Heaven Is for Real (2014)

A small-town father must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers:

Randall Wallace (screenplay), Chris Parker (screenplay) (as Christopher Parker)

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Thomas Haden Church

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Kinnear	...	Todd Burpo
Kelly Reilly	...	Sonja Burpo
Thomas Haden Church	...	Jay Wilkins
Connor Corum	...	Colton Burpo
Lane Styles	...	Cassie Burpo
Margo Martindale	...	Nancy Rawling
Jacob Vargas	...	Michael
Thanya Romero	...	Rosa
Danso Gordon	...	Ray
Rob Moran	...	Dr. O'Holleran
Nancy Sorel	...	Dr. Charlotte Slater
Darcy Fehr	...	Lee Watson
Vivian Winther	...	Katherine Watson
Pete Hudson	...	Old Man Watson
Ursula Clark	...	Painting Girl

Storyline

This is the story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world. His son Colton claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience. Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth... things he couldn't possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning from this remarkable event. The church turns on him and so does eveyone who is closer or further to him including his wife.

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Plot Keywords:

spider man action figure | near death experience | christian film | visions of heaven | singing in church | 

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Taglines:

Based on the incredible true story

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG thematic material including some medical situations

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Lithuanian painting girl who appears at the beginning and ending of the movie, played by Ursula Clark, is based on the real-life Akiane Kramarik (born in July 9, 1994, in Mount Morris, Illinois), a girl who affirmed to have experienced an NDE and to have met Jesus in heaven. In addition, the painting about Jesus shown in the movie is the real painting made by Kramarik, called Prince of Peace.

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Goofs

When Todd is at the diner when his friends aren't taking his money, it shows him picking up his keys twice.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Todd Burpo: Is heaven a hope? Or as real as the earth and sky? I once asked my grandfather that question. And he said by the time he knew the answer, it would be too late for him to tell me. The day would come when I asked that question again, staring into the eyes of my son.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Legend of Boggy Creek (2014)

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Soundtracks

This Little Light Of Mine
Written by Harry Dixon Loes

User Reviews

Not overly religious and not preachy - which is a very good thing.

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heaven Is for Real

Filming Locations:

Warren, Manitoba, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,522,221, 20 April 2014

Gross USA:

$91,443,253

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,888,019

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Roth Films, Screen Gems

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1