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The Rock

In Luke 19, Jesus told some Pharisees that if men stopped praising him, the rocks would cry out. In a world where the church has gone silent, a rock starts talking to a young man, Josh, about spreading the gospel. Josh thinks he may be going crazy! His mother, some kids in a bathroom stall and his science teacher, who catch him talking to “someone,” think he is being a bit weird. When it causes an incident in school, the principal wonders why it is so important. The rock continues to try to convince Josh to tell people about Jesus. Josh finally agrees to try, but first he has to confess to stealing from his mother and apologize to the girl next door.

When Josh first tries talking to strangers on the street, Josh is embarrassed at first. After his friends desert him, he stands up in his school canteen to talk about Jesus but is pelted with food and suspended for causing a food fight! Josh does not stop there. He encourages his mother to forgive her estranged husband, although she is very reluctant. He does not want to talk about Jesus to a teacher who hates him -- or the bully – that is, until after they conspire together to make it look like he cheated on a test. Finally, his mother has the opportunity to forgive the father, and the school principal observes this “Jesus” message has led to a reduction in fights breaking out at school.
8
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
12345
FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

“The Rock” is a unique film about a young high school student from Australia named Josh (Daniel Harpur), who meets a rock that tells him to start telling others about Jesus. The plot is based on a passage of Scripture found in Luke 19, in which Jesus told the Pharisees that if men stopped praising him, the rocks would cry out. People look bored in Josh’s church, including Josh, and not much is happening. But then, when Josh starts telling others about the talking rock, they think he has lost it, including his mother, Kathleen (Dianne Jackson). The rock features the original-sounding voice of Joe Applegate, whose voice is unique. The rock is animated and appears to actually be speaking to Josh.

Although Josh is teased, bullied and winds up in the principal’s office, he begins to witness to others about Christ and sees some results after a while. Some of those results hit close to home when his father, Carl, whom he has never known, comes back into his life. Josh also makes a difference in his classmates’ lives, and the principal of his school says that fights in the school have seen a 70-percent reduction since Josh started telling others about Christ. We are thrilled to present “The Rock” our “Faith-Friendly” Seal for ages 12-plus. Its themes include making restitution when necessary, doing the right thing, and letting others know about God’s love. Make sure that a rock never has to speak up for you!

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

A boy is bullied by classmates, including being tripped and shoved and having paper wads and food thrown at him; a mother slaps her son on the side of the face when he admits to stealing, but the action is audible and not visible and is not repeated; a man, whom a boy witnessed to about Jesus, chases him out of his bakery with a rolling pin; kid smacks boy in head; comment that a man abused his wife, but the man changes.

0
Sex

None.

1
Language

For G's Sake-1; Several mentions of "Hell" as a biblical place; Dork-1 Squirt-1

2
Violence

A boy is bullied by classmates, including being tripped and shoved and having paper wads and food thrown at him; a mother slaps her son on the side of the face when he admits to stealing, but the action is audible and not visible and is not repeated; a man, whom a boy witnessed to about Jesus, chases him out of his bakery with a rolling pin; kid smacks boy in head; comment that a man abused his wife, but the man changes.

1
Drugs

A joke about bees liking beer.

2
Nudity

Mild cleavage in a couple of scenes; the teacher wears a short skirt in several scenes.

2
Other

Teen boy is grunting on toilet, but nothing graphic is shown; a boy steals money from his mother but later confesses; a boy sets up another boy to look as if he were cheating on a school exam; school official tells boy he can't tell others about Jesus in school, but he does and then the school considers introducing a religion class as part of its curriculum; a mother told her son his dad was dead but later admits he is alive.

More Information

Film Information
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Runtime
70
Rating
N/A
Reviewer
Edwin L Carpenter
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