When I shared my not-so-kind remarks on The Office last week, I promised to recommend a more wholesome resource to you this week. That resource is Unsung Hero. It’s truly one of the best faith-based films I’ve ever seen, and I hope this post will inspire you to see it for yourself.
A True Tale
Unsung Hero was made by the band for KING & COUNTRY (a band comprised of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone). Several years ago, for KING & COUNTRY made a movie called Priceless, which is excellent but very dark because it focuses on human trafficking. Unsung Hero is a much different movie, but it’s also excellent.
Unsung Hero tells the true story of how the Smallbones left their homeland of Australia to settle in America. It portrays the various challenges the family faced—from financial challenges to relational challenges to spiritual challenges. It also shows how Rebecca St. James (the oldest child in the Smallbone family) joined the music industry.
But even though Rebecca, Joel, and Luke are key characters in Unsung Hero, the film actually focuses on their mom, Helen. It highlights her love for her family, her hope in difficult circumstances, and her commitment to trusting God no matter what. She didn’t give up on her family or her faith.
Ultimately, Unsung Hero is a tribute to Helen—but it’s also a testament of God’s faithfulness.
A Timely Theme
As I mentioned earlier, Unsung Hero is a true story. Perhaps that’s one reason it’s so encouraging—because although the hardships the Smallbones faced were real, the ways God worked in their lives were real too. When they arrived in America, they essentially had nothing, but God provided everything for them. He used the Church to meet the Smallbones’ needs.
There are many great themes in Unsung Hero, such as being generous, having humility, and persevering through pain. But the overarching theme is family—loving your family, sacrificing for your family, and pointing your family to God. Honestly, that’s a much-needed message in our culture because it desperately wants to abolish the biblical definition (and biblical significance) of family.
Unsung Hero definitely doesn’t depict the Smallbone family as being perfect. In fact, throughout most of the movie, David (the dad) is actually portrayed as arrogant and stubborn. But God uses Helen and other members of the Smallbone family to open David’s eyes to his own pride.
Friends, I’ve seen a lot of cringey Christian movies, but Unsung Hero isn’t one of them. It’s well-made and it’s uplifting, which is a rare combination. I genuinely enjoyed it, and I know you will too.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4 NASB1995)
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 