The Eleventh Film Club Post!

This time, I would like to write about a movie that blew me away when I was a kid, "Soul Surfer." The movie is about a girl who loses her arm in a shark attack but continues to follow her dreams, based on Bethany Hamilton's 2004 autobiography, "Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and the Fight to Get Back on the Board." What really struck me about the movie was the perseverance of the main character. Losing a hand is a huge blow to a person, not to mention the fact that surfers need both hands to keep their balance and feel the ocean. I'm sure the heroine also had to overcome her fear of sharks when she was first getting ready to surf again, as she was bitten by a shark in the ocean.

The movie spends a lot of time on the heroine's journey between her recovery and winning the contest again, so the audience wants to walk along with the heroine as she goes through this time. The first storyline I really liked is the moment the heroine decides to give up her prosthetic leg. If the heroine had used prosthetics, she would not have been looked at differently at the supermarket, but the prosthetics were too heavy and prevented her from surfing. In the end, the heroine chooses between her dream and other people's eyes, which is one thing I admire about the heroine very much. But giving up the prosthesis doesn't mean you can surf the same way as before the injury; it still requires a lot of adaptation and connection. For the heroine, surfing with one hand was almost as difficult as starting to learn to surf again. Many times she wanted to give up, but in the end, she kept going back to practice for her dream.

(Never Mind The Sharks: Surfing's In Her 'Soul': NPR)

There was also a time when she chose to give up on herself because she didn't do well in a new competition. After a fight with a friend, she was very upset. Later on, she decided to go to Phuket to help rebuild the people there who were devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I still remember in the movie, there was a little boy who was not afraid of the ocean, even though his home had just been mercilessly attacked by the tsunami. He was still willing to get on the surfboard with the heroine and continue to live an optimistic and cheerful life. I believe that this incident has not only inspired the heroine but also given great encouragement to many viewers. After returning home from Phuket, the heroine returned to surfing and won the championship.

I believe that there is no way for the movie to express all the efforts of the heroine, and it would be difficult for the audience to truly experience what the heroine went through if they had not experienced it. After winning the championship, the heroine not only proved herself after the injury but also surpassed her pre-injury self. The pain in between I believe only the heroine and her family who accompanied her all the way can understand. At the end of the movie, I was genuinely happy for the heroine. Although I may have only seen the important part of the heroine's story through the movie, I still admired the heroine's perseverance in her dream of regaining her life through constant retrying and rebuilding day after day. After watching this movie, I believe that no matter how many difficulties I will encounter in the future, I will be able to use the heroine's story to inspire me. This movie teaches me one thing: even if I lose a small part of myself, as long as my heart is still there, I am still me, and I can continue to pursue my dreams until I succeed.

(The book Soul Surfer)