Not suitable under 10; parental guidance to 11 (violence, scary scenes, themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 10 | Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes and themes. |
Children aged 10–11 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, scary scenes and themes. |
Children over the age of 11 | Ok for this age group. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | I Heard the Bells |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes |
Length: | 110 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Set in the 1860’s at the start of the American Civil War, I Heard the Bells tells the story of America’s much loved poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Stephen Atherholt). Henry is happily married to his wife, Frances (Franny) (Rachel Day Hughes), and lives a seemingly idyllic life with his five children. He is well known and admired for his poetry throughout the country. The oldest son, Charley (Jonathan Blair), wants to go and fight in the war but at 17 he needs his father’s permission, which Henry refuses to give and Frances makes Henry promise that he’ll never allow their sons to fight.
Tragedy occurs, however, when Frances dies due to her dress catching on fire. Henry does his best to save her, and is himself badly burnt in the process, but he is unable to. After his wife’s death, Henry withdraws from life and vows to never write again. Charley also feels the loss of his mother greatly and loses his faith in God. Subsequently, he is compelled to go to war and forges his father’s signature to do so. Through Henry’s connections, he is able to protect Charley from the front line, but Charley is eventually shot and wounded in the war. Charley is taken by his comrades into a destroyed church, and is lying on a pew when he sees the church bell on the floor next to him. Close to death, Charley hears the bells ringing loudly, which gives him the hope he needs to cling to life. Henry writes the hymn with the title of the film as a result.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
The American Civil War; Slavery; Death; Tragedy; Hope and Faith in God.
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
I Heard the Bells is an inspirational movie about hope and faith. Henry Longfellow’s faith is sorely tested when he loses his most beloved wife, Frances. The film shows the despair of loss of life but also the hope that people live on through their work and deeds. It is a very emotional and intense film, best suited for families with older children.
The main messages from this movie are that people live on through their legacy; and that there is hope after death.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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