Decisão de Uma Vida

I have to admit to some bias here- Sarah's Choice is a Christian movie with a pro-life message, and I am a Christian who is pro-life.

However, I have seen some bad pro-life faith based movies, like Unplanned, where a woman claims to be naive about the horrors of abortion before seeing an ultrasound-guided procedure and then backtracks and says that she had 2 abortions beforehand and almost died from the 2nd one.

There's also Loving The Bad Man, where the moral went from "babies concieved from rape don't deserve to be aborted" to "you should fall in love with your rapist."

Now that you know this about me- that I'm pro-life and I don't think that all pro-life films are great, let me say that I thought Sarah's Choice was a good and very moving film.

Sarah, played by singer Rebecca St. James, is a business woman who is hoping for a promotion at work. However, she can't get it if she gets pregnant, as a baby will interfere with the devotion her job will require. Lo and behold- Sarah does get pregnant, and now she must decide to choose life or abortion, and if her career matters more than her child.

This leads to 3 visions in which Sarah raises her child, and she wonders if these visions mean that she should choose life. (I'm not going to lie, I think for this alone, the movie should have been called It's A Wonderful Pro-Life. LOL.)

While Rebecca St. James's acting isn't Oscar worthy, I thought she gave a very decent performance, and the strongest one out of everyone. The pro-life arguments through biology are also pretty accurate (I study pro-life arguments and the fetal development seemed to fit- such as Sarah discovering her pregnancy at 6 weeks. The baby also has signs of life at this point.)

The movie also had some compassion for Sarah, understanding her struggle, and frustrations with her Mom who criticizes her for "having the pleasures of marriage but not the responsibility" and for "wanting to commit one sin after committing another." (Not direct quotes.)

One of Sarah's family members (a cousin I think) also offers to adopt or care for the baby if she wants, and doesn't shame Sarah like her mother does. She, unlike Sarah's Mom, shows how one should show compassion in a situation like this.

On top of that, the story was very moving, and I even teared up a little.

Sarah's Choice does have some flaws- such as camera work and acting that could have been better. One character could have also been written better- a co-worker friend named Megan (played by Andrea Logan- who has done voices for VeggieTales videos- just like Rebecca St. James.)

Megan is very insistent to Sarah that she should get an abortion. She of course says "your body, your choice" (while only advocating to choose abortion), and she brags about getting an abortion at 16 after sleeping with her boyfriend, who is now a pizza delivery boy- what a loser, right?

She also blames "religious pro-lifers" for Sarah's considerations to choose life- I feel like that's a knock on pro-choicers and how they view the pro-life movement, although that is a real stereotype despite the existence of pro-life atheists.

Had Megan (and Sarah's Mom) shown more sympathy like Sarah's cousin did, I feel like that would have been stronger character development from a writing angle.

As for my personal connection to the movie, I also feel that I should mention that I had a SISTER named Sarah who was mentally and physically challenged, and a doctor wanted my Mom to choose abortion, and she told my Mom to get a different doctor when she said no. (Very "pro-choice" of her...) No one thought that my sister would live to see her first birthday, but she lived to see her 23rd.

I mention this, because the decision to name the main character Sarah stuck out to me and made me think of my sister's story. I know that's a tangent for this review, but that was another reason that this movie inspired me.

Like I said, Sarah's Choice was a moving and powerful film, and as imperfect as the movie is, that aspect shines above its flaws. It's not a perfect movie, and it's not to be compared with Citizen Kane or The Godfather, but it was still a very touching story, and I definitely recommend it.

Note: One of the 1/10 star reviews complained that abortion is a difficult issue and a hard decision for any woman to make and this movie didn't portray that. (I clearly disagree with that 2nd part.)

The reviewer also gave High School Musical 2 a 6/10 on the basis (according to their review heading) that it "needed more abortions." So...make of that what you will.

This movie has all of the one-sided pro-life Christian arguments that one would expect it to have from it's title; and likewise only has the standard stereotypical strawman arguments representing pro-choice positions. (and guilt. so much guilt for sex outside of marriage, and for women who chose to have an abortion)

It also has not a speck of understanding of the concept that most Americans find abortion to be a very complicated issue, full of shades of grey and difficult, challenging, life altering decisions.

Rather than having an honest discussion of the pros-vs-cons of abortion in a realistic manner, cliche, after cliche about how "Trusting in God will make everything work out" is thrown at the audience.

Which if you are this movies target audience (such as the folk who wrote the more positive reviews of this film) will likely be all you want from this movie.

If for whatever reason you seek to watch this movie for other reasons....

(my GF and I watched it with a glass of wine, hoping for a good laugh)

Be prepared to be disappointed.

It's boring, poorly paced, and not even cringy in the "So bad it's good" kind of way.

More the kind of movie that anyone outside of the target audience will have any real reason to value it, or the arguments within.

Some enjoyment of the movie can be made if one has a sufficiently large amount of alcohol, and a few friends, but other than making a drinking game about christian fundamentalist pro-life arguments (take a sip every time they remind you that FETUS is a BABY)

Not much to be had here.

Honestly, it's not the worst drinking game movie I've watched, but it's only "meh" on that account as well.

I thought this was a very well-made movie. It addressed many different issues about abortion and unplanned pregnancy, including the effect it can have on others. One angle that I found interesting (being a guy), was that they showed how Sarah's boyfriend had to make a choice as well. Rebecca St. James did an great job as Sarah, in fact the whole cast was excellent. I wouldn't really call it a family movie, simply because anyone under the age of maybe 12 probably wouldn't get much out of it. However, anyone looking for a good movie that clearly shows many different hard roads that lead from an unplanned pregnancy, this is definitely it.

Sarah's Choice is an unapologetically yet grace-filled pro-life movie. It stars Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James as Sarah, a young woman climbing the ladder of success only to be forced to make a major decision that will affect her future. Sarah is up against relentless voices telling her to think only of herself. This movie does not shy away from presenting a realistic portrait of a young woman's dilemma. Sarah's Choice is just as much a story about a woman's decision about abortion as it is about a young man coming to terms with his role and responsibility when faced with his girlfriend's pregnancy. It is poignantly relevant to a young generation bent on a quest for self-fulfillment.

Directed by Chad Kapper, this film bears the hallmarks of Christian films rooted in a biblical message, yet it also takes a step forward for Christian film-making. Sarah's Choice keeps a steady balance of drama and comedic moments without undercutting the seriousness of the film. The camera close-ups of Sarah's emotional reactions in confronting her boyfriend and family about her pregnancy pull the viewer into the highly personal nature of the film.

Sarah's Choice is a beacon of light that courageously illuminates the biblical response to one of the most highly debated moral issues of our day. The culture of death is slowly invading the impressionable young minds of our generation. Sarah's Choice is a must-see film which can serve to rekindle the flame of commitment to preserve the sanctity of life. But as much as this film champions the right to life of the unborn, it also extends a hand of hope for healing and grace to those who have undergone an abortion.

Besides the obvious appeal to choose life over death, there is an underlying message in Sarah's Choice. We are urged to trust God with our own life. When we are open to listening to God's voice, He speaks life to us. And as carriers of God's Truth, we speak life to others.

PROS

+ The movie is quite organic, with great actors speaking how they would speak and act in normal life.

+ It addresses many different aspects when it comes to abortion and unplanned pregnancy. It is a great tragedy that we are one of the few generations who live in the midst of the biggest genocide in history, which in the US alone cost tens of millions of lives and changed the landscape dramatically. Yes, the US became a successful nation, but at what cost? Is self-sacrifice for an employer, a job title or even for a prestigious account worth the negation of life? Certainly not, as this movie shows in an impressive manner.

+ It is especially insightful that those who speak with Satan's voice to kill a baby, are sometimes the same who can admit in a weak moment that they are tormented by their own past choice(s). It would have been beautiful if Sarah could have already ministered to those lost souls and offer them forgiveness for their sins through IESOUS CHRISTOS, but this would probably fill another movie.

CONS

• None. No curses, no promotion of denominations, no questionable endorsements.