God Bless the Broken Road (2018)

• Year: 2018
• Released: 07 Sep 2018
• Country: United States
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5702446/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/god_bless_the_broken_road
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/god-bless-the-broken-road
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
• Runtime: 111 min
• Writer: Jennifer Dornbush, Harold Cronk, Andy Fraser
• Director: Harold Cronk
• Cast: Matthew Derek Davis, Arthur Cartwright, Adam Agee
• Keywords: widow, faith, middle east, war on terror, afghanistan war (2001- ),

	5.6/10
	31/100
	17% – Critics
	78% – Audience

God Bless the Broken Road Storyline

It’s been two years since Amber Hill’s husband, US Army Sgt. Darren Hill, was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. Since, Amber has been struggling in every aspect of her life. Amber’s dead end waitress job under an uncaring boss is leading to her unable to pay the bills including the mortgage, the bank close to foreclosing. She doesn’t want to burden anyone with this financial problem, least of all who she considers Darren’s overbearing mother, Patti Hill. Because of Darren’s death leaving her a widow and their now nine year old daughter Bree Hill without a father, Amber has lost her faith in God, she no longer attending church, which also means no longer leading its choir. And Amber is unaware that in her focus on these problems, Bree no longer feels that her mother listens to her to find out what she wants or needs, which may be some connection to her father, his grave site which they have not yet visited. As Amber and Bree by association are on a downward path to losing everything, two men enter their lives which may give them a new perspective. The first is race car driver Cody Jackson, who has come to town under the advice of his coach to learn a few lessons under driving guru, Joe Carter, the owner/operator of the local garage. Cody’s issue is that he doesn’t understand that one sometimes has to slow down to win, at least without killing oneself. While there is a mutual attraction between Amber and Cody, he the first man she’s even considered that way since Darren, Cody’s line of work may hit a little too close to home in Amber fearing losing yet another important person in her life. And second is the mysterious man in the wheelchair who Amber knows wants to talk to her, but whose message, without even knowing what it is, she fears hearing.

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God Bless the Broken Road Movie Reviews

Some interest and enjoyment

By and large good acting and script, although an army widow finding herself without any military income might seem a bit unreal. Churchy, but not too preachy, it explores starting out on the false premise that God is supposed to be micromanaging the whole show-if thing go wrong is it ineptitude by a caring manager, unconcern by an uncaring manager, punishment by an angry one, etc? On the other hand, if he is semi-interventionalist (philosophically sound), then the swings and roundabouts of life might often be merely cause & effect within nature, helped or hindered by our attitudes to life.

Philosophically a few might find the polytheism of some of the prayer & singing (the ‘our-type-of-god’ syndrome) a bit irksome. A largely satisfying film, however, with elements of self-sacrifice for others, and of self-insularity as a protective shielding (to love is to be vulnerable). And how hard a child can be to a parent who thinks they mean well, but don’t realise they are drowning and dragging down their child when human affection has become demonic! The film has a feel good factor and a think through factor, but numerous holes.

A Raisin in the Sun

In the extras of the DVD, it was clear that the cast of “God Bless the Broken Road” was on board with the duel goals of this faith-based film. On the one hand, the film wanted to portray the power of faith in the most adverse circumstances for the protagonist. The second goal was to honor our vets for their service and their sacrifice. On both counts, the film succeeded.

The focus of the narrative was on a grieving widow, Amber Hill, whose husband died in Afghanistan in 2014. Amber feels betrayed by God and stops attending the local church in Berlin, Kentucky. She keeps descending lower and lower into her emotional pain, until she nearly loses the most precious object in her life, the love of her daughter.

On the one hand, it is easy to empathize with Amber, due to her tragic loss. On the other hand, she is slow to recognize the degree to which she is surrounded by a supportive group of friends and loved ones. The most intriguing relationship developed in the film was not the romantic connection between Amber and a racecar driver, Cody Jackson. Rather, the surprising relationship was that of Amber and her mother-in-law Patti.

Far from being a one-dimensional, shrewish mother-in-law, Patti was deeply concerned about Amber and her daughter Bree. It was surprising that Amber would not communicate with Patti, who was clearly reaching out to her. At one point, Patty offered Amber a job in sales. But Amber was so stubborn that she continued to work for tips at the local diner, lose her home, and become estranged from her daughter, due to the financial strain.

One of the religious themes presented by the filmmakers was that “nothing is impossible.” But Amber was trying her best to make life impossible for herself and everyone around her!

It was clear that one of the motifs of the film was resilience in the face of adversity. That was apparent in the case of the vet whose life was saved by Amber’s husband and he later regained enough strength to walk after a serious war wound. The racecar driver is also resilient after multiple pileups on the track. The only character who is far too slow in picking herself up and moving on with her life is Amber Hill.

There is a recurring image in the film of Amber’s daughter nurturing a mustard seed along to develop into a healthy plant and ultimately an enormous tree. This image comes from the famous Lorraine Hansberry play “A Raisin in the Sun.” The hardy growth demonstrates the perseverance of a family of survivors in the Younger family. In “God Bless the Broken Road,” Amber hits rock bottom, prior to having her faith restored. But she never should have descended to the lower depths, based on the friendship, love, and support that surrounded her from the beginning.

Realistic for a faith based movie

Lindsay Pulsipher has a difficult and sometimes unlikeable role to play – a widow having a tough time adjusting to the loss of her husband in Afghanistan. She loses her home to foreclosure, pushes away her helpful Mother in Law and a race car driver who likes her played by Hallmark regular Andrew W Walker. He looks a bit too disheveled here. Kim Delaney is a welcome presence as mom in law and she looks good a little elegant for the blue collar setting.

It’s a partially realistic look at a widow facing financial and other issues. She gets quite unlikeable but that’s life.

Worth a watch.