Parents' Guide to

Beautifully Broken

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Inspiring true story has violent genocide flashbacks.

Movie PG-13 2018 108 minutes
Beautifully Broken Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Valerie S.
Valerie S. Parent of 11 and 12-year-old
December 26, 2018
age 12+

Finally a High Quality Christian Movie

IMO most Christian movies are cheesy, low-budget, and have terrible scripts and acting. They portray being a Christian as God radically changing your life right after conversion or that all you have to do is go into your prayer closet and soon after all of your prayers will be answered. This movie is different. Great actors portray what it is really like to trust God. Sometimes we have to wait years, or decades for God to answer prayer. This shows 3 families who are struggling with having faith in God and not giving up hope through their struggles. I think this movie can be an encouragement to us to keep praying through our darkest times. There are some disturbing scenes depicting Rwanda's history. There is no blood and they quickly cut the scene when someone is shot or killed by a machete. I plan to allow my 11 and 13 year olds to watch it but will first talk to them about Rwanda's history to help them understand that this is not "movie violence" but something that happened to real people. The rape scene just shows the man entering the bathroom, locking the door, and putting his hand over the girl's mouth. Later on when she talks about it she never says "rape". She just said "He did something bad to me." You can easily tell younger kids that someone hurt her without going into the details. I think this is an excellent film for all Christians and can open up some deep conversations with our kids.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Bouncing back and forth between 1994, when the Rwandan genocide resulted in the slaughter of 800,000 people, and 10 years later in a suburban Southern town named Hartley, BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN examines love, forgiveness, and redemption through three fathers. There's William (Benjamin A. Onyango), who flees Rwanda just ahead of machete-wielding soldiers; Randy (Scott William Winters), an American dad watching helplessly as his daughter Andrea (Emily Hahn) and family fall apart; and Mugenzi (Bonko Khoza), who pays a heavy price for joining the Rwandan guerillas. United by history, chance, and the bonds of love, these three men go to incredible lengths to keep their families safe -- and together, they find redemption in helping each other.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Circling around the 1994 Rwanda genocide and offering themes of redemption and forgiveness, this inspiring true story drags a little but has its heart in the right place. Beautifully Broken scores when it focuses on the love that its three fathers have for their families -- and the extraordinary (and sometimes horrible) things they do to protect these families. Rwandan refugee William leaves his wife and daughter for years to make a new life for them in America, Mugenzi reluctantly joins a killing squad to keep soldiers from harming his family, and Randy changes his life to focus more on his troubled daughter. Sympathetically depicted, the sacrifices the three dads make may have sensitive viewers misting up.

Still, this movie isn't easy to watch. Though the scenes set during the genocide are non-graphic, they're scary and horrific. And on the other side of things, the family drama drags a bit. Viewers may be able to predict every beat of Andrea's downfall and redemption, and the film is neither written or acted strongly enough to elevate the material above a "Very Special Episode" level. Time your bathroom/phone-checking breaks for the Hartley segments of the movie, and sit up and pay attention during the scenes when Mugenzi rejoins his family after imprisonment and William heads back to Rwanda to find out what became of his family during the war. These moments are this movie's beating heart: regretful, tender, and full of hope.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way ordinary people become capable of extraordinary courage. How do we know what we would do in a particular circumstance? How do we make sure we do the right thing?

  • How does the violence in Beautifully Broken compare to what you might see in an action movie? Which has more impact? Why?

  • How do William and the other characters in this movie display courage and compassion through their words and actions? Why are these important character strengths?

  • America is often portrayed as a place of refuge, where those from war-torn countries can find safety and justice. What other depictions of America in this role have you seen? Have you seen anything that contradicts this image?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate