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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Akiane Kramarik and Colton Burpo had a NDE, which allowed them having their revelations and visions. NDE is short for Near-Death Experience, a term established for the first time by doctor Raymond Moody in his 1975's book "Life After Life". In it, Moody compiled real stories about patients who by a brief time had died and later lived again. The different stories had several common points:

-To be out of the physical body.

-Float around the rooftop of the room, seeing the own body in the bedroom.

-X-rays senses, with capability to see and hear people (familiar, friends...) in the next rooms, or even long-distance senses, with capability to see and hear people far away from their own location.

-Travel by a tunnel to high speed, with a great white light at the end.

-Meet in the light parents and friends previously dead.

-See a retrospective about the own lifeline, like movie frames.

-Feel a great peace and tranquility while standing in the light.

-Feel (not see) the presence of a powerful entity look-a-like a god.

-A voice saying "It's not your time" or something similar, and return from the light.

-Have a great feeling to fall from a high altitude, returning to the physical body and finally back to life.

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Goofs

The events in the film took place prior to 2004 when the pastors last child was born, so the grave stone for the dead Marine should not have read "Birth 1990 - Death 2009".

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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 Comfort Zone: Review - Heaven Is for Real (2014)

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Soundtracks

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
Written by Robert Robinson and John Wyeth

User Reviews

Pokemon is Real to a Four Year Old

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!