  
Letters to GodMPAA Rating:
 for thematic material.Reviewed by: Karl Heitman Excellent!
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Kids Family Teens Adults
Genre:
Drama Adaptation
Length:
1 hr. 50 min.
Year of Release:
2010
USA Release:
April 9, 2010 (wide—900+ theaters)
DVD: August 10, 2010   
Relevant Issues
Prayer
PRAYER—Tips for new and growing Christians Why aren't my prayers answered? Answer Prayer in the Bible PARENTING TIPS ON TEACHING THANKFULNESS—Besides saying grace at meals, how can I teach my child to be thankful? Answer STORY ABOUT PRAYER—Hindus Pray to Jesus for their dead daughter Hope
Depression
DEPRESSION—Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression? Answer Cancer
Where did cancer come from? Answer How did bad things come about? Answer Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer What about the issue of suffering? Doesn't this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer Does God feel our pain? Answer What kind of world would you create? Answer God
How can we know there’s a God? Answer What if the cosmos is all that there is? Answer If God made everything, who made God? Answer What does God say? Answer Is Jesus Christ God? Answer
How can I be sure of my salvation? Answer What is “the unpardonable sin”? How does sin become “unforgivable”? Answer
“Hope is contagious. Given the right address, anything is possible.” “Letters to God” is a breath of fresh air for people who are sick and tired of the type of films Hollywood is filling our generation’s mind with. It continually saddens me to see professing “Christians” recommend films that contain profanity, sexual promiscuity, and other worldly behaviors. Do not become numb to the things of this world, and do not forget that we are commanded to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). “Letters to God” is inspired by a true story about a boy who’s dying of cancer. The sick boy is living with his single mom, teenage brother, and grandma. Together they are trying to cope with the reality of disease and death, and how it relates to faith in the true God revealed in the Scriptures. The one who seems to be dealing with the situation the best is Tyler, the boy with cancer. He displays the kind of faith Jesus Himself describes in Matthew 21; the faith that can move mountains. He displays his child-like faith by writing letters to God and placing them in the mail box. The letters end up in the hands of the mailman. In the beginning, a new mailman comes into the scene. He is a lost, drunken, hopeless man who has lost his wife and son, as a result of his addiction to alcohol. God has said the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), but sin, also, has earthly wages, which is realistically portrayed though the life of this mailman. Through Tyler’s letters to God, he begins to be inspired and is touched by Tyler’s strong faith in the Mighty One. “How can a dying boy have so much hope and a perfectly healthy man is slowly killing himself,” one must ask? It will cause you to examine yourself, to say the least. The movie is well made for the budget they had, and the acting is average. However, the message is stronger than any movie I’ve seen in a very long time. The only part of the film that deserves a warning is that the mailman is seen sitting in a bar a few times, but there is no foul language or other inappropriate behavior shown. There are no sexual references or violence to speak of. Theologically, I feel inclined to point out that the Gospel message is communicated, however, it is based on the “just ask Jesus to come into your heart” style of evangelism. Taken from a child’s perspective, it is good to see that the Gospel is present, but that is not how a sinner is saved. A sinner must first realize that he or she has sinned, and, as a result of that sin, deserves to be punished eternally in Hell. Only then will a sinner see the genuine need for a Savior: Jesus Christ. Only when a person, child or adult, understands the depravity of their soul can they repent and believe the Gospel. It is a divine work of God (John 6:44). “Asking Jesus to come into your heart” does not save a person. Evidence of salvation is a new life in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), not the act of having said a short prayer one time in your life. Overall, I highly recommend this film to any family. In fact, it’s one to buy and add to your movie collection. Buy it as a gift or loan it out, because everyone could benefit from the faith and influence young Tyler has on his entire community. We need more movies out there like this one. Let this Scripture ring in your ear,
Violence: None / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None Where did cancer come from? Answer
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments below:
Positive
Positive - I would give this movie a 10 or higher. This is the first movie in 2010 which gives glory to the Lord. The movie points to Jesus Christ as savior. I have refuse to see all 2010 movies because they have fallen short in giving the Lord reverence, but not "Letters To God". What a blessing it was for my family to watch this when it came out. I have already recommended this movie to my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ and bring nonbelievers to this movie. Wave after wave of love in this movie. I plan on buying the “Letters to God” DVD when it comes out. Well worth supporting the directors and actors/actreeses and staff of this movie. God bless them. Positive - I wasn't sure what what expect from “Letters to God.” Overall, I found this to be a great movie which helps me reflect on my own faith; how I am living, and if I sharing my faith with others, regardless of what people think or say. Living out the message of the gospel is seen in this movie. Finally, I can relate since my very close friend has a terminal illness. She can not do many of the activities that other people do. I know God has used her and this movie to show me a life lived for Christ is not free from suffering, but through it all Christ can use someone to show His love to others and give him/her a new life in Christ. Positive - I watched this movie and I loved it. It was a truly inspiring story, and left me re-evaluating my life and my faith. I liked that it addressed issues that are often ignored by films lke these, such as the struggle in keeping the faith strong during hard times. Positive - This movie is extremely touching, and it really opened my eyes to a lot of things that I often take for granted. I would absolutely recommend this movie to anyone and everyone! Positive - I took my wife and kids to this movie over the weekend, and I am so glad I did. The movie was incredibly touching and inspiring for my children. We can all learn a valuable lesson or two from this movie. I highly recommend you seeing it! Positive - This movie is amazingly touching and it truly made me realize some of the things that people often take for granted. It had an excellent message and I recommend it to everybody. Positive - I took my wife and kids to see “Letters to God” this past weekend, and we all enjoyed it so much. The movie was touching and inspiring for my children. Go see it and bring the whole family! Positive - Wow. It reminds me of “The Ultimate Gift,” wow. Really well acted, almost no cheese factor! This movie is not only worth seeing, worth owning, but worth recomending to everyone you know! Go now while it's still in theatres! Positive - I loved this film and would definitely recommend it to anyone. The story is heartwarming and the message is great for adults, too. I watched this at a low point in my life and realized that no matter what my trials and tribulations are, my suffering is nowhere near that of Tyler and his family. His unshaken faith in the face of his own death and following the death of his father, is amazing. Neutral
Neutral - The trailer for this movie is excellent, the actual movie was too cliche, too unrealistic. The basic story is certainly worthy of a movie - the script and acting were just too fake appearing. It's okay for $5 matinee, but nothing more unfortunately. Negative
Negative - I’ll say this with love and kindness and no disrespect to those who enjoyed the movie but, as a Christian and a guy hoping to be a filmmaker, this is the exact kind of film that creates a further gap between believers and nonbelievers. This film is for believers and believers only, and my stomach clenches when I think of being associated with this film just because I’m a Christian. God deserves movies that aren’t schmaltzy, uninspired, and untasteful to everyone but Christians. Comments from young people
Positive - As a teenager in our society, I'm tired of the trash that has been showing in the movies. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I knew I wanted to see it. Positive - I highly recommend “Letters to God.” Not only does it have good acting, scrip, and characters, but the message is excellent. Admittedly, there were a few areas that could have been a little tighter--in the beginning for example, too much time is spent on a character who summarily vanishes and is never seen again--but overall it is one of my favorite movies I've seen this year. It perfectly captures the elusive element of having a clearly Christian worldview and expressing that view without being preachy or corny. Especially coming out on the heels of “My Sister's Keeper,” this movie provides an excellent answer to the question of life after death, hope in the face of tragedy, and most of all, God's love even during dark times. My entire family from the adults down to the ten-year-old loved it. Neutral - A film about a child writing letters to God should be pure gold for anybody, Christian or not. However, the sappy, overdone dialogue and performances will probably do anything but bring people to Christ. This film, as a Christian, almost made me feel bad about myself when it makes converting to the faith look that easy. I long for the day that Christian art will be what it used to be when Shakespeare, Mozart, and Beethoven were around. Positive - …a wonderful story of a boy's faith in God. Though the acting isn't wonderful, the message is better. I would say that it is worth your money! Neutral - I love Christian films that are gritty, realistic yet still have a shining message—“The Blind Side” comes to mind rather quickly. However, this movie, with its cringe-inducing, drawn-out, overdone dialogue, average acting, and only decent moral value did nothing to bring me spiritually closer to God. |
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