message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

              
Bridge to Terabithia  Rated PG
Directed by Gabor Csupo. 
Starring Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb



Photos © Walt Disney Pictures
The ads and trailers for Bridge to Terabithia seem to imply that parents and kids who go to this film will be entering into a full-blown fantasy world for a couple of hours.  Readers of the 1978 Newbery Medal book by Katherine Paterson already know that Terabithia is indeed a fantasy world, but that it exists solely in the imagination of Jess and Leslie, two outcast middle school kids who become friends.  Jess is the only boy in a large farm family struggling to make ends meet.  Leslie is the only child of writer parents who find little time to spend with her.  Jess is a talented artist and Leslie knows how to write, and during walks in the woods together they combine their words and pictures to create the land of Terabithia, and proclaim themselves as king and queen.  Their make-believe adventures empower them to face up to the everyday challenges with school bullies as well as other fears and self-doubts.  Along the journey, however, there will come the challenge to deal with grief and loss.  The tragic events which lead to heartbreak are all presented tastefully off-screen, but the emotions of pain, doubt, and struggle are very real.  It is to the film’s credit that even the Christian faith is given a fair hearing as a dependable place to find comfort.  Bridge to Terabithia is probably the best film about grief ever made for older elementary and up children, but it’s not for preschoolers, who could easily become bored, upset, or at least very, very fidgety.  This is really a great film for discussion between parents and kids about 1) the real issues around grief and loss as well as 2) the power of the imagination to bring healing and hope.  The film also communicates, with Christ-like compassion, our need to look deeper into even the most threatening people we know to find the beauty within

Pitchfork Rating: Five halos.  (A sensitive and beautiful film about the redemptive power of art and the imagination.)    One pitchfork.   (For mild scatological language.)

 

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