For anyone who has ever lost a loved one and wondered why, this is the movie for you. Offering hope and a spiritual slant, this movie provides hope to the sad, grieving person missing a departed loved one.
The film opens with a young girl named Naomi, outside at a memorial service for her mother, surrounded by flowers, as she talks about a book she just published. In the scene, Naomi speaks about her mom and dad’s wedding, and how that her mother was not a believer at first. When her dad suddenly died, her mother placed the blame on God, but when she was diagnosed with cancer she “reached out to Jesus.” Naomi says, in a hopeful way, that Jesus saved her mother, despite her previous rejection of Him.
Later her aunt Lisa loses a daughter named Audrey. Red headed like her mother, Audrey was a sweet girl. Later Lisa reflects on being with her when she passed and how Audrey told her she heard angels singing and that they were beautiful. “I have to go now, Mama,” she says. She tells her they will see one another again. Moments later, with Lisa in great grief and crying, she sees Audrey’s spirit for a brief second, looking whole, and saying “Good-bye.”
The symbol of this heart-touching movie is the flower. In a powerful scene, a young girl named Anna gives Lisa a flower, which she says has lived for years. “Flowers don’t last that long,” says Lisa. But Anna tells her about the widow woman having just a small amount of flour and oil, but how she used it for Elijah and God kept the supply going. “There’s something that needs resurrecting in your life,” she tells Lisa. And Anna’s right. Lisa’s husband Chris has been bitter at God ever since Audrey died. He has buried his pain in drugs and drinking. He and Lisa have been on the outs and their other daughter, Olivia, misses her daddy. Anna offers hope, that as God resurrected a flower that looked as if it were dying, he can resurrect the important things in their lives.
The actresses who play Lisa and Naomi carry a story that many people will relate to. Grief is a realistic part of the movie and the film explores the different ways in which various people deal with the grief and their feelings. The movie is ultimately about hope. Although Lisa and Chris argue a lot, it is Lisa’s faith in God that doesn’t waver, that keeps pointing Chris to come to God empty handed in order to allow Him to heal the hurt.
This movie will definitely minister to those who have lost loved ones, and offers the hope in Christ of a future reunion. Lisa boldly stands up to a drug-dealer friend of Chris, and the film will inspire those who live for Christ to be bold in their daily walk. Relying on Philippians 1:6, this film powerfully affirms: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
The film has merits our Dove seal for Ages 12+, although parents need to consult our description listings for more moderate content.
The Dove Take:
Watching this film will reward you with the hope of Christ, and of seeing departed loved ones again one day.
