I Still Believe

Title : I Still Believe Director: Jon Erwin, Andrew Erwin Distributor: Lionsgate Genre: Biography Christian Drama MPAA rating: PG USCCB rating: PG Your rating on a 5 star scale: 4.5 Primary audience: Adults, Young Adults, teens Year of release: 2020 I Still Believe is a compelling film based on the story of Christian music star, Jeremy Camp and first wife Melissa who was diagnosed with cancer before they got married. The film follows Jeremy through his journey of finding love, faith, and hope, and holding on to them when he's faced with very difficult trials. Aspiring musician, Jeremy heads off to college where one night he meets Melissa at a Christian music concert. Their relationship begins as just a friendship but soon turns into something more. Melissa is then diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer and they both decide to get married. Just as it feels the world is crashing down, and their hope for the future was lost, they decide to trust in God's plan for them, and give God their pain and fears. I Still Believe contains beautiful cinematography, skillful actors, and does a great job at expressing realistically what going through hardships in life is all about. Kj Appa, who is a well known actor and very popular amongst teenagers, gives a very strong and passionate performance of his role as Jeremy Camp. I would say this film is skillfully developed because of their use of popular actors and the elements of cinematography that the directors implement very well throughout the film. The lives of the characters in the movie accurately depict what it feels like to go through trials in life. Not only that, but what it feels like to think that your prayers aren't being answered. This movie is motivated by and relevant to experience because it shows the main character going through trials, feeling defeated, but rising up against them anyway. Hardships are unavoidable in life, and they are something each and every person will go through. This movie is a great model of how we should face our trials head on, trusting in God's plan for us. For example, when Jeremy found out Melissa had cancer, instead of being cowardly and running away from his fear of losing her, he accepted God's plan for them, and decided to take advantage of what time he had left with her, by marrying the woman he loved. This is also an example of respecting the dignity of the human person, because it shows that even when a person is sick and dying, they have worth and need to be loved and cared for. This movie is truth filled and balanced because it spreads the message of love overcoming everything, especially fear. Most of all, it shows that God is with you always, and that when things get difficult, He is especially with you. Looking back on past trials in your life, isn't it true that overcoming them has given you strength? This is why God allows us to go through hard times, He wants us to lean on him, trust him, give us strength, and mold us into someone greater. I believe this movie is incredibly inspiring through its portrayal of the characters going through what feels like the worst time in their lives but getting through it by the grace of God. Lastly, I must state that even though this film is a Christian film, it is still important to have attitude awareness when watching because it does have mild portrayals of sex (before marriage) and violence. I highly recommend watching this film to everyone, especially now at a time like this where we are still dealing with a pandemic. Despite this hardship that we are all dealing with, it is incredibly important to not lose faith because even in our darkest times, God is still with us, and I think this movie portrays this message beautifully. Even when we feel like our prayers aren't being answered, God is still listening. He hears us, He knows what is on our hearts, and He knows what is best for us. His plan for us is way better than our own, which is why trusting in Him will get us through anything. I was drawn to this movie for the skillful development that I saw in the trailer and the beautiful story that is told. You can expect to be moved by the story of Jeremy Camp in I Still Believe, and if you're an emotional person like myself, have a box of tissues ready.

This movie inspires worship whatever you're going through. To my opinion, this movie is very fine for teenagers of any age but also pre-teens (10 and up). There is nothing to hide in this movie that they don't know. But they will learn and get instruction. The movie might not be appropriate for kids under 10 not because the scenes are offensive but because it might not be meaningful to them as it should for teenagers.