One of the best adaptations of a true story, Soul Surfer is based off the 2004 non-fiction book Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Figthing to Get Bakc on the Board by Bethany Hamilition. Portrayed as the very same character in the movie, Benthany Hamiliton’s left arm was bitten off by a shark when she was only 13 years old. In the movie, Bethany Hamilition, played by AnnaSophia Robb, is an outgoing and champion surfer until she suffers from a horrible shark attack. Amazingly, as she fights the emotional and physical rollercoaster of living with only one arm, despite the trauma, Hamiliton is determined to “get back on the board.”
A feel-good movie overall, this movie was definitely moving and was quite amazing to watch as the audience watched the rather dramatic events of a die-hard surfer suffering through the trauma of a shark attack. The movie astonshingly displays the intense thrill of surfing, the sound of rising waves, the smooth carve of a board on the water – it’s what Bethany Hamiliton craves and loves. Soul Surfer incredibly draws in the audience into her life of living by the ocean, her life revolving around the pure escapist joy she gets from surfing. The main characters all wonderfully portray the struggle that is accompanied with hope, possbility and love with the support of family and friends.
As expected, the movie contains quite a few cheesy lines, I must say. I personally felt that though this is one of the best adapations of a true story, as very few people can re-enact the pains and emotions of what the actual families and invidividuals had gone through. This movie came quite close. One of the most memorable moments of the movie was actually watching the whole journey of Benthany Hamilition rising from despair to the magical moments of surfing, especially after the film where footage of the actual Bethany Hamilition flashed her actual journey to get back to surfing.
I highly reccomend watching this movie if you enjoy inspiration coming from unexpected places and a personal story of overcoming pain and suffering to unbelievable trumiph. 9/10
