El cielo sí existe

Or is it Heaven for the Christians? It's tough to sell to everyone just by definition. The concept is or should by familiar to everyone, whether they believe it or not. And the movie does take a few shots at it and the reaction people would obviously have if they were confronted with a "reality" like that.

All through the eyes of a child who seems to be saying all the right things at the right moments. Which brings issues into the family and the people close to the family. Acting wise this is really good and there are a few things that are a bit out there (a punching or two, screaming at God and some other things), that you might not expect. But it never gets out of hand completely. It's a movie for those who believe anyway, but has a nice speech by Greg towards the end that can be seen as uplifting.

This was a powerful and emotional movie. It's sad that so many hate-filled, lost and hopeless individuals left reviews simply because they are angry at life and are hollow and empty inside. The message of this movie would do them good. God is Hope and there is something beyond this life. So, quit being depressed and angry at the world and look at the bigger picture and accept God's love. Look into it it's everything...

Heaven Is for Real (1:39, PG) — borderline, 3rd string, original

You might be surprised that this film attracted an atheist activist like me. But I went to see it because — as part of my self-imposed obligation to catch EVERY science-fiction and fantasy movie that hits town so I can review them for my listserv and at SF cons — it looked like it might have some fantasy elements. I ended up classifying it as "borderline", which is where I put movies that are not clearly SF or fantasy but might be if viewed from a certain angle. This one leaves it open to interpretation whether little 4-year-old Colton Burpo actually experienced a trip to heaven while he was unconscious on the operating table at death's doorstep with a burst appendix.

The Burpos are presented as being among the nicest people you could ever hope to meet, and not in any "holier than thou" sense but as solid, down-to-Earth working folk, a kind, loving, and happy family. The dad, Todd Burpo, a part-time Protestant minister in Imperial, Kansas, is humble and declines the title "Reverend", saying "Call me Todd" even to members of his own congregation. He wears a work shirt and sits in the pews with the other congregants while the church service is doing other things, like Bible readings or singing led by Todd's wife Sonja.

The skeptical attitude is clearly articulated by several different characters in the film, including Todd Burpo himself, who's obviously having trouble wrestling with and reacting to what his son has been saying about his brief sojourn in heaven. And the conclusion is not some grand revelation or depiction of the "real" heaven but rather an informal sermon in which Todd (well played by Greg Kinnear) talks thru his uncertainties and tells his fellow congregants that "on Earth as it is in heaven" means that we should each value the little bit of heaven we share when we appreciate the people who love us.

Frankly, an avowed humanist couldn't have put it much better.

Still, there's the obvious fact that little Colton has been drenched in religion for almost his entire waking life, and that such total immersion surely accounts for everything he claims to have seen. And the Burpos had been having serious financial difficulties, a not-so-subtle motive for playing Colton's story for any financial benefit it might bring. Nor does the film stint from dramatizing those perfectly naturalistic explanations.

In short, if you were expecting a piece of pious propaganda, this isn't it. It's more like a nice, non-saccharine family drama with unusual subject matter, kind of along the lines of We Bought a Zoo. On my 9-point scale, it rates a 6.

I'm very spiritual but not very religious. This movie does an excellent job of sharing important information about the very real issues that near death experiences (NDEs) bring up. All the NDE stories have certain similarities and a judgmental God is not part of them at all. Religion doesn't matter either. All that matters is love for one another. IMO.

Those last few sentences were preacher than this whole movie -- which is a very good thing. It is very tough to tell a spiritual story without being preachy, but this movie does it very well.

If you have the slightest interest, you will enjoy this movie. Is it perfect? No, nothing is, but this movie is pretty good.

8 out of 10 stars. Acting is good too. Kudos to all involved in the production.

Epilogue: There's an odd phenomena happening with any movie that is religious or potentially religious, like this film. They get a lot of 1-star ratings. I'm certain these come from zealots. Mostly, I suspect they are militant atheists who think belief in God is the root of all of mankind's problems. I'm talking about the disciples of Richard Dawkins here. I'll bet serious money that most of the 1-star reviewers never saw the movie.

With a movie like this one there is another potential source of 1-star reviews, fundamentalists who like their religious ideas literal and straight from the bible. Those folks will not like this movie at all. Real spirituality is complicated.

I took my four year old to see the Pokemon movie. Not only was he able to identify dozens of characters which seemed interchangeable to me, but he could recite their relationships and histories with biblical accuracy. He does the same thing with dinosaurs. The capacity for a preschooler to memorize repetitive information and blurt it out is quite astounding.

I can only imagine how much better he would have done if I were in the Pokemon selling business and able to coach him myself, then act surprised that he's able to repeat what I spent his formative years drilling into his head. I could even write a book about it, in collaboration with my wife, claiming that the boy magically learned Pokemon names without any coaching--despite the fact that I'm in the Pokemon business and the ubiquity of Pokemon merchandise around the house.

Then we could make a movie about it, and tell all our friends who also work in the Pokemon field to give it 10/10 reviews on IMDb, merely for the fact that it propels Pokemon.

All this, proving once again that miracles DO happen. Pikachu bless you all!