Big Miracle - Movie Review

Ok, so I'm breaking with with my normal format of book reviews to post a movie review. 

Big Miracle is the true story of the efforts in the 1980's to free 3 whales trapped in the arctic by a wall of ice.  My comments regarding this movie are mostly geared to how parents can use this movie to provide positive spiritual education (discipleship) for their children.  Because my oldest child (age 11) has developed a recent interest in marine biology, we took her to see this movie before any viewer reviews posted.

First, let me say that this movie shows many people/businesses/government doing the "right thing for all the wrong reasons".  Unfortunately, doing the right thing for money, public relations, political gain, etc is the way of the world. Often our motives are not pure and we find ourselves trapped in this form of hypocrisy.  This is an opportunity for parents to point out to their children what the Bible says about our motives and to remind children that "The Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Secondly, this movie was rated PG for language.  There were frequent occurrences of the "d word" and "hell".  Once the abbreviation "SOB" was used.  Also, once a word calling someone an illegitimate child was used.  Harder language such as the "f-word" was not used (thankfully).  I would suggest that the maturity level of your children be considered before attending this movie.  Our oldest could not believe the language and commented afterward that the movie would have been better without it.  Our youngest, who is 8, would have been much better off without this exposure.

Thirdly, I would like to point out something that seemed rather minor, but that some parents may feel the need to explain to their children.  In one scene, the baby whale, "Bam-bam" dies.  As the Greenpeace worker cries, one of the community leaders leads a prayer in his native language.  (My assumption is that this is a prayer for the spirit of the animal, such as is common among other Native American communities.) This prayer is not sub-titled and will not be an issue for most viewers, however, I felt it was worth pointing out because of our family discussion after the movie.  In addition, my youngest daughter (age 8) was upset by the death of the baby whale. 

In conclusion, while this movie has many good qualities and many opportunities for discussion with an older, more mature child, I would recommend that parents be very cautious about taking a younger child to this movie.  The language alone is a serious deterrent to viewing this movie.  While we enjoyed the movie, we will probably be using some of the real life drama to aid in our discussions about Biblical morality and the Christian worldview for weeks to come.