Love with all your strength. The film is based on real events and is dedicated to the beautiful soul of a man named Joe Bradford. He grew up without a father in a small village west of Nashville, where poverty was a common daily routine, after college he went to prison for hacking into a computer, but the worst awaited him - a hard time battling kidney disease. The tagline reads: “It’s not a dead end if it leads in the direction you should go.” Many people, burdened with life’s difficulties, give up, but Joe, on the contrary, survived and decided to inspire the world.
In 2005, Joe Bradford founded the Heart of Elijah Ministries, a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to help and give love to children from disadvantaged families. This touching story fits in a few words, which are called the autobiographical book – “A walk of love” or “Walk of love”. Both the book and the film carry an important humanistic message: everyone has a love in their heart that can generate a desire to help others, just some do not yet know about it.
The executive producer was so inspired by the life story of the founder of the ministry that he considered it worthy of big screens. Joe Bradford co-produced and was involved in a complex adaptation process, so the film reflects reality, but a few facts in it are still distorted. Firstly, there were more disadvantaged children from the beginning than shown in the film, and secondly, he married Denise before they founded their organization.
In the center of the film is a talented writer of children's stories and part-time beloved woman Billy ( Diego Clattenhoff) - Samantha Crawford (Lynn Collins). This is done to show that Joe’s organization not only helps children, but also has a beneficial effect on the fate of all involved. Many, while helping others, are waging their own struggles, just as they did with the main character, whose world was destroyed in an instant by a senseless act of violence. In this regard, the words from the story of the Fire are symbolic: “The storm is waiting for you.” You should definitely look at her.” Samantha experienced mental pain, elevated to absolute despair, but it was thanks to this pain that she was able to feel the value of life in the future.
On the screen, the image of Joe, who, by the will of fate and the waving of his own heart, organizes Samantha’s journey to unconditional love, is the embodiment of the acting skills of Michael Ili. He subtly conveyed first the nobleness and then the piousness of his hero, although only his beautiful blue eyes are a weighty argument to see the whole story from beginning to end. In addition, the actor with great trepidation reacted to the picture, which allowed him to show his faith. The film does have Christian overtones, but the love of God is expressed not in words, but in deeds. This will not leave anyone indifferent.
Actors who played children’s roles showed themselves no worse than adult colleagues. Brother and sister, Macon (Kwesi Boake) and Keisha (Gabriella Phillips), are very sweet in their strange but certainly warm relationship. They are associated with the most touching moments of the film, whether it is a sobbing boy with a page from a diary or a girl who miraculously spoke. Also harmoniously looked singers Joe (Tarren Mason) and Samantha (Emily Rollins) in childhood, they were fully associated with their adult characters.
Separately, it is worth noting Anthony Jones (Cedric Pendleton). Sometimes only one detail makes a person judge - a careless word, an obliquely cast glance or a repulsive appearance. At such moments, the big picture is overlooked. Anthony, contrary to his image, reveals himself twice. Therefore, it becomes clear why Macon respected him so much, and why he was sent to help Billy in his last moments.
Brent McCorkle debuted as a writer and director. The work is definitely worthy, but surprisingly different - he also acted as a composer. In the film, his music charges the atmosphere to one of his sparks to set fire to the wicks of your soul and trigger fireworks of emotions. The one where Keisha is alone with the horse will never be erased from my memory. I built barriers and tried to hold on, but from that point on, my tears never stopped flowing.
The life-affirming drama is filled with warmth and carefully warms your heart with both the story of healing and the piercing detective component. The viewer, along with Samantha, goes through a difficult path from despair to happiness, to get wet in the pouring rain with her in the final, and finally to be over soft fluffy clouds, and then to think about what love is. And although the question is still open, one thing we know for sure is that there is no more force to be found.
9 out of 10