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Parents' Guide to

Come from Away

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Touching musical has emotional intensity, mild language.

Movie NR 2021 106 minutes
Come from Away Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 9+

Based on 1 parent review

age 9+

wonderful musical for kids who know about 9/11

Come From Away is a surprisingly warm-hearted, human, generally positive musical about September 11th. It would only make sense to a child who understands the basic outline of what happened on that date -- I would not recommend watching it if your child doesn't start with those basics. The show does not go into details about the horrors, and many small mentions (the smoke still in the air days later) would go over their heads. It is clear that some characters are worried about loved ones, and we learn near the end that one character's firefighter son died. There's also a mention of a bonobo's baby dying (the pregnant bonobo happened to be on one of the planes that was grounded, and was being cared for). There's a gay couple who are major characters, a couple jokes about "sexetary" (instead of "secretary). There are a couple of passionate kisses between a man and a woman who are clearly falling in love. There are drunk people acting silly. I'm totally comfortable with all of that for my 9 year old. Overall, it is the story of the quirky, generous people in a tiny town in Newfoundland who find themselves caring for the thousands of people who were grounded at their airport for days during and after September 11th. In general the musical does not feel tragic or scary, but mostly uplifting (with sad moments), a show about humanity at its best. Good songs, good stories. My 13 year old adored it (understood more of the nuance) and my 9 year old enjoyed it, too.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (6 ):

This filmed version of a Broadway musical performance is touching and ultimately upbeat, but it may be an emotional trigger for viewers who remember the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Based on real people and events, Come from Away doesn't rehash that terrible day, but tells a little-known side of the story that shows how a community coming together can make anything happen, and how people who are very different on the outside can come together and touch each other's lives in meaningful ways. Compassion, community, faith, fear, heartache, humanity, and more are all explored with humor and heart in this brief look at a terrible moment in time.

It almost leans more toward opera -- most of the stories are told in song with brief exchanges of dialogue in between. But the music is thoroughly modern and does a good job of moving the story along without being awkward. Moving cameras and a section of the stage that rotates add a dynamic feel to watching a theatrical performance. The acting and singing are solid, with each cast member deftly switching quickly between several roles. The all-adult characters and their stories may limit kid appeal, but tweens and up who are interested in history and curious about the events and their aftermath will learn a lot about 9/11 through the personal stories of many different kinds of people.

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