A Trip to Heaven

Note: A LOT of spoiler alerts on the new Heaven is for Real movie

            This is one of the sweetest movies I’ve ever seen, but also simultaneously bothersome. Just like some of the characters (and people in real life since this is based off of a true story) in the movie, this idea of a little boy going to heaven bothered me. I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because, like the others, I had my own idea of what heaven was like and I didn’t want someone telling me I was wrong.

            I warmed up to the idea, though, and enjoyed the movie quite a bit. I have a lot of good things to say. The acting was well done and the actors well picked. It had a great balance between whimsical and serious with an important message to say.

            One of my favorite parts, which hardly had anything to do with the plot until the very end, was how the movie started off with this image of a young girl painting an eye. By the end, it’s revealed that she is a child prodigy who paints her religious visions. She paints Jesus and Colton, the little boy, recognizes it as the same Jesus he met in heaven. Since I’ve heard about this girl before, Akiane Kramarik, I just got really excited. (Seriously, her artwork is amazing: https://www.akiane.com/store/).

            Moving on, the real part I loved was near the end when Colton’s father, Todd, finally faces his congregation and the media on Colton’s trip to heaven. After a serious of difficult events that year and a personal journey to figure out whether or not to believe his son, Todd admits to himself and everyone else that he believes Colton. He admits he believes God at least showed Colton a version of heaven and that was good enough for him. He said more, but honestly I can’t remember because it’s been a few days since I saw the film. I just really admire the scene, how Todd came to the conclusion, and how he had the courage to face everyone after his family was struggling because of the fame following Colton.

            Now, as much as I liked the film, I can say there were parts of it I didn’t agree with. Like all Christian movies tend to do, I felt that it had one of those “happily-ever-after because of God” feels. That’s not necessarily bad, but I think that’s just going to turn those who aren’t Christian away from the movie.

            What really bothered me was whenever the film attempted to show what Colton was describing in heaven. I know, creative liberties, but I felt that it took away from the main point. Wasn’t the point that Todd doesn’t know whether or not to believe Colton? Showing what Colton saw is like telling the viewers, “Yes, Heaven is real. Here it is so you can believe Colton while Todd figures it out.” It simply took away from the conflict and didn’t allow me to imagine Colton’s descriptions.

            This was really the only bothersome aspect, but while reading movie reviews I found a point I’d like to address. Movie critic, Adam Markowitz, claimed, “There's no antagonist, no resolution, and no real climax — just a series of mildly charming scenes in which Colton shares heavenly knowledge while his family reacts with awestruck tears.” What he’s referring to is the fact that Todd goes through a series of events, from breaking his leg, to passing kidney stones, to almost losing his son, and in the midst of it all is his son’s trip to heaven and how it affected the family.

I only agree with Markowitz up to a point. I simply don’t see a real problem with what he critiqued. This movie is based on a book, which is based on a true story. That happens in life sometimes. A series of bad events occur and in the midst of it all is something greater going on. And I think there’s more than just Colton sharing tidbits of “heavenly knowledge,” Todd is really going through a personal ordeal with the media bothering his family and his congregation and with himself on whether or not to believe his son. I don’t see why that can’t be enough for a movie.

In general, though I disagree with a thing or two, I think Heaven is for Real is a beautiful, Christian movie, which I enjoyed a lot more than Noah (as can be seen by my previous post: http://sowhatimachristianteen.blogspot.com/2014/04/noah-more-like-not-ah.html).

To me, it was just a must see and still is.

Sources:

Markowitz, Adam. "Movie Review: Heaven Is for Real." EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 18

Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.<http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20483133_20764834%2C00.html>.