I Still Believe

As Easter approaches, Hollywood starts releasing certain religious and inspirational films to get us in the mood. Some are OK, and some are actually very thought-provoking and emotionally heart-wrenching. As with the case of "I Still Believe", this is incredibly heartwarming and speaks to the heart in ways that will surprise.

This is the powerful true life story of Christian music mega star Jeremy Camp (K.J. Apa). Jeremy's remarkable journey of love and loss proves there is always hope in the midst of tragedy and that faith tested is the only faith worth sharing. 
This starts in Sept. 1999 with Jeremy leaving home for college and saying his goodbyes to his parents, Tom and Terry Camp (Gary Sinise and Shania Twain) respectively, and as he lands in college, he meets and subsequently falls in love with fellow student, Melissa Henning (Britt Robertson). As they grow to know each other better, Melissa contracts stomach cancer and comes close to dying, however only, through prayer, pulls through. Through their friend Jean-Luc (Nathan Dean) and their respective families, their faith was tested once again when the cancer comes back. This is a true test, if not a trial, of their faith to rely on the Lord and each other. 

Others to round out the cast are Melissa Roxburgh as Melissa's sister, Cameron Arnett as Dr. Furst, Reuben Dodd as Josh Camp, Jeremy's brother, Tanya Christiansen as Janette Henning, Melissa's sister and Abigail Cowen as Adrienne.

This was directed in a sobering way by Andrew Erwin ("The Cross and the Towers" (documentary) '06, "Alumni" (TV movie) '09, "October Baby" '11, "Moms' Night Out" '14, "Woodlawn" '15, "I Can Only Imagine" '18) plus TV and videos and Jon Erwin (Same as above plus "Fully Alive" '12 and "Steve McQueen: American Icon" (documentary) '17. As one can observe, these filmmakers are avid inspirational artists. They have the innate ability to bring us a heart-wrenching and realistic account of different famous Christian leaders and/or singers to the screen. We end up knowing so much more about them and their lives. It will be interesting what they will do with their "American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story" which is in pre-production for a 2020 release. It was compassionately written by Jon Erwin ("Alumni" (TV movie) '09, "October Baby" '11, "Moms' Night Out" '14, "Coffee Shop" '14, "Woodlawn" '15, "I Can Only Imagine" '18) plus videos and Jon Gunn ("Mercy Streets" 2000, "The Week" '15), based on the book by Jeremy Camp. As this story unfolds, it is conveyed to its audience of the harrowing progression that not only Melissa had to endure, but Jeremy as well. The chemistry between Apa and Robertson was incredibly well thought out in their connection. It was obviously apparent how much these two loved one another by the approach these writers took, which made it gut-wrenching in how these two young people had to endure this. Their faith had everything to do with how they were going to get through this situation. One of the lines in this really stuck with me: "Suffering doesn't destroy faith, it refines it". Their writing showed cohesiveness and clarity, with an abundance of compassion and hope, all which is need in this crazy world. Apa, who plays Archie on CW's "Riverdale" gives a riveting performance as Camp and actually learned to sing for this. He already knew how to play the guitar, but proved himself as an actor with this. 

In a world where we have violence, divorce, micro organisms, incredible weather conditions, and the like, we need films like this more than ever, whether it's nearing Easter or not. If one would like to see this up, close and personal, you can see it in an IMAX format as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                              Rated: PG                                            116mins.