I will start by saying that neither my husband nor I had heard of this event prior to watching the movie, and chose it solely from the small thumbnail on Prime that appeared to have children holding something.
I am still trying to figure out the opening scene of the movie. I plan to rewatch it to see if I missed a key link to the movie. Otherwise I am not sure why it opened the way it did.
Once the movie got going, we both realized the script was terrible. The acting really wasn't as bad as I originally thought. There is only so much an actor can do with bad lines and a choppy narrative. I would have enjoyed learning more about the protagonist's background and motivation. We quickly saw that the movie was faith-based, but the lines questioning God seemed forced into the script and out of place. I really can't fault the actors, and as the movie progressed we did see more emotion evoked.
The first half of the movie unfolds the events of the Bombing. The protagonist delivered lines awkwardly and felt stereotypical. The children and adults seemed way too calm and quiet. I think scenes should have depicted the severity of the situation better than they did and that the script should have also reflected this. Instead some lines were delivered almost comically and we found ourselves chucking at how bad it was.
The second half of the movie on the other hand, surprised me. I was not expecting the director to finally delve into the families lives. Disclaimer! I am Pagan to best describe my faith and my husband is Indigenous. We do not follow or believe Christian teachings but we do believe people should follow what speaks to them. I was not offended by the religious tone of the movie, in fact, that much was apparent within the first 15 minutes. Everything depicted in the second half of the movie spoke to me in my own way. I felt awed by the power of intention that day and I think it's brilliant the survivors chose to focus on a miracle rather than a tragedy.
Again, the questioning of God felt forced into the second half, and I really think it could have been approached in a more fluid way. That said, I think the second half of the movie really saved the first half.
I think the movie is for anyone. I don't think one has to be a believer to enjoy it. People just have to be able to withstand terrible writing, awkward scenes, forced emotion and a lack of background detail to get into it. The spiritual aspect was a non-issue. People criticizing it are biased in their reviews, but so are the people giving it 10 out of 10 because of their religious beliefs. If you just watch the movie for what it is, you will see exactly what I mean.
