A quick errand to the supermarket for two red tomatoes and a box of macaroni and cheese marks the beginning of an unexpected friendship for 10-year-old India “Opal” Buloni. The relationship unfolded on the Big Screen February 18 as Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media released the family-oriented, faith-based movie Because of Winn-Dixie.
Based on the 2000 Newberry Honor book written by Kate DiCamillio, the story follows Opal through an emotionally-charged summer of tears and smiles as she learns what it means to love and be loved by others.
After being abandoned by her alcoholic mother, Opal and her father, whom she dispassionately refers to as “the preacher,” move to the small fictional town of Naomi, Florida, where he pastors Open Arms Baptist Church. In addition to the unfamiliarity of a new home situated in a local trailer park and a new church that holds services in a convenience store, Opal is lonely — and her loneliness is only complicated by a strained relationship with the preacher.
Longing for companionship as well as a relationship with her long-lost mother, Opal prays that God would bring her friends. Her prayer is answered almost immediately as she comes across a bedraggled orphan dog that induces chaos in the local Winn-Dixie. She claims the mutt, names him Winn-Dixie, and takes him home for keeps.
Although her father is initially disgruntled by the canine's presence, the preacher eventually takes a liking to Winn-Dixie, who finds a special place in Opal's heart and opens the door to new friendships as well as a renewed relationship between the preacher and his daughter.
“He was a dog who knew how to be a friend,” Opal says of Winn-Dixie. “Just about everything that happened that summer happened because of Winn-Dixie.”
Throughout the summer, the spirited duo restores a sense of hope to the down-trodden community by befriending eccentric personalities who are all seeking to put their pasts behind them in search of acceptance. These personalities come to life through an esteemed cast of Hollywood veterans such as Jeff Daniels as Preacher, Cicely Tyson as Gloria Dump, and Eva Marie Saint as Miss Franny. Musician Dave Matthews makes his first appearance in a major motion picture as Otis, alongside young newcomer AnnaSophia Robb, 11, as Opal.
“People forgot how to share their joy,” Opal says, but she and Winn-Dixie are the perfect pair for reminding others, as they too are reminded, about the importance of unconditional love.
Communicating a Message
In addition to unconditional love, the uplifting film has a Christian tone and includes overt elements of faith, prayer, reconciliation, and fellowship, gently balanced with feel-good doses of humor. The film, under the direction of Wayne Wang, immediately captivates both children and adults in a delightful but serious manner as the characters deal with issues of alcoholism, child abandonment, loneliness, fear, broken relationships and tarnished reputations, thus prompting a PG rating in addition to the following four considerations:
One mild profanity and occasional use of the Lord's name in vain;
Somewhat disrespectful name-calling;
Instances of lying and minor disrespect to an authority figure;
Suggestions of sinfulness and allusions to an incomplete explanation of salvation through almighty God.
In response to the allusion of salvation, Toni Johnson, a minister and mother of two who attended a screening, said, “Whether it was intentional or unintentional, it leaves the door open and gives parents the opportunity to talk to their kids about who Jesus is.
“My children [ages 5 and 10] had good, legitimate questions … that made me go, 'Hmm, let's talk about that,'” Johnson added. “It [the movie] offers so many opportunities to talk to your children about various things.”
Despite such in-depth issues, the story line never gets grim, because a sense of joy triumphs throughout the film.
“Compared to most Hollywood movies, Because of Winn-Dixie was a great movie,” said Ron Cottom, an associate pastor and a father who screened the movie with his family prior to its release. “I would encourage all families to go see this movie because of the great story line.”
Johnson, who would like to see it again, agrees. “The body of Christ has got to come together and support these types of movies and not be so quick to go see trash,” Johnson said. “Because what goes in eventually comes out.”
“Because of Winn-Dixie is much more than a film for the entire family,” stated Daniels in the movie's production notes. “It's a movie about the power of communication and universal feelings of love.”
And perhaps these profound elements are part of what makes the story simply engaging, as evident from both children and adults interacting with the movie through laughter and repetition of what was heard on the screen.
Making the Movie
“I generally make movies about something that is missing in our lives, empty places that we're trying to fill,” director Wayne Wang said in the production notes. “I am always attracted to stories about people longing for and finding deep contact with others, about lonely people struggling for some sense of connection.”
The film's message definitely connects with the audience, just as the book connected with the film's screenwriter and co-producer, Joan Singleton. She was determined to bring the story to Hollywood after her daughter Elizabeth insisted that she read DiCamillo's book.
“Children need stories that inspire them as this one does,” Singleton commented in the production notes, “and so do adults.”
Singleton's (then) nine-year-old daughter and 80-year-old father shared similar heartfelt reactions to the book, as did Singleton herself. She knew she could not rest until she made the book into a movie. And she did just that alongside co-producer Trevor Albert and executive producer Ralph Singleton.
“It's a really heart-warming, heart-felt film,” Robb, the young star of the movie, told AgapePress. “It's a film that has all different kinds of feelings. There's enough sadness, enough fairness, and happiness.
“It's all-around good,” she added.
So when deciding what movie to see next, don't hesitate to open your heart to a story with a powerful message and a lasting truth. Shed a little tear. Smile from ear to ear. You never know when a loveable furry mutt just might smile back at you as your heart becomes a part of this tail-wagging experience!
(Rebecca Grace, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is staff writer for AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This article courtesy of Agape Press).
