surgery, calling for a surgical Dr. to meet me upon arrival. I didn't find out the full story until I came out of surgery and was being attended by a five doctor Trauma team. Although I was in and out of conscience, what I did remember vividly was the memory of standing before Jesus and God Almighty!! I asked "Is this Heaven...Did I die?" The answer was startlingly brief and to the point. "Yes, my son, this is Heaven, but it's not your time, you're going back, you have unfinished work to do."After 3 Months of Rehab and Recovery, when I first visited my regular Dr., and I sat down in his office, he was just finishing up reading a whole stack of Doctor's and Hospital notes. His first words to me were, after asking how I was feeling, were "Well, after reading your file, all of the attending physicians say that we almost lost you in surgery." I Know that my short visit in Heaven may or may not have been notated, but I positively know that it was NOT a dream, hallucination, or my imagination. Heaven truly DOES exist.

a perfect Easter movie. PS: You may need to explain some of it to younger children.

where we steal from one another, kill one another etc. If this brings hope, if some people believe that this is real then let them do so. If you choose not to like it or believe then don't. As a species we should all be living our lives better than what we do, we take everything for granted and we have become greedy and self absorbed, everything is about what you can get for yourself. And as for the person who said every experience like what the kid had has always been linked to flat lining, then your wrong, thats not always the case.

little boy has an out- of-body experience which he later shares with his Dad. What happens next is truly remarkable and unexplainable by all laws of science. If you would like to see it for yourself – you have to watch the film.My favorite scene is right before the little boy gets sick. The family takes a vacation to Denver. On the way, they sing different songs. Then the boy asks, "Can we sing 'We Will Rock You?'" Everyone looks at each other for a second and then they all sing, out of tune, "We Will Rock You." It's funny and lighthearted. This film may seem like its all about God and heaven, but really, it's not. "Heaven Is For Real" is a loving story about a community that experiences something extraordinary. I think the fact that they made a movie based on the real story is fantastic! It also benefits the film that the actors are so in touch with their roles and the camera shots are one of a kind and perfect for the scenes.This film has a bit of mature content so I give it an age rating of 9 to 18. Also this film deserves 5 out of 5 stars.Reviewed by Gerry O, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews go to kidsfirst dot org.

us, the film shared the real human flesh struggles of a man that was a minister, but still a man. Even if not based on a true story, it would be a great movie.

barely meet, married with two small children. His parish loves him and life is marginally good. But then his four year old son gets a burst appendix, and their whole life gets turned upside down for fear their son will perish. The minister screams at God, his faith tested to the core. A pray chain is set up at the church, in the town, and the boy narrowly pulls through. Everyone is relieved and life gets back to normal. Or so it seems. But then the four year old begins innocently to reveal to his father, that he had had an out of body experience, and provides details of heaven, like seeing his father screaming at God in the hospital chapel. Over time, the boy continues to relate more material so that the father consults a psychologist who discredits the actual encounter as normal memory tricks. Somehow the news leaks out of the family, to the church and community, and public controversy ensues. What to believe? Yet still more and more facts come out from the child that could not be known to the child except from his encounter; that then convince the minister of heaven's reality, from his son's innocent testimony. The minsters faith waivers, but then finally returns to belief. The movie is a real tear jerker. The plot moves quickly and steadily; the acting is superb, the child priceless. It ends well, a happy ending and faith is explored. For me, it was a pleasant surprise and in all a fine little low budget movie that witnesses faith with honest reason and doubt. Definitely worth the $1.50 and the time.

wonderful in the role . This movie is not preachy. It does not tell the audience what to believe or not to believe. Like the book, it gives those of us who believe further evidence that we're on the right track. But for those in doubt, it gives you plenty to think about and leaves you with questions you must work out for yourself. It just might leave you with hope and the courage to think there might be something to this belief in Jesus and Heaven. All in all, this is a splendid movie and I'd recommend it, and the book, whole-heartedly.

enjoy this movie. Is it perfect? No, nothing is, but this movie is pretty good. 8 out of 10 stars. Acting is good too. Kudos to all involved in the production. Epilogue: There's an odd phenomena happening with any movie that is religious or potentially religious, like this film. They get a lot of 1-star ratings. I'm certain these come from zealots. Mostly, I suspect they are militant atheists who think belief in God is the root of all of mankind's problems. I'm talking about the disciples of Richard Dawkins here. I'll bet serious money that most of the 1-star reviewers never saw the movie. With a movie like this one there is another potential source of 1-star reviews, fundamentalists who like their religious ideas literal and straight from the bible. Those folks will not like this movie at all. Real spirituality is complicated.

experiences right away, but with time began to open up to his father. Greg Kinnear leads a stellar cast in the story, bringing Todd Burpo to life on film. Todd is a pastor and has been most of his life, leading a small church in Nebraska. His wife Sonja Burpo, played by Kelly Riley, leads her women's choir group and is the ever faithful church wife. Along with Thomas Haden Church, Margo Martindale, and Conor Corum Colton rounding out the cast. When events put their son into the hospital they are forced to make a choice: believe that God can bring their son back or fall into despair. As Todd struggles with this question in the chapel he gets angry with God while his wife Sonja calls the church family for prayer - an image that Colton sees as he walks with Jesus. Many other stories unfold about Colton's visit to heaven. He sees images of family members that have passed away, visions of what heaven looks like, and even Jesus' appearance which is not like the pictures he has seen in Sunday School books. Many people in the small town do not want to believe this, finding it too scary to believe or struggling with the fact that maybe there truly is a heaven. One fact remains - a young boy visited heaven and he believes it. Scripture says that we must come to Jesus as children and Colton certainly did that.There has been much criticism about the book and now the movie, debating theological doctrine, actual medical reports that Colton did not really die at any point, and that there are holes around the story biblically. However, the idea remains: it's an imperfect story for an imperfect world. Jesus came to a little boy and revealed Himself in a way that Colton would understand. The truth is, Jesus does that for us each and every day. We are all imperfect and undeserving of His love, and yet He gives it freely. So I ask, what is so wrong with believing that He could hold the hand of a four year old and take him on a walk? He desires to do that with each one of us, if only we would believe and let Him.