Megan Ong
A summary of my favourite film
'Soul Surfer' is a 2011 biographical drama film that would always be one of my favourite films to watch mainly because there is a deep and an important message behind it.
Based on a true story, the film is about a teenage girl who has a passion for surfing. She has won competitions to the point that she's known to be one of the best surfers but one day, far from the shore, she was attacked by a shark just by dangling her arm out in the open water which eventually resulted into her losing her left arm. The remaining duration of the film basically shows the process of how Bethany Hamilton miserably handled the rest of her days with only one arm as well as accepting the fact that she needs to get back on her own feet to face the struggles by herself in order to chase her dreams, that is to become a professional surfer.
Assignment 1 - Essay
Our first Assignment consists of an essay based on an art movement. We were told to choose a film that we were most interested in to write about. Our chosen film needed to be studied and to be observed closely in order for us to know the art movement that it has. For myself, I chose a film called "Soul Surfer" and wrote about how expressionism influenced the film.
With my chosen art movement and film, I wanted my essay to portray the idea of life as the term itself is meaningful. With the title of " A way of life ", I gathered a few key points from the film such as passion, family and courage and evaluated from there, explaining how the idea of expressionism influences the key points of the film. Because this film is a true story, I tried to relate it to human beings. Bethany Hamilton today at 27 years of age is still going strong as a professional surfer and her story has inspired the directors to recreate it. Anna Sophia Robb portrayed the role of Bethany perfectly, recreating what really happened. She recreated scenes of Bethany in the open water having fun and at the same time, expressing her passion as well as her emotions. Bethany's parents cared and supported her no matter what, and it is great that Bethany's parents did so in real life . Courage in the film has been explored multiple times as she sacrifices to go out to sea and even, to battle in a competition with a single arm.
