Wonderful Movie

Best movie of this year hands down!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Christy (Jennifer Garner) and Kevin Beam (Martin Henderson) have daughters Anna (Kylie Rogers), Abbie (Brighton Sharbino), and Adelynn (Courtney Fansler). They take care of animals with a giant dead tree in their yard. They attend the small Texas town church of Pastor Scott (John Carroll Lynch). Anna suddenly comes down with a mysterious illness and is in constant pain. Eventually, she's diagnosed with an incurable digestive disease. They are directed to specialist Dr. Nurko (Eugenio Derbez) in Boston. In desperation, Christy and Anna go see the doctor without the impossible-to-get appointment. Anna is shown kindness along the way like Boston waitress Angela (Queen Latifah). This is a real tear jerker especially with the suffering of young Anna. The acting is solid all around. I can do without the extended montages. This is a faith-based film. It gets a little heavy handed in the end. It would function more effectively by letting Anna's storytelling room to breathe. It tries to force it which diminishes Anna's tale to only the believers. This almost transcends the genre which could have been great.

As a Christ follower, and one who enjoys uplifting and encouraging films, I'm always looking for faith-based movies to see. I've seen some good ones, but also (unfortunately) too many - though sincerely made - not so good ones. This one was not only highly rated on Netflix, but it features two well-known actresses (Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah) and a couple of recognizable character actors (Martin Lawrence and John Carroll Lynch) as well. So I thought I'd check it out.Firstly, I didn't know the story of the Beam family as told in the book which shares the film's title; it was a New York Times Bestseller written by a Texas mother named Christy Beam (Garner's character) a couple of years ago. I also didn't know it was about a young girl's claim that she went to Heaven and returned. This non- Biblical concept was exploited a few years earlier in a film I definitely avoided. So, I wouldn't have 'rented' this one if I'd have known in advance that it was going to promote the same heretical concept.However, since this part of the plot isn't revealed until late in the drama, I watched it unaware of what was going to happen, like anyone else unfamiliar with this purported true story.It's actually pretty good, for the most part. It realistically portrays the family's struggles through the hardships and inherent suffering when dealing with the torturous medical condition of one of their three daughters. Anna, played by Kylie Rogers, who is essentially terminal, though - unless I missed it - no doctor says anything like "she has 14 months to live".I certainly hope that there really are doctors like Dr. Nurko (Eugenio Derbez), the busy specialist in Boston that treats Anna's condition(s). What a bright light of joy amidst such difficult circumstances. He's one of two characters - the other is played by Queen Latifah - that exhibit Christ-like behavior without explicitly being identified as having faith in Jesus.In fact, there are several other characters who profess to be Christians that espouse misguided Pharisaical beliefs: that Anna's condition is due to sin or a lack of faith in the Beam family. Fortunately, Christy's Pastor Scott (Lynch) later says to Christy: "Kevin (her husband, played by Henderson) told me what those ladies said to you, and ... I sure wish that I could give everybody a spiritual IQ test before they walk in the door."I'm really not sure if the mixed messages of these characterizations - in addition to Christy's inconsistent faith throughout - were intentional or just symptomatic of the flawed Prosperity Gospel to which producer TD Jakes subscribes.Finally, actress Garner didn't deliver the emotional depth that was required to carry the picture. This was surprising given that she also has three daughters and her director, Patricia Riggen (who ably conveyed the drama of The 33 (2015)), is the mother of a daughter herself.

As a Christian, I can tell you this movie is very uplifting to anyone who follows the religion. This movie was very well written and filmed, also, with no plot holes I was able to notice. My one issue with this movie (and the reason I did not give it a full 10/10) is how utterly depressing it is. I could generally be considered a tough person, but it was hard for even me to hold back all my tears. Yes, of course there's much resolution, but let's just say that in certain cases there isn't. I definitely wouldn't recommend watching it alone, but make sure you're comfortable with the person you watch it with. If you're not comfortable crying in front of people... yeah.MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN~Chie~

This was maybe the worst movie I saw in about 10 years. I would be embarrassed to act in this movie and the directing was just awful. Even the acting or the camera work wasn't good. Everything was just bad. And then it is incredibly preachy: If you are a non-believer you are 'doomed'? Come on! Word of advice for atheists or agnostics who are tempted to watch this movie: don't do it! Word of advice for religious people: ask yourself if it is really necessary to show that non-believers are less worthy or in the wrong and have to be convinced to find faith. Try not to be biased watching this and ask yourself why do you have to be indoctrinated by movies like this to think atheists are worth less.Stupid dreadful movie. I can't even find words for it.