This last weekend I had the opportunity to see the movie “Heaven is 4 Real.”  The film is based on the best-selling book by Todd Burpo.  It is the inspiring  true story of a preacher whose son had a near death experience and believes that he went to heaven.

The main character is 4-year old Colton Burpo, son of Todd Burpo.  After becoming very sick, his parents take him to the hospital, are told that his appendix has ruptured and he goes into an emergency surgery that he may not survive.

After waking up from the surgery, young Colton begins to tell his father about his experiences in heaven.  He claims to have seen Jesus, dead relatives, and a child that his mother miscarried before he was born.  He recounts that he was watching the surgery from above.  He saw the doctors performing on his body, as well as his parents in the other rooms of the hospital.  

The story was very touching. Colton, played by Connor Corum, quickly won over my heart.  He has the sweetest smile and everything he says is so innocent and kind.  He was a great actor, especially for his young age.  He has a very sincere attitude that makes him easy to believe in and connect to.

The most impactful part of the film was towards the end. Todd Burpo, the father of Colton, is on the internet researching other children who had experiences similar to Colton.  One young girl had the same experience of going to heaven, and began painting the things that she had seen.  Her most famous painting was of Jesus Christ.  Earlier in the movie Colton had told his father he had seen Jesus Christ but had difficulty describing what he looked like.  The only detail he could say for sure was that Jesus had bluish-greenish eyes.  His father had shown him multiple depictions of Christ, but Colton claimed that none of them looked like the Jesus he had seen in heaven.  As his father is looking at the young girl’s painting of Jesus, Colton walks by the computer and sees the painting.  He tells his dad that that is the man he saw.

The movie definitely provided a very interesting story that left me thinking about what I had seen.  Whether or not you believe in heaven, it is an inspiring story about a family that went through a lot of trials, and came out stronger because of their unity and love for eachother.  I would definitely recommend seeing this movie, and would love to see it again.