The film was directed by Sean McNamara, and it explores faith in God, courage, determination , family love, overcoming adversities and discovering purpose even in difficulty circumstances.
Unlike many sports movies which focuses on winning competitions and award, soul surfer asked a deeper question : what happens when the one thing you love is suddenly taken away from you. The movie answer to the question is that a painful experience does not have to destroy or prevent you from making a difference in other people lives
The movie introducing Bethany Hamilton a teenage girl who lives in Hawaii .
Bethany came from a family that loves surfing her parents Tom and Cheri support her interest while siblings and friends share her love for the Ocean
Her closest friend was Alana Blanchard who enjoys surfing competitively .
Together the girls train, compete and dream of becoming a successful surfer by profession.
Bethany's ability attracted attention, and she began to see the opportunity to turn her passion into career. Her life remain promising until one day.
While she was surfing with Alana and members of her family , Bethany was attack by a shark and that causes her to lose her left arm and nearly costs her life as well. But she was rescue by her companions and was brought to safety
The incident is the turning point of the movie because it's suddenly transform Bethany life.
Before the attack Bethany was just concerned with improving her skills and winning competitions. Now she must confront the reality of living with a permanent disability.
This incident established a conflict of the movie: will Bethany allow this tragedy to end her surfing dream or will she push through it.
After the attack Bethany begins her recovery. Although she receives encouragement from people around her she still has to confront the truth that other people cannot overcome on her behalf .
Every activity becomes more complicated than it used to be without her left arm Bethany must have to reconsider how she performs movement she previously carry out naturally .
She began adapting to her techniques and also learning new ways to maintain her balance on water
This part of the story highlights the truth that : Determination does not necessarily remove obstacle but it helps us search for ways to overcome them.
Bethany returns to the ocean , however returning to surfing was not as easy as it was initially.
During a competition she struggles to perform the way she once did. But the experience leaves her disappointed and force to confront the possibility that she may never be able to achieve her dream . This is one of the most important aspect of the film because it's shows that courage does not mean never experiencing disappointment, but rather rising up to face your fears.
One of the most important improvement occurs when Bethany joins the mission trip to Thailand following the devastating India tsunami .
During the trip, she met people whose life has been greatly affected by the disaster .
The experience challenge her perspective .
Then she began to see the importance of looking beyond her personal circumstances.
She begins to realize that experiences may help her encourage people facing difficulties in their lives.
Discovering purpose does not require that pain never happened . Bethany acknowledge her difficulties while also finding meaning in her response to them.
After returning from Thailand she begins to see her future differently, she recognized that her story can encourage people who are facing physical, emotional or personal challenges.
At the same time she continues to train, building more capacity, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Eventually she returned to surfing and demonstrate that her injury does not deny her the pursuit of excellence.
Her journey is not limited to winning but, rather Recovery, confidence, continuing to grow and discovering that her life still has a possibility.
LESSONS
- Never allow a setback to defined your future
- Courage means continuing despite fear
- Faith can provide strength during difficult times
- Your identity is bigger than your achievement
- Helping others can change your perspective
- Adaptability is an important part of success
I recommend you to watch and, see how you break through barriers into your dreams. Thanks
