Movie Info
Movie Info
- Director
- David Ramsey
- Run Time
- 1 hour and 53 minutes
- Rating
- PG
VP Content Ratings
- Violence
- 0/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Sex & Nudity
- 1/10
- Star Rating
Relevant Quotes
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair…
If anyone had reason to give in to despair it would be Helen and David Smallbone (portrayed by Daisy Betts and Joel Smallbone) when what seemed to be a lucrative opportunity for David to manage Amy Grant’s Australian tour falls through, landing the family deep in debt. The two, deciding upon a move to America, discover that their bad luck follows them, reducing the parents and all their six children to cleaning houses. Only their faith stands in the way of total despair. If it were not based on a true story, we would reject this as far too unlikely of a wild Horation Alger tale. Ultimately, this film roves to be the origin story of one today’s contemporary Christian singer’s Rebecca (Smallbone) St. James.
Just as his deal in Australia fell through, so does the musician who had agreed to hire him as a manager fail to materialize, even though the family has pulled up stakes in Australia and moved to Nashville. The six children– Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger), Daniel (Paul Luke Bonenfant), Joel (Diesel La Torraca), Luke (J.J. Pantano), Ben (Tenz McCall), Josh (Angus K. Caldwell)—prove to be an asset when David and Helen are reduced to forming a team that cleans houses. All, of course, except Josh who was recently born. At one point they eve clean the home of the musician who had decided against hiring David as manager.
Fortunately, the family earns the support of a kindly neighbor family and members of the church they attend. When church members discover the family is sleeping on the floor because they cannot afford furniture, the members provide the furniture. The caring neighbor family has loaned a van when the Smallbones need transportation, so at a holiday meal they present the keys to David and Helen.
This charity does not sit well with David, whose pride is damaged by constantly being on the receiving end of receiving help. I count this sequence as a tribute to the honesty of the script, making the film not just about do-gooders helping out the downtrodden, but also about the necessity of being humble enough to accept the aid of others. In the end, the film also is about unexpected twists and turns in life, as oldest daughter Rebecca emerges from the background because of her great singing talent, David assuming the role of managing her career. Two of his sons, Joel and Luke, also begin their own musical careers, forming the duo known as For King & Country,
Joel even co-directs the film with David Ramsey and if that were not enough, is a co-producer with Luke and stars as his father David. They have learned the lesson that a film should tell a good story rather than preach. In this song-filled movie, they show that it is a lesson they learned well. In this film, suitable for the family, there is heart and a message that faith serves well during times of great stress. Viewers with children will appreciate the example in which every member of the Smallbone family has to work together in order to cope with hard times.
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