle on her surfboard which she can use to prevent falling off while paddling out to the waves, which is not prohibited by the competition's rules. Bethany trains for the competition while rekindling her friendship with Alana. She enters the national championship. During the competition, she performs respectably, though she is still chasing third place. Suddenly, with only minutes left on the clock, the waves die down and all the surfers can only loiter, waiting for the waves to start back up. Tom's belief in his daughter's instinct is proven when she is the only one to sense a big wave forming, and she alone paddles out. When it forms, the others cannot get out in time and she catches it just as the horn sounds. If it is in time, she will win, but the judges rule that the time has expired. Malina is the winner, but she has finally gotten over her differences with Bethany, inviting her up on the platform to share first place.
Subsequently, Bethany lets the reporters interview her. One asks her what she would do if given the chance to undo the loss of her arm. She says that she would still lose it because she can embrace more people now than she ever could with both.

Review: AnnaSophia Robb does a spectacular job of playing Bethany Hamilton, a 13 year-old girl determined to continue doing what she loves after losing an arm to a shark.
Based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a 13 year old competitive surfer with big dreams and a courageous spirit.
But her dreams turn into a nightmare after a sudden shark attack takes her left arm and her hopes of ever surfing again.Soul Surfer is an inspirational film for the entire family about overcoming obstacles and turning tragedy into triumph.Filmed entirely in Hawaii, it offers some gorgeous cinematography and wonderful surf-action shots and features an all-star cast including Helen Hunt, Denis Quaid, Craig T Nelson and AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, the teen titan with a heart of gold.Soul Surfer is a well produced film, that leans heavily on it's soul-lifting story, stellar acting and a rocking soundtrack on a moderate budget.
It's encouraging to see such big Hollywood names doing such inspirational family fare without the inflated-sized salary demands.Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid actually seem to be enjoying themselves alongside the rising talents of the young cast members, most notably AnnaSophia Robb, best remembered for her role in Bridge to Terabithia, Jumper and Because of Winn Dixie.
Carrie Underwood seems a bit misplaced as the youth pastor who comforts and encourages Bethany, but while her screen time is short, she proves that singing may not be her only talent.For a film based on a true story, I got caught up in the action and well paced story-telling.
Like many recent films being marketed to a Christian audience, the presented faith in Soul Surfer was played a bit too safe and generic to arouse any converts since it lacked in any gospel message, but if viewed with a Christan who knows how to use the film as a topic starter, it can be a great tool or ice breaker.Another refreshing bonus was the lack of any profanity or sexuality, making it completely suitable and safe for viewing in a church or youth group setting.I highly recommend this entertaining and uplifting film for the entire family..
I also heard it advertised on our local radio station and thought it sounded like a good movie.The movie clearly portrays the Hamilton family as a close group who walked through an extremely difficult tragedy with grace and courage.The scene when Bethany is attacked by the whale is brief but the aftermath is bloody and somewhat difficult to watch so I would encourage parents to be mindful of this.
I have always been a big fan of Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt especially her performance in Castaway with Tom Hanks but she plays the mom in this film with perfection and although I never though of Dennis as a surfer like Patrick Swayze he does his part as the girls father and couch perfectly.
I thought or hoped that they might have been original in the telling but this was nothing more than a Glossy version of a made for TV weepy .On the plus side The cinematography was great and the action shot enjoyable and well choreographed .If you love surfing then you'll probably enjoy this for the most part and for a Christian film or at least one with a strong Christian message this is definitely one of the better ones .
Soul Surfer is a good inspirational true story sports movie with some faith elements (Nothing too serious there, just emphasizing it was important) that hits all the right targets.
As with any true story it is slightly linear, but that minor gripe aside, it is moving, and fun, and inspiring and that surely is the point.At its best in the surf the story of Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack but by sheer determination went on to become a professional surfer is made to inspire and the film doesn't disappoint.
All in all, this is a good family movie with solid acting and some terrific surf scenes that should inspire everyone..
Pretty stringently based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton (played here by a charming up-and-comer AnnaSophia Robb) focuses on an ageless plot of courage and will despite adversities.
This world, perfect beyond reality, comes to a close due to a random shark attack, which deprives Bethany of one arm and seemingly ends all hopes to fulfilling her surfer dreams...Reminiscent of a cheap TV move with soap opera overdose "Soul Surfer" hold true to exaggerated clichés, unable to let go of its comfort area.
The fact that this movie has so many good votes, when it is really bad, means that there is a huge amount of religious freaks out there trying to convert the world into their fairy.For some reason every fool who believes in myths must try to convince others that their myth (only that one, and no other myth) is the right one, and that everybody must worship their deity.This story is the opposite of reality: when in real life religion is a problem that must be overcame in order to fight and success without expecting a magical intervention, they show the drama as if going to a temple will automatically resolve your problems.Religious propaganda, that's all.Don't waste your time seeing this pamphlet about how we should adore a magical fairy in the sky..
I always love the "true story" and the actual home videos after the credits showed how closely the movie followed the true story.A wonderful story that leaves you inspired and feeling good!.
I highly recommend this uplifting and inspiring film for the entire family.The film is based on a true story (Bethany Hamilton), you could google about her to read more about the story of the real girl that lost her arm to a shark in an accident.
God has put surfing in her soul, if you will.The event that has defined Bethany's life and the plot of this movie, is that at age 13 she was attacked by a shark and lost her arm.
The other half of the filmmakers, and likely the real people depicted in the film, believe that it was God and her Christian faith that saved her.I probably should have read up on what the real Bethany Hamilton is like in real life as it would have saved me from suffering through all the preachiness.
The bite scene just left me cold, both times i watched this and to see Bethany ripping it up again (she was a both a stunt double and AnnaSophias surf coach) was both inspirational and amazing.
Soul Surfer is a fine inspirational filming of the Bethany Hamilton story.
This is the true and powerful story of Bethany, a young surfer who loses her left arm in a tragic shark attack.
I know that this movie has not had good reviews, but please keep in mind that the acting, cinematography, and special effects are all secondary to the actual true story line.
As a young surfer, Bethany had her left arm bitten off by a shark off the coast of Hawaii, but rather than give up, she used her strong religious faith and the encouragement of her family to rebuild her life and her joy of surfing, eventually getting herself back to the top ranks of the surfing world.It's certainly an inspiring story.
Soul Surfer is about the tragic story of Bethany Hamilton being attacked by a shark at the tender age of thirteen while surfing with some friends.
Then when it occurs you become fully immersed in the story.AnnaSophia Robb, a lovely and attractive young woman, plays Bethany Hamilton an aspiring pro surfer age thirteen.
I saw the trailer in the theater with my mom about two months ago and when they were showing footage of girls surfing I leaned over to my and said "They need to make a movie about Bethany Hamilton.
C'mon let your colors burst" just fit perfectly with the message brought in the film.Soul Surfer is not perfect, but it will be an inspiring story for young women with some sort of restriction that they believe will keep them from doing what they want.
It was a wonderful, heartwarming movie with great cinematography for the surfing scenes, which were mostly done by the real Bethany Hamilton- so they were authentic.Regarding the acting-- I felt that Anna Sophia Robb really shined playing the lead role, and I predict her future will be very bright in the acting world.
Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid were strong as always, and did a great job being very likable, laid back Hawaian family with strong Christian values-- which the real life Hamiltons possess.Carrie Underwood did very well for her first movie role.
"Soul Surfer" (2011) relays the inspirational true story of 13 year-old surfer Bethany who's arm was bitten off by a shark in Hawaii in October, 2003.
This was a key climatic scene and the filmmakers needed to take the time to do it right, even if it took more time, practice, re-shoots, money or what have you; but it's like they shot it and said, "Well, it's not very good, but we'll try to make it work in the editing room".About Bethany's nemesis, I liked the way Bethany took her continuing rivalry: She observed, "At least she views me as competition" as opposed to those who essentially viewed her with pity.Despite the occasional stagy awkwardness, there's enough good here for me to give the film a mediocre rating, like Bethany & Alana and their relationship (played by cuties AnnaSophia Robb & Lorraine Nicholson, Jack's daughter), the awe-inspiring Hawaiian locations, solid performances by Helen Hunt & others (Dennis Quaid, Kevin Sorbo, Craig T.
God works in big and little things, and brings blessings to our personal worlds when we are patient and have faith in Him.For me, any consideration over its production were melted away when the simple but inspiring effects of the storyline unfolded.The production values were such that I knew this film would not waste time with special effects or high production values but instead would concentrate its focus upon the message and the story.I recommend this movie without reservation to anyone, believers and non-believers.This film is up there with 'Courageous' and 'Suing the Devil'.
I started watching Soul Surfer with the hope of finding well filmed surf scenes and beautiful Hawaiian landscapes, in order to compensate what would surely be a bland story about semi-religious inspiration.
Nelson, Carrie Underwood) along with a nice virtual vacation as it takes place exclusively in Hawaii.Soul Surfer is the real life story of Bethany Hamilton, a teen surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack and through faith and the support of her parents courageously overcame the odds to become a champion surfer again.The whole shark attack scene could have been a bit more...
I think this is one of the reasons that makes Bethany Hamilton a great role model, as there is often little to nothing we know about other celebrities attending church.Now, talking about the spiritual side of this movie.
It's based on the 2004 biographical book 'Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board' co-written by Bethany Hamilton and based on her personal experiences.
Soul SurferThe reason sharks only take one bite out of surfers is because they get too paranoid off the THC levels in their blood.And while the wave-rider in this drama isn't a stoner, she did survive a shark-attack with only a minor flesh wound.Bred by her parents (Denis Quad, Helen Hunt) to shoot the curl, Hawaiian-born Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia Robb) takes to the sport like a pro.Unfortunately, her lifelong dream of being a professional female surfer is threatened when a random shark separates her left arm from her body.Still compelled to compete in surf contests, Bethany eventually learns to overcome her obstacle and get back on her board.Based on a true story, Soul Surfer does have a strong inspiration angle; unfortunately, its faith-based narrative is off-putting.
In "Soul Surfer", this is the true story of the young real-life surfer named Bethany Hamilton, played by the remarkable AnnaSophia Robb from "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Because of Winn-Dixie", a Christian girl who grew up with a family full of surfers including parents Tom & Cheri (Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt) and has a friend in another surfer Alana Blanchard (Lorraine Nicholson, Jack Nicholson's daughter).
Let's face it, "Soul Surfer" can be melodramatic at times, but director Sean McNamara (Bratz: The Movie, Raise Your Voice) avoids the "cheesiness", especially its intense and fast-paced shark attack scene and the special effect of Bethany having one arm.
Based upon a true story.Teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton (Robb) loses her left arm in a shark attack, and questions why this happened to her and struggles to find meaning.
¨ Love is bigger than any tidal wave or fear.¨ Soul Surfer is one of those films with a lot of heart thanks to an inspiring true story about a young teenage girl who never gives up on her dream of becoming a professional surfer even though she losses an arm in a shark attack.
Soul Surfer doesn't have good visuals, the shark scene is so fake you just want to laugh at how bad it was made, but that isn't the important thing about this film.
This is one of those movies that could have worked way better if it was made as a documentary because we want to know more about the real and inspiring Bethany Hamilton, and one of the best things about this movie was the ending credits were we got to see some footage of her surfing and doing missionary work.AnnaSophia Robb is Bethany Hamilton, a teenage surfer who lives in Hawaii and spends most of her day in the water with her best friend, Alana Blanchard (Lorraine Nicholson) who is also a surfer.
Instead of forgetting about her dreams she decides to keep on fighting for them and competing to become a professional surfer without losing her faith in God despite the accident.It's hard to remain emotionally detached from a story that is so inspirational and although being far from perfect the producers did a decent job at telling it by not leaving out the religious aspect that was so central to Hamilton's life.
"Soul Surfer" tells the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a 13-year-old surfer, who loses one of her arms in a shark accident.
This is a true story about a young surfer named, Bethany Hamilton, who director Sean McNamara does an incredible job of displaying events of her life.
The true story is about a girl, Bethany Hamilton, who gets her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing.
It has a solid narrative structure that develops correctly the topics within the plot, it has a great cast of very good actors and actresses, and they all do an excellent acting, everybody does a good job in this film, the special effects are perfect, there are many good scenes, some touching, some beautiful, some very competent (the shark attack and the help she gets, or the surfing scenes, the music in the church at the beach...), the story had a direct contribution from the real people that actually lived these facts and, finally, it was correctly balanced among its perspectives, I mean, family movie, religious matters (they are part of the story), inspirational possibilities, sports, teen's problems, surfing, living close to the ocean in Hawaii, so, it's perfect!
Just this detail itself is already highly significant, bus you can add to that great supporting actors, all the central nucleus of the film: Lorraine Nicholson,Helen Hunt,Dennis Quaid, Kevin Sorbo and Carrie Underwood, and even the two boys, with smaller parts in the plot.It is a very good movie about this topic and shall please anyone that likes the main perspectives of this story (the ones quoted in the beginning).
Soul Surfer is a feel-good inspirational movie.But there are virtually NO Hawaiian-descent people in the film at all!!
Kudos to Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid for participating in a faith based movie (not overbearingly so) when Hollywood seems so full of superficial nonsense.The fact that her main rival ended up being her friend, despite the bitterness shown to her both when she had her arm and not, is a testament to how a little love goes a long way to turn bad to good..
"Soul Surfer" is a movie based on the true story of a teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her left arm in a shark attack.
This is the real life story of 13 year-old champion surfer Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia Robb) who loses her arm from a shark attack.
"Soul Surfer" is a based-on-fact film about the life of Bethany Hamilton, an optimistic, blissful young girl who rode lots of waves, lost an arm, and rode lots of waves some more.
Instead of giving up surfing over the loss of her arm, Bethany was determined to get back on her board several weeks later and prove that she is truly a soul surfer.(My Comments) Soul Surfer is an inspirational film for the whole family and an amazing story about a young girl who overcomes overwhelming obstacles and turns a traumatic tragedy into an achievement and triumph.
Most are poorly produced, poorly acted and not terribly entertaining."Soul Surfer" is NOT a Christian movie per se', but does carry within it the strong thread of the Hamilton family's faith.
At the beginning of the film the director sets up the story of a close knit family that enjoys practicing their faith together.After Bethany, an rising star in the Hawaii semi-professional surfing circuit, loses her left arm in a shark attack, the families faith and passion for life gets them through the tragic circumstances.The quality of the cinematography is good and the story is well acted by Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and Anna Sophia Robb.
:D The story tells us about Bethany Hamilton who lost his left arm because of shark attack when she was surfing back then.