Movie Review: Unconditional

Samantha is a young, talented, successful artist and author.  She is living her dream on a farm with her husband Billy, her horse and her studio.  They spend many precious hours together, living in the love God has given them.
But all that is stripped away when Billy is murdered in an alley way... when he dies, so does Sam.  That is, she still functions, but there is no life left inside of her.  She is in the very act of finishing her own life when a little girl, Keisha, steps into her world and takes Sam with her.  Sam takes care of the girl until she gets back to her grandmother, and discovered a long lost friendship with Joe Bradford, the man who runs the program Keisha and her brother are part of.  While Joe helps Sam to heal from her husband's death, she discovers that there is more to life than recovering hope for yourself.  What if you found that hope and the love of God again and shared it with others?  As Sam helps Joe with his program for disadvantaged and fatherless children, she comes to realize that his love and self-sacrifice for the kids is what life is all about.

Unconditional was such a beautiful story and is based on the life of "Papa" Joe Bradford who works in Nashville, Tennessee.  You can visit his website at http://www.papajoe.org/.   I don't want to give it all away (and don't worry - even the description above doesn't give it all away :P ) but I will just say, it had me in tears... and that doesn't happen often for me.  :)


Violence: Obviously there is a certain level of violence with Sam's husband being shot.  You don't actually see it happen, but you do see blood coming out of his mouth.  When Joe is is prison, he stand up for a man who is being picked on by all the other inmates.  Unfortunately, Joe hasn't yet learned the difference between defense and inappropriate violence, as he repeatedly punches the man across the face and is about to slit his throat before he is restrained by prison guard. There is also the scene where Sam is sitting in the alley way with a gun under her chin, about to do herself in.  Sam also later threatens a man with a gun.

Adult relationships: None, unless you count Sam and her husband kissing, and Joe and Denise sharing a special smile and holding hands.  :)

Language: Nothing that I remember.  (And I literally just finished it.  :)  )

Drugs and Alcohol:  Keisha's grandmother drinks and adds whiskey her tea (or coffee???)  There could be a couple of other references as well, but they are mild and set the scene of the kinds of families Joe is serving.


This was a movie that really spoke to the heart - it was so precious!  I highly highly recommend it.  Rating: