Story
Miracles from Heaven is a true story based on the lives of the Beam family from Texas in the United States. The Beams are Christy (Jennifer Garner), Kevin (Martin Henderson) and their three daughters. They are a close family and regular churchgoers, but Christy’s faith is sorely tested when she discovers that her middle daughter, Anna (Kylie Rogers), has a rare and incurable stomach disorder. This causes severe abdominal pain and frequent vomiting. Relentless in her pursuit of a cure, Christy makes an unorthodox visit to the leading paediatrician in the country, Dr Nurko (Eugenio Derbez), at the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Nurko is unfailing in his support for sick children and suggests an experimental treatment for Anna. Although the treatment has nasty side effects, it’s Anna’s only chance. After several months of treatment in hospital, which puts financial stress on the Beam family, Anna is allowed to go home.
At home, Anna’s older sister Abbie (Brighton Sharbino) encourages Anna to climb a tree. When the branch she’s sitting on starts to crack, Anna reaches for the trunk but falls head first 30 feet down into the hollow of the tree. It takes several hours for her to be rescued but amazingly she is alive. When she regains consciousness, Anna tells her parents that she had an ‘out of body’ experience and a conversation with God. Not only does Anna survive the fall, but she’s also miraculously cured of her illness, and medical professionals can’t work out how or why.
Themes
Incurable illness and death; sick child; religious belief; miraculous recovery
Violence
There is some violence and accidental harm in Miracles from Heaven. For example:
Sexual references
None
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None of concern
Nudity and sexual activity
None
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Miracles from Heaven: Angry Birds.
Coarse language
There is very little coarse language in Miracles from Heaven, and it is very mild.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Miracles from Heaven is an uplifting drama based on the true story of a 10-year-old girl who recovers from an incurable disease. It is very intense, with scenes of illness and injury involving children. This makes it unsuitable for younger children. It is also a faith-based movie, which might be problematic for some viewers.
The main messages from this movie are that faith makes all things possible and you’ll be rewarded for never giving up.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the importance of families, persistence, determination, a positive outlook and selflessness.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about different belief systems and why some members of the Beams’ church congregation say that Anna isn’t being healed because Christy, Kevin and Anna have sinned.