‘Soul Surfer’ makes a splash as this year’s ‘The Blind Side’

Movie Review
by Dr. Marc T. Newman
posted April 1, 2011

HOLLYWOOD — Bethany Hamilton has an extraordinary story to tell. Working hard to enter the ranks of professional surfing, by the age of 13 she already had a sponsor. But her life was shattered one morning in 2003. Out in the water, on a beautiful day, she was attacked by a 15-foot-long tiger shark. The shark bit through Bethany’s surfboard, and took off her arm at the shoulder. In a sport that requires the ability to push up on a floating, moving piece of foam and fiberglass, the loss of an arm would be, for most people, a career-ending injury.

But Bethany Hamilton is not “most people.”

Her incredible adventure is the subject of a new film, “Soul Surfer,” opening nationwide on April 8. The filmmakers are banking on the idea that the public is ready for a film that champions the triumph of family, faith, and the human spirit—not usually a big stretch, except that in this case they are willing to share Bethany’s life, all of it, including her deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. the rest