Soul Surfer (2011)
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The story
In 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii, where she and her best friend Alana Blanchard share a passion for surfing. After winning a competition, the girls become sponsored by Rip Curl. While surfing with Alana's father, a tiger shark unexpectedly attacks Bethany, biting off her left arm just below the shoulder. The incident leaves Bethany in critical condition, requiring emergency surgery and causing a massive strain on her family's privacy due to paparazzi attention. Despite the life-altering injury, Bethany begins a long journey of recuperation, eventually seeking to return to the water she loves.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii, with her parents Tom and Cheri. While surfing with Alana Blanchard's father, a tiger shark bites off Bethany's left arm. She survives a miracle surgery but faces intense paparazzi scrutiny. After a period of recuperation, Bethany learns to surf with one arm but struggles with her confidence and her friendship with Alana. She joins a youth mission trip to Phuket, Thailand, to help children overcome their fear of the ocean, which inspires her to surf again. Her father rigs a handle on her board to help her paddle. Bethany enters a national championship, where she initially struggles and loses to Malina. However, she eventually finds her rhythm and catches a massive wave at the last second, though the judges rule the time had expired. Despite not winning, she reconciles with Malina. The film ends with Bethany reflecting on how she can embrace more people now that she has lost her arm, followed by real footage of her surfing.
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sean McNamara
- Writers
- Sean McNamara · screenplay; Deborah Schwartz · screenplay; Douglas Schwartz · screenplay; Michael Berk · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- AnnaSophia Robb · Bethany Hamilton; Helen Hunt · Cheri; Dennis Quaid · Tom; Lorraine Nicholson · null; Carrie Underwood · church youth leader; Kevin Sorbo · null; Sonya Balmores · Malina; Branscombe Richmond · null; Craig T. Nelson · null
- Genres
- biographical; sports drama; children's drama; surfing
- Themes
- resilience; faith; overcoming disability; inspiration
- Tone and mood
- wholesome; heartfelt; inspirational
- Setting
- Kauai, Hawaii and Phuket, Thailand in 2003-2005
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; true story; faith-based; sports
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2004 book by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Berk, and Rick Bundschuh
- Content notes
- disability; shark attack
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success but received mixed reviews from critics, though it received a rare A+ grade from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 45% · review count: 105 critics; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 27 critics
- Production trivia
- All surfing scenes after the shark attack were performed by Bethany Hamilton herself.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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