Film Review “Child, Come Back Home!” Who Saved the Young Internet Addict?

By Zhiyong, Italy

    It is a film which reflects the real life. At the beginning of it, all the people of different social strata bowing their heads are playing the cellphones obsessively in the subways, buses, and campuses. The movie reflects a serious issue existing in present-day society in a visual way—the harm to people brought by internet. Compared with other films of the same type about internet addiction, not only does it generally illustrate the bad influences and disadvantages brought by the age of internet to people, but it particularly takes one of the families for example to expound the severe shadows the online games bring to the minds and bodies of the parents and child after it enters the family. The most valuable portion is that it points out the path of practice to solve the internet addiction in the end. So, it is a film which is of much benefit to the whole society and the whole mankind.

The hero Li Xinguang, a 17-year-old middle school student, used to return his parents with good grades, but then is corroded and poisoned by the online games. Since he is addicted to the online games, he has spent every waking moment playing online games in net bar, bathing in the world of games not knowing what time it is. Under the corrosion of online games, he gradually abandons previous positive life’s pursuit and dream and throws up his education as he is on very intimate terms with the computer every day.

    Pathetic are the feelings of all parents under heaven toward their offspring! In order to help Xinguang get rid of internet addiction, his parents have taken various measures, such as beating and scolding him. Even they consider sending him to the Internet detox center but they are afraid that he may undergo inhumane treatment. After careful consideration, they decide to borrow money to send him into a boarding school. They thought that he would get far away from the online games after entering the boarding school. Unexpectedly, lured by bad students, he even climbs over the high wall which traps him, then gallops on the battlefield of online games again.

Poisoned by the online games, he who was full of vigor and vitality, is getting more and more decadent; he who was sensible and obedient, is getting more and more perverse. What is worse, there is not a common topic to talk between he and his parents. And he begins to hate his parents and always speaks to his parents aggressively because of the disciplines from them. These changes make his patents bitterly disappointed. Seeing he hardly extricate himself from the online games, his parents tear their hearts out for him, but they could do nothing. The plot is very touching, leading people to integrate into it naturally. Especially for the people who have the same experience, they think it seems to be telling their own stories. I have to say that all the staffs and actors take great care to make the film and play their roles, so that audiences are able to appreciate it as a personal favor.

A common saying goes: The end of man is the beginning of God. Just when the family is faced with the painful circumstance but can’t get rid of it, God’s gospel befalls them. The gospel-preachers appear on the scene. Then the hero’s parents begin to attend the meetings and read God’s words, and the family begins to come to life bit by bit. At the sight of their son walking into the net bar recklessly again, instead of scolding, beating and complaining tearfully, they pray to God, entrust his internet addiction to Him, and beg Him to save their son.

What attract audiences’ eyes most are the courses of the hero’s parents’ seeking the true way and the hero’s freeing himself from internet games and making a fresh start. During their fellowship about how to get away from internet addiction, Almighty God’s words expose directly several issues of humanity’s real living conditions: Why can’t parents and children get along with each other? How is mankind corrupted as they have developed to the present day? Moreover, they fellowship that as science develops, all kinds of internet games have already been the number-one killer poisoning modern men, and that Satan takes advantage of the eroticisms, violence, trickeries, and trades in the games to deceive men, with the result that men’s wild ambitions and desires have grown and grown, and men have been corrupted and lacking in human-likeness gradually. With regard to the strait, Almighty God’s words point out the root of the problem and also figure out the path to solve it.

    Another highlight of the film is the true witnesses that believers of the church of Almighty God got rid of the influence of internet addiction’s poison under the guidance of Almighty God’s words. Not only can these true witnesses encourage the hero to have faith to abandon online games completely, but they show all the audiences how serious the harm to the whole society brought by internet is. These youngsters’ personal experiences indeed make us rethink profoundly.

There are many meticulous performances in the film that promote the development of the plot. First, the leading character’s parents practice God’s word to open hearts to their son after hearing the witnesses. When his father, Li Xiangming, says, “We didn’t follow God or understand the truth before, so we can’t see through these things. And we don’t know how to educate you. I used to treat you by the flesh. I am too arrogant, and I do apologize.”, not only Li Xinguang but also thousands of parents and children having the same experience are moved.

Second, it is Feng Hao’s death. When the doctor announces Feng Hao’s death, Xinguang sinks down, with his face turning ashy and tears sliding down from his terrified eyes. We don’t know whether he is sad for Feng Hao or scared for himself. We can only say that the incident points out the keynote and it’s too shocking. Although it is just a plot in the film, are there still few young people who died of internet addiction in the real life?

After hearing the experiences of the believers in Almighty God Church and God’s words, Xinguang finally understands the harm of online games thoroughly and senses that the next one who will be hurt will be himself if he is still unable to break away from online games. Recalling the painful experience, under the guidance of God’s words, he gets rid of online games completely. Throughout the film, Li Xinguang changes from an originally obedient child into a stubborn net worm poisoned by Satan’s trend; from the beginning following God just for satisfying his parents into accepting God’s work completely; from a decadent youngster knowing nothing into a beneficiary of seeing through many matters by God’s words. As the storylines deepen step by step, the actor vivid interprets the role of Li Xinguang and successfully shapes a model of a young internet addict saved by God.

 At the end of the film, the moment Xinguang’s parents enter home, seeing the game posts and CDs in the trash can and hearing the beautiful melody floating from the guitar which has already been left behind for a long time, their hearts were full of gratitude. Because they know in their deep hearts: It is God who saved their son and family. The song called “Come Back Home, Baby” expresses mothers’ worry about and care for their lost children. The sentimental and beautiful melody moves us deeply and makes us shed tears for this child who has already come back home, also for thousands of children who have not yet come back home.

## See also

Child, come back home!

Film Review: Child, Come Back Home – The Call of God’s Love

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