Noah Adoption Movie Review

A long time ago, the Creator made Adam and Eve. They had three sons, Cain, Abel, and Seth. Cain killed Abel. Now, the line of Seth has dwindled to Noah, his ancient grandfather, and his three sons. Noah and his wife have also taken in Ila, a young girl who they found injured, years ago. Noah learns that the Creator will destroy life on earth with a flood, in response to how wicked people have become. Noah begins building a large boat, and sees that it provides safe passage for every animal species.

*SPOILERS THE REST OF THE WAY*

The Adoption Connection

Noah and his wife have more or less adopted Ila. Noah’s grandfather says that she has become like one of the family. She ultimately marries her almost-adoptive brother (although in her defense, he was one of the last men on earth.)

There is a genealogical rite of passage. When Noah is a teenager, his father recites Noah’s ancestry before preparing to declare Noah a man.

Infertility is a prominent theme in the film. When Noah and his wife find Ila, she is crushed, and she has a prominent scar which indicates her permanent infertility. This is miraculously reversed, which creates a crisis.

One character refers to his band of compatriots as “alone, orphan children cursed by God.” He is proved right in this assessment.

Strong Points

At times, Noah is a very nurturing father and adoptive father. He affirms that Ila has been a valuable gift to his family.

The film shows how family turmoil, when survived, can build very close family ties.

Noah explains his stewardship of the animals on the ark in a way that also is a positive statement of foster care, “All of these innocent [lives] are in our care. It is our job to look after them [and then, they will start a new life from a healthy situation.]”

Noah’s grandfather embraces Ila as his own great-granddaughter.

Weak Points

There are several aspects of this film that could be triggering for children and adults, depending on what they’ve experienced. I’ll try to sum them up.

Noah sees his father murdered in front of him with an axe. His father’s murderer later tries to have Noah’s son murder Noah.

From her childhood, Ila is told that she can never have children. She views herself as having little worth because of her infertility. She says that her beloved “needs a real woman” who can bring a family to him. She wonders why God would even want her alive, given her barrenness.  Her infertility eventually goes away, basically by magic (she is touched in the abdomen by her great-grandfather, who gives her his blessing.)

One character nearly betrays his father into the hands of a murderer.

Noah allows a girl, caught in a bear trap, to be trampled to death by charging warriors.

The villain’s dying words commend the boy who killed him, “You killed. Now you are a man.”

This is probably the most likely thing to cause a trigger *And it is a  HUGE SPOILER*:

 Noah becomes convinced that God wants all human life to end. Miraculously, Ila is healed. She conceives twins. Noah does not initially take this as a sign that God wants human life to continue. Noah tells Ila, “God does not smile on your child.” Noah declares that if the babies are born male, they will live, but if they are female, he will kill them as soon as they exit the womb.  Ila and her husband try to escape, but Noah traps them. When the babies are born (both are females,) Noah holds a knife to the forehead of the sleeping infant, as Ila holds the baby, begging Noah to do it quickly, because she is resigned to the fact that she cannot escape. Noah tries to summon his courage to stab the baby, but ultimately cannot. However, he views this as a failure for much of the film. Eventually, Ila comforts Noah, saying that he could not kill the babies because he saw goodness in them, and that God gave him  the choice because God knew Noah would get it right. The buildup to Noah potentially killing his granddaughters is very likely to be triggering to children who have experienced violence, to parents who have lost children to adoption, and to people who have struggled with infertility (it was a miracle that Ila was able to conceive, and already someone is trying to end her children.)

*End Huge Spoiler

Recommendation

I can imagine many families wanting to take their children to a cinematic re-telling of the story of Noah and the Ark. This does seem likely to be a trigger for many families touched by adoption, foster care, or abuse.  There are some good discussions to be launched from this film, but because of the trigger potential, I am limiting my recommendation to age 14 or 15 and up, and I recommend that parents see the film on their own before watching with their children to make sure they’re confident that it won’t be traumatizing for their kids.

Questions for After the Movie

Does the world ever feel like no one is friendly and everyone is hostile?

What have we survived as a family? How has it made us stronger?

Have you ever intended good, but gotten it horribly wrong? How do you recover from this personally, and how do you reconcile with your family? Have you recovered and reconciled?

Activity

Why not create a rite of passage for your family. How can you show membership (whether the individual lives with you or not?)

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Re-Post: Twelve Things You Can Do to Make Sure Your Adoption is Ethical

* I posted this a year ago, right after I watched Beasts of the Southern Wild. The film made me think a lot about the ethics of imposed help (read my review of the film, if you like), which also made me think about adoption. I thought I'd re-publish this post from last year, in case you missed it. *

Watching Beasts of the Southern Wild started me thinking about ethics in adoption.  If you're on this site, you probably want to have an ethical, kid-centered, health-building adoption. 

Here are some of my gleanings from the online adoption community, and from my own practice as an adoption social worker - twelve things that you can do to make sure your adoption is an ethical one.

flickr.com / Tsahi Levent-Levi

Ask Questions   

1. Ask your adoption agency how they find children who need to be adopted.

2. Ask what sort of counseling that they provide to the child’s first family. Is their counseling a balanced representation of all options geared at helping the person make the choice that’s best for them, or is it a one-sided “sales pitch”?

3. Ask whether they still extend full services to women who, after contact the agency, choose to parent their child – or, do they only provide services if the woman says she’ll relinquish, but only provide referrals if she decides to parent?

4. Ask how actively they pursue the involvement of the birth father. Do they seek his input and participation, or do they just do the legal minimum standard of notification and assure you that he “probably won’t show up.”?

5. Ask how thoroughly they train and assess adoptive parents.

6. Ask how they feel about openness. Do they speak of it as a wonderful commitment, or as something that adoptive parents can agree to, but then quickly change their minds on, once an adoption is finalized? 

Do Your Research

7. Research the adoption practices in the country you’re considering adopting from.

8. Research your agency – if they’re “for profit” their motivation might more easily be on the side of pleasing the adopting parent (and although that sounds good, it increases the risk of unethical treatment of the birth parents.)

9. Speaking of that term, "birth parent" – does the agency use the post-adoption term “birth parents” for women who are still pregnant? That might communicate an expectation which makes it difficult for pregnant women and expectant fathers to feel like they have the freedom to make whichever choice they see as best.

10. If your agency is non-profit, check out their profile on Guidestar.org and see where they get their funds from and what they do with them. If they’re for-profit, try to figure out how they avoid being driven by profits rather than by people’s real needs. Friends of mine who were considering adoption once told me of a for-profit agency that would have charged them around $25,000 up front, and which expressed a commitment to encouraging pregnant women to choose adoption once they’d expressed an interest in it. My friends ended up adopting through a different agency. They expressed that it “felt like the agency was more on the birth mother’s side than ours,” but that they were comfortable with that balance. It seemed healthier that way.

11. Visit your agency’s website, and read the pages for adopting parents and for expectant parents. See if the message is consistent, or if they seem to say different things to different people.

12. Check out the Internet adoption community. There's lots of insight from all sides of the adoption community. Some excellent articles have been Shannon LC Cate's  “Ten Red Flags That Your Adoption Agency Might Be Coercive," Creating a Family's "Red Flags for Unethical Adoption Agencies" and adoptionbirthmothers.com's post, "Is Your Adoption Agency Ethical?"

These are some hard questions - but if you work through them now, you'll be able to proudly share your adoption story with your child.    Adoptive parents, birth parents, social workers, adoptees --- I'd love your input. Which questions belong on this list? Which don't really matter? Which should be added?

Muppets Most Wanted Adoption Movie Review

The Muppets have set off on a world tour under the guidance of their new manager, Dominic Badguy. Early in their trip, Kermit the Frog is mistaken for Constantine, a recently escaped criminal who is known as the most dangerous frog in the world. Kermit is imprisoned in the Gulag while Constantine passes off as one of the Muppets. Will Kermit’s friends notice that he is missing?

How is This Relevant to Adoption? 

Kermit describes the other Muppets as his family, and he is very sad when he learns that they didn’t notice he was missing. One character affirms that family “belongs together.”

Strong Points

* SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION *

Kermit is able to express his fears to his “family,” : I thought you’d forgotten me, and that you didn’t need me anymore.” They respond, “We always need you.” Another character who had threatened to re-imprison Kermit responds to this by saying, “I guess this is your real family, and family belongs together.”

*END SPOILERS*

Challenges

One character sees that something very wrong has happened, but is unable to communicate because he cannot speak clearly; he acts out physically, instead. I wonder how often this scene is played out in real life by preverbal – or even verbal - kids.

There’s not much that’s likely to be difficult for viewers. There is one character in the Gulag who is locked in a very small closet, which is similar to the abuse that some children have experienced. One character taunts Kermit that his “family” has forgotten him. One character offhandedly mentions that he is a murderer. It passes quickly, but I was surprised to see any reference to murder on the same screen as Kermit the Frog, and I wonder if some kids might be, too.

Recommendation

Muppets Most Wanted seems likely to be a harmless film. Some of the songs are fun, especially the opening number, about how sequels are never quite as good as the first film. Your kids might like watching this. I didn’t find the entertainment value particularly high on this one, and I noticed that a theater-full of young children did not laugh very often during the film. One kid protested loudly during a scene where Kermit was in peril, but that really might have been more about not wanting to share his popcorn than about anything on-screen. Probably the best fit for kids ages 5-9.

 

Questions for Discussion after the movie

What, beside your looks, makes you who you are?

How can you tell who to trust?

Divergent Adoption Movie Review

In a dystopian, futuristic Chicago, people are assigned to work and community based upon their own assessment of their personality characteristics. Once a person chooses their faction, they’re there for life.  No changes are permitted, and loyalty to faction takes precedence over loyalty to blood. There are five approved factions; one (Abnegation) serves the poor and is entrusted with governing, another (Erudite) is particularly intelligent and invested in technology; others focus on courage (Dauntless), honesty (Candor), and peacefulness (Amity). There is strong societal distrust for individuals who do not neatly conform to one faction. Political tension is also rising; not everyone is happy to live under the governance of the service-to-the-poor faction, and a rebellion is rising. At the same time, Tris, a teenager who was raised in an Abnegation-faction family, chooses to leave her family and join another faction. How will she respond when the most important question becomes “loyalty to faction or loyalty to blood?”

*** Spoilers the rest of the way ***

How is This Relevant to Adoption? 

Tris is forced to choose between staying with her family or joining a new one, and her choice is expected to be permanent. Her loyalty is supposed to shift, and her decision to leave is irrevocable. After she leaves her faction-of-birth, she is only able to speak with her mother covertly, and only on very rare occasions. Her new family forbids her to talk of her old one. Some kids who have been adopted might resonate with Tris’ forced, artificially-created dichotomy: You can have one family or the other, but not both.  In this film, the government that created the forced separation eventually is shown to be villainous.

A community motto is shared at the ceremony where teenagers choose their factions: The future belongs  to those who know where they belong. That statement seems like it could be challenging to folks, touched by adoption, who are struggling with identity issues. It also implies that “belonging” is necessarily exclusive to one group of people. Folks who are not able to be accepted by their new family become outcasts, and have no future prospects. Again, the film ultimately questions this mindset.

Strong Points

The film challenges the forced separation. Tris shows loyalty to her old family and to members of her new one.

Tris stays true to her unique identity, which reflects both of her families (OK, one is a faction instead of a family, but still…)

The film acknowledges, in a roundabout way, that having a complex identity is part of human nature. Tris finds great help when she realizes that she is not the only one with such a complex identity.

Challenges

Tris confides in a friend, “My mom and dad died today.” Her friend’s response is, “They loved you. For them there was no better way to show you.” I can see kids responding to this in different ways. They could see this final separation as an act of love, or they could see it as their own fault – after all, the parents made this sacrifice for you. I could also see this scene tying in with kids’ and teens’ feelings about being relinquished for adoption – was it a sacrifice made on my behalf, or is it something that I’m guilty of causing?

One of Tris’ last statements in the film is powerful, and might resonate differently with different viewers, “I have nothing, and I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

Weak Points

There are several scenes which could be very traumatic for young viewers, and especially for kids who have experienced abuse or separation from their parents. Both of Tris’ parents are shot to death, and both of their corpses are shown on screen. Tris is forced to shoot and kill a friend.  Tris’ boy friend holds a gun to her forehead while he is in a mentally-altered state.

 

Teenagers are forced to fight each other until unconsciousness. Boys brutalize girls. One character throws a knife at Tris, drawing blood. Later, Tris impales someone’s hand with a knife.

Tris is encouraged to keep her complex identity a secret. She’ll be killed if people know.

One of Tris’ friends tries to murder her. He fails. Later he is very ashamed. He asks for forgiveness from Tris. She refuses, and he kills himself.

Some scenes happen in hallucinations, but are still portrayed on-screen and could be triggering to some viewers. A character is forced to practice shooting innocent people at point-blank range (he is sensitive, and can only do it if he looks away as he pulls the trigger.) One character has been abused by his father. The father approaches  him, intending to strike him with various objects. One of Tris’ best friends tries to rape her. Tris is ordered to murder her family.

The government eventually attempts a genocide of Tris’ culture of origin. Many people are shot.

Recommendation

There’s enough violence in Divergent to make it a poor choice for kids. The story itself is very interesting, and I value that it challenges the forced dichotomy of “one family, but not two.” The message is a good one, and it invites some very good conversations. Some of the scenes I’ve mentioned could be very triggering for some teenagers. If parents and teens believe that the scenes won’t be triggering, this might be a good film for viewers 13 and up. For what it’s worth, I liked this better than the most recent Hunger Games film; there seems to be more food for thought. I’m very sensitive to violence in films, and the level of violence is similar between the two films, but Hunger Games bothered me more; perhaps because Hunger Games had a lot of hand-to-hand, deadly, weapon-based violence, and the hand to hand violence in Divergent isn’t fatal. There is a lot of gun violence in Divergent, though, and that might be more troubling than hand-to-hand violence for some viewers.

 

Questions for Discussion after the movie

Is it OK to have a complex identity based in multiple families and cultures? How do we navigate that in a society that really seems to like categorizing people? Is it getting easier or harder to have a custom-built identity?

What good drives and traits do you have? What if you were forbidden from expressing them?

Do you feel as though you are separated from part of your identity (or part of your family) by others’ expectations?

Which faction do you think Tris should have chosen? Which would you have chosen?

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Mr. Peabody & Sherman Adoption Movie Review

Seven-year-old boy Sherman lives with his father, a small dog named Mr. Peabody. Sherman was adopted as an infant after Peabody found him, abandoned in a box. Peabody has worked hard to prepare Sherman for school, even using a time machine to allow Sherman to experience the past first-hand. Sherman fits in with the unpopular kids at school. Penny, one of the popular girls, upset when Sherman corrects her in class, sets out to humiliate Sherman by calling him a dog; after all… Mr. Peabody is his father. She tries to demean Sherman in front of their classmates. When Sherman retaliates violently, a social worker responds. She expresses her intention to have Sherman removed from Mr. Peabody’s home. Peabody must  figure out a way to make peace with the girl and her parents before the social worker completes her investigation. Along the way Sherman and Penny have a time-travelling adventure which brings them close to many historical figures and closer to each other.

How is This Relevant to Adoption? 

There’s lots of adoption relevance here. Peabody fought in court for the right to adopt Sherman. Peabody explains that he did this because he had never had a family, and wanted to provide one to Sherman. Adoption themes fuel the conflict and plot.

Strong Points

Mr. Peabody is an example of someone who ages out of a group home and manages to succeed in the world, anyway. Then, he remembers his own experiences and tries to help someone in a similar situation.

Peabody is a good father in many ways. He always considers Sherman’s best interest, and promises that he will always be there for Sherman.

Sherman and Peabody have a positive relationship. Although it goes through challenges, it is strengthened by the end of the film.

Challenges

It might be hard for some viewers to watch a scene where, as a young pup, Mr. Peabody tries to be adopted. When a child decides not to take him, Peabody pleas, basically, “adopt me. I’ll do whatever you want.” He still isn’t adopted. Some of the scenes are similar to scenes in Meet the Robinsons.

Peabody struggles with verbally expressing his affection for Sherman. he does not let Sherman call him “dad,” and returns Sherman’s “I love you” with something like, “I have a strong regard for you as well.” Peabody also struggles with letting Sherman grow into some independence (see Pacific Rim).

Sherman gets blamed and nearly suffers significant consequences for bullying started by Penny, centered around Sherman’s identity as a cross-cultural (well, cross-species) adoptee. Penny never actually apologizes, but does eventually express her solidarity with Sherman and Peabody.

Sherman relates being a dog to the positive behavioral aspects he sees in Mr. Peabody. It’s good for kids adopted cross culturally to find common ground with their parents, but this oversimplification does miss certain elements of what it means to be a dog. It works for a kids’ movie about cross-cultural adoption, but might need to be unpacked some more after the movie.

Weak Points

There seems to be a bit of blame allowed to be on kids. When Peabody is not adopted, it’s because he is sarcastic. Later, Sherman says that Mr. Peabody’s only mistake was adopting him. Neither statement is corrected.

The social worker in the film, Ms. Grunion, is awful. She is cruel, quick-tempered, vindictive, and prejudiced.  The plot is largely driven by her desire to take Sherman from Mr. Peabody, permanently. The situation is never resolved - it just kind of goes away.

Sherman was found, abandoned in a box. There is no exploration of his back history.

Sherman briefly believes he has seen his father decapitated by a guillotine.

 

The phrase, “It’s an adoptive relationship” is used for somewhat humorous effect to explain the differences between Sherman and Peabody. One character responds with what feels a bit like an unintentionally condescending “awww.”

At one point, Peabody tells Sherman, “You’re not a dog. Just a very bad boy.” He never corrects this.

Recommendation

My recommendation is mixed on this one. It’s an entertaining film, Peabody is a good dad, and he and Sherman do grow closer. They seem to have a good father-son relationship. At the same time, there appears to be lots of potential trigger material (the plot of the movie is – partially - that a social worker wants to end the father-son relationship.) You might want to see it yourself, first, to see whether you think it's a good fit for your own kids. Then be prepared to talk about it with your kids right after the film, if you do choose to bring them.

 

Questions for Discussion after the movie

So… Is Sherman a dog?

How can you help your kids prepare for and respond to mean things that other kids might say?

What makes someone a good parent? A good son/daughter?

HBO Documentary: Paycheck to Paycheck Adoption Movie Review

HBO’s documentary, Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert, debuts this Monday. According to the film, Katrina is one of 13 million mothers of young children living in or near poverty. Katrina is a twenty-something mother of three children. She recently separated from her husband because of his addiction to pain killers. She is the sole breadwinner for her family, and works as a Certified Nursing Assistant for just under $9.50 an hour. Even with government support – food stamps and reduced-cost daycare, Katrina finds it hard to make ends meet; thankfully, her landlord accepts monthly payments. Katrina is motivated to improve her situation; she tries to find companionship, and also tries to enroll herself into college, but struggles accessing financial aid. Katrina has a lot of courage, but faces intimidating obstacles.

How is This Relevant to Foster Care? 

Many kids who enter foster care are removed from single-parent homes. Also, many kids who enter foster care come from low-income families. Katrina works very diligently to keep her family functioning, and she succeeds. What strikes me in this film, though, is how little room for error she has. She is often only a few days of missed work away from failing to make her rent, she has limited or no resources for emergencies, minimal time to rest, and frequent involvement with government contractors (daycare providers, etc.). When kids are taken into foster care on charges of neglect – I wonder how many times neglect has actually occurred, and how many times a family like Katrina’s has simply been unable to come close enough to societal norms to avoid being noticed by the child protective services system.

Admittedly, this might not be a fair question. Child protective services departments are able to offer family preservation services, and in theory (hopefully in practice), this avoids removing children from their homes. Once the system is involved, though, the margin of error can become very small.

Strong Points

This documentary portrays Katrina as a young, responsible woman facing challenges with a mixture of hope and discouragement. It normalizes and humanizes an experience of life which might be unfamiliar to some folks considering foster care.

Recommendation

Paycheck to Paycheck isn’t a movie about foster care. It doesn’t even get mentioned. But – if you’re reading this review, you’ve probably got some interest in foster care, and I think this documentary would be worth seeing. It’s a good choice for current or prospective foster parents, who might be helped by understanding the challenges faced by single, low-income parents.

Questions for Discussion after the movie

What were the circumstances surrounding how your children came to be in foster care, or placed for adoption?  What is the backstory of those circumstances?

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Philomena Adoption Movie Guide

Philomena was recently nominated for Best Picture in the 2014 Academy Awards. The film is based on the true story of Philomena Lee. As a teenager in Ireland, Philomena became pregnant. Her father sent her to live at a convent. There, Philomena had limited access to her son. Eventually, her son was adopted, without her consent. Shortly afterwards, Philomena left the convent. She married and had children, and always kept the existence of her first son a secret. On the fiftieth anniversary of her first son’s birth, though, she told her daughter about her son. Encouraged by her daughter, Philomena speaks to a journalist, Martin Sixsmith. Together, Philomena and Martin travel the world in search of Philomena’s son.

The Adoption Connection

Philomena’s circumstances probably are not uncommon. Her son was adopted against her true desires. Her efforts to find him were hindered. The film captures the closedness and secrecy that some mistakenly believe is the historical norm for adoption, and it also shows the loss and shame caused by such secrecy.

Spoilers Ahead the rest of the way…

Positive Elements

Philomena has kept her son in her heart all her life. She wonders whether he ever thought of her – and she eventually learns that he has; although when she learns this it is bittersweet.

Philomena affirms that she did not abandon her son.

Challenges

One of the nuns in the convent is particularly judgmental and cruel to Philomena. In one of the film’s strongest moments, Philomena forgives her. Martin asks, “just like that?” Philomena’s response is incredible: “No, not just like that. It’s hard for me. But I don’t want to hate people.”

Philomena’s reaction when her son is taken away from the convent is heartbreaking. It is important for adoptive parents, foster parents, and adoptees to grasp the love that their birth family has for them. In this scene, the love is expressed in grief, which could be painful to see – for birth family members, adoptive family members, and adoptees alike. Painful – but not necessarily bad.

 

Adoption is referred to as “selling babies.” Some people do view adoption in this way, but it could be confusing or challenging for young adoptees to hear it referred to this way in the film; it is left unchallenged.

Philomena explains why she kept her son a secret – she believed that she had committed a sin by having sex as a teenager, and didn’t want people to know. Shame and secrecy feed each other.

The circumstances surrounding the adoption of Philomena’s son are very unethical, and she was treated cruelly. Many adoptions are not marked by coerciveness, and young viewers of this film may need help understanding that.

Negative Elements

Martin initially only helps Philomena for his own gain. The convent also mistreated Philomena.

Recommendations

Philomena seems most likely to appeal to – and be beneficial to – adults. However, with some parental guidance, this could also be a powerful and insightful film for teens, maybe starting around age 14.

Questions for Discussion

If you relinquished a child to adoption, what would you like them to know about you? What would you like to say to them?

If you are considering adoption – will you pursue an open or a closed adoption?

If you are in a closed adoption – what stops you from opening it?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Adoption Movie Guide

Walter Mitty works in the photography department of LIFE Magazine. He hasn’t had much adventure in his life, but lives vicariously through his imagination. While lost in his imagination, he often “zones out” on the real world, and seems to alienate others. He is a dependable employee, though, and has been particularly valued by famed photojournalist Sean O’Connell. As LIFE Magazine prepares to release their final issue, Walter realizes that he cannot find the picture that was intended for the issue’s cover. He takes an unlikely, impromptu worldwide journey to find the photograph and along the way, finds that is able to have adventures in the real world that are greater than anything he could have imagined.

The Adoption Connection

Perhaps I’m influenced by some documentaries I’ve recently viewed. Walter Mitty is traveling the world with minimal clues looking for a hard-to-find person who has information Walter believes is vital. I think there’s an admittedly loose parallel between Walter Mitty’s search for Sean O’Connell and the searches of adoptees for their birth family or birth histories depicted in Somewhere Between, The Invisible Red Thread, and Closure. It’s not so obvious that it will jump out at many viewers, but it’s present enough to start a conversation, and it might create an unexpected emotional connection with some viewers.

One boy’s parents have separated, and it seems likely that his mother has found her next husband. We are able to see the development of a potential father-son relationship, and it does get off to a positive start.

 

Positive Elements

Fantasy can provide a safe escape for folks dealing with trauma (Walter’s father had died), but it can also stop someone from responding to reality. Eventually, moving from fantasy into reality can provide for more healing and growth.

One character mentions the value of enjoying a moment, rather than trying to capture it.

Challenges

Walter is more or less bullied by his supervisors at work. His ultimate victory over them comes in deciding that they don’t matter to him.

Recommendations

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty isn’t inappropriate for kids, but it isn’t aimed at them, either. Kids might be bored by this one. I loved it; although the adoption applications are minimal, it’s one of the films that I’ve enjoyed the most from an entertainment/artistic perspective.  I’d recommend it for a date night.

Questions for Discussion

What stops you from doing the things you imagine? 

Does your imagining stop you from living the life you have now? 

Can you have both imagination and an enjoyment of your present life?

Six Oscar-Nominated Films on Adoption at the Movies

The Oscars are tonight! If you haven't checked out the 2014 Adoption at the Movies Awards - take a look!

Several of the films up for an award tonight have been featured on Adoption at the Movies. Also - Philomena is nominated for best picture - it's a challenging, heavy film, but very relevant to adoption. I'll review it here soon.

Here are this year's Oscar-Nominated films that have also been reviewed on Adoption at the Movies. Click on the title to read the review:

Best Animated Feature
 


The Croods

Despicable Me 2  (Also nominated for best original song.)

Frozen   (Also nominated for best original song.)



Best Costume Design

The Great Gatsby (Also nominated for best production design)


Best Visual Effects

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Also nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Good luck to all!
How many of these have you seen? Which were your favorites?


Come back Tuesday for more Adoption Movie Reviews