Today’s Prayer Focus
Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment
MOVIE REVIEW

Miracles from Heaven

also known as “Los milagros del cielo,“ “Himmelskind”
MPA Rating: PG-Rating (MPA) for thematic material, including accident and medical images.

Reviewed by: Karen C. Flores
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Good
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults Family
Genre: Faith-based Drama
Length: 1 hr. 10 min.
Year of Release: 2016
USA Release: March 16, 2016 (wide—3,000+ theaters)
DVD: July 12, 2016
Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainmentclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment Copyright, TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Relevant Issues
Issue of pain and suffering

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer

Does God feel our pain? Answer

ORIGIN OF BAD—How did bad things come about? Answer

Did God make the world the way it is now? What kind of world would you create? Answer

faith

prayer

Miracles, including list of biblical miracles

MIRACLES—Has science disproved the miracles associated with Jesus Christ? Answer

Is it logical to believe that the biblical miracles really happened? Answer

“Miracles are not possible,” some claim. Is this true? Answer

Are you thankful to God? GO

What should we thank God for, and how should we praise Him? Answer

THANKFULNESS—Tips for New and Growing Christians—GO

Featuring Jennifer Garner … Christy Beam
Martin Henderson … Kevin Beam
Queen Latifah … Angela
Brighton Sharbino … Abby Beam
John Carroll Lynch … Pastor Scott
Kylie Rogers … Anna Beam
Bruce Altman … Dr. Thompson
Eugenio Derbez … Dr. Nurko
Hannah Alligood … Haley
See all »
Director Patricia Riggen — “The 33” (2015), “Under the Same Moon” (2008)
Producer TriStar Pictures
T.D. Jakes (Progressive Liberal preacher)
DeVon Franklin (Progressive Liberal Seventh-day Adventist preacher, author, motivational speaker)
See all »
Distributor
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, a division of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Based on the book by Christy Beam, the story follows a young girl who is suffering from a rare digestive disorder and later finds herself miraculously cured after surviving a terrible accident. “Miracles From Heaven” is the story of a loving Midwestern family that is heavily involved in their church. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes the family, when the middle daughter, Annabel Beam is diagnosed with a rare intestinal disease. She basically cannot digest food because her lower intestines stop functioning. The movie revolves around the mother and the heartaches that she goes through while attempting to get medical treatment for her daughter.

I must admit that of all the modern day Christian films that I have seen, the acting in this film is outstanding. Jennifer Garner plays the character Christy Beam. Ms. Garner gives a stellar performance throughout this picture. The audience can feel her frustration as we see her fighting with the doctors about treating her daughter. We empathize with her pain when church members judge her faith. We sense her anxiety as she has to be separated from her family in order to take Annabel for treatments out on the East coast. Jennifer Garner allows you to feel what a mother would feel. I cannot image any mother not empathizing with Christy after seeing Ms. Garner’s performance.

The movie, overall, is a very clean and decent Christian film. There is no profanity, no nudity, and no violence. I would like to point out areas where some Christians may have a problem. In the film, Annabel tells her family that she spoke to God and saw Him in Heaven. The film shows a place that Annabel believes to be to Heaven. I do want to make people aware that it is not elaborately discussed, and it is not the main focal point of the film. I think that small children might have a hard time with a few of the more intense scenes—the accident and seeing sick children. Otherwise, it is a family-friendly film, and I think it is worth seeing.

Violence: None / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—A must see movie… Very real and engaging… Will make you cry throughout… Great film for the entire family.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Paul, age 59 (Canada)
Positive—What a fantastic movie! Great messages on the importance of trusting and relying on God in the midst of trouble, as well as the little “miracles” that can be found in everyday life. Jennifer Garner gives the performance of her life. Is it uneasy at times? Yes. But there’s some humor laced throughout to lighten the audience up (something that “90 Minutes in Heaven” failed to really succeed at).

Altogether, well-paced, well-written and doesn’t shortchange the values of God and faith. The film is wholesome and carries very little problematic content. A few low-cut outfits are seen from time-to-time. Finally, people interject “oh my g**!” a handful of times. However, it is important to note these interjections were out of complete shock to an extremely stressful situation.

I would advise parents to use some caution on very young children. Some of the hospital scenes are a little upsetting. Parents can base decisions for their family based on how sensitive their children are to the subjects of terminal illness and death (though this movie would make a terrific discussion starter for those subjects as well).
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Blake Wilson, age 21 (USA)
Positive—Only a few films have held me captivated this year, and this was one of them. With only one exception, where the pacing seemed off, this film has excellent story telling, cinematography, editing and… is an improvement for Christian films. Jennifer Garner was fantastic and carries the film all the way through! Please show your support for Christian films and go see “Miracles from Heaven.” Also, as a Reformed Baptist, I ask people not to let theology disputes get in the way of appreciating good art that honors God.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
C. W., age 29 (USA)
Positive— This movie was very well done. Jennifer Garner was great in it. It was about a girl that had a very serious intestinal disorder. The mom lost her faith because of it, but later recovered. The film was very moving. ***SPOILER*** At the end, the girl is healed, and she states that she saw God after a horrible fall in a tree, and that God told her it was not time for he to be in Heaven yet. ***END SPOILER*** Don’t know if I heard of Jesus in the film, but not being critical. Wonderful film, overall, and instances of small miracles in the film that helped the girl through.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Bill Boylston, age 57 (USA)
Positive—I didn’t actually know exactly what this movie was going to be about when I first went to it, and didn’t really care to see it. Now, I’m very glad I changed my mind and went to it anyway, because it was one of the best movies I’ve seen in years! This movie is based on a true story about a Christian family who went through hard times when one of their daughters stopped being able to digest food properly. They had to sell a lot of their things in order to pay for the expenses of medical treatments for her, and she just seemed to get worse. But, in the end, it turned out that God had been helping them the entire time.

The casting in this movie was great. All the actors were very believable as the people they were portraying. The movie also did a good job showing the struggles a family can go through during hard times such as this, and also made very clear that God was helping them. I thought it was a great movie that every Christian should see. I highly recommend going to this movie. Bring lots and lots of tissue if you go.

Unlike most PG movies these days (where most of the time you don’t know why it received the rating in the first place), this movie is well deserving of the PG rating. It is very intense and emotional, and I don’t recommend you bring your kids to it, if they are easily frightened. This is a minor concern about the movie though, because the emotional element is part of what made it such a good movie. I have seen many Christian movies over the years, and none of them have been as good as this movie was, in my opinion. Don’t wait for the DVD. See it now, while it’s still in theatres.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jed, age 19 (USA)
Positive—I liked the movie very much, but was disappointed that they exchanged the role of Angela (Queen Latifah) to a black woman, instead of the actual character, who was a white woman. I think that was such PC overkill. Just so not necessary.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4
Carole, age 38 (USA)
Positive—It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen so far; we all need a hope, hope keeps us alive… and I think that the source of hope is clearly portrayed in this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: no opinion
—Esther, age 22 (India)
Negative
Negative—The film in general is good and family friendly, but, looking at it from a Christian point of view, I feel it shortchanged Christ a lot. Jesus Christ is central to Christianity, and leaving Him out was a gross misrepresentation of the Christian faith. There was also no mention of the Bible, or Scripture, but a quote taken from Einstein towards the end of the film when Christy gives her testimony. The closest thing to Christianity mentioned was “Church,” so I would conclude by saying that the film was tailored to appeal to people of all faiths, as any “God” would easily fit the criteria. This film denies the true testimony of Jesus Christ that is clearly expressed in the real life story.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Angeline Kalengayi, age 34 (United Kingdom)
Negative—…I am Christian, and I read the book. It was so encapsulating, I could not lay the book down. I was so excited to see the movie. I know somethings change from book to movie, but I was so disappointed in the movie. Yes, it veered off the book, but so much that I thought it was another story. They missed so many good memories and much of the hardship this family had to endure. I was looking forward to seeing some of the faithful characters from the book in the movie, but they didn’t show them. Yes, they didn’t go over budget with this movie, because it looked thrown together and appeared to be a cheap movie.

Christi held her faith all through the book, but the movie showed her lose it. You get, for your faith, more with the book than the movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Deborah Gonzalez, age 51 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—Very nice movie, but more for older kids—like 12 and older.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
Shiloh, age 12 (South Africa)
Positive— I loved this movie so much! I cried at least 10 times saying “it’s not fair!”. The movie was so emotional. I did not find anything wrong with it. The movie touched me, and I have been wanting to show the rest of my family. My two tips for watching this movie are: don’t expect for something sad not to happen; have a box of tissues nearby.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Sydney, age 10 (USA)
Positive—I loved this movie so much that I want them to make a “Miracles from Heaven 2,” that is how much I liked it. Please make a another one also. I went through the same thing as Annabel Beam; I had the same thing. I had that same disorder; my stomach got big, and I live in Beriston Texas, and my friend is named Hailey. So please, I went throw the same thing. My little sister’s name is Abbie, and she is very ill, and she is awesome. She is almost close to death; she has cancer.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Annabel B., age 12

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.