The Cokeville Miracle

The Cokeville Miracle

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/19/2015

My rating: 10/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Absolutely

I classify this as a true life inspirational story

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: None that I can think of

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: The Other Side of Heaven

This is a story based on a true life event in the town of Cokeville Wyoming. A historical overview and examination of motive is presented, but it is primarily a story of what happened to the survivors. 

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Spoiler information

First and foremost, I am heavily biased towards this movie. It is a movie about people of my faith and it deals with things that I hold most sacred and special. Much of what is presented in this movie resonates strongly with me and rings true. I don't expect that will be the case for everyone that watches this. My rating for this movie goes beyond the acting, to the message that was delivered to me, and that message hit a home run. 

Nevertheless, I found the acting to be very good, especially for children. There are incidents of the children recounting what they saw, and happened, which include stories of Angels and family members that guarded and protected. These stories are told in a matter of fact manner, not in a dramatic, you have to believe me manner. In fact, the children show some reluctance to share the story, which I found believable. 

There is a part of the story where the main protagonist, a father and member of the Sheriff's department, is investigating what happened. He has been collecting spiritual evidences and he says, perhaps the greatest miracle was that there was no police officers around when this went down, because if he had been there (he was about 2 hours out of town when he received notice), he would have burst in there and probably would have gotten most or all of them killed. I had much the same feelings when the event was rolling out - I wanted to go in and beat the living crud out of the hostage keeper. I realized that this is what is wrong with many of us - we let anger inflame our emotions and do what the adversary would have us do. One of the major messages of this movie is that a calm word turns away anger - the bomb went off accidentally and without emotion. There were many incidents where anger was turned away by inspiration from the teachers and other adults present. The principal was non-confrontational and consoling and that kept immediate violence from happening. 

I believe in God, miracles, Angels, and that our family members are still alive in the afterlife (what I call the Spirit world). I believe that our family members care about us greatly, but are under a strict law of intervention, and only under unusual circumstances are they allowed to directly interact with us. I don't know the details of this law, but I believe that it exists. I also don't know why tragedy occurs in this life. I have my guesses about some things, faith in others, and knowledge of a few, but I suppose that if I knew all the answers, I would have no purpose of living in this worldly existence. 

As I was watching this movie, my thoughts were also there for the poor people that were slaughtered in Charleston South Carolina a few days ago. I served my mission in South Carolina and Georgia and I love those people. Many of the people I met and interacted with are people of faith and love. I especially loved working with the African American people. In fact, I found them to be the most open to conversation, discussion, and brotherhood. It greatly pains me that another madman (in some ways similar to the madman portrayed in this movie) killed those worshipers. My prayers are for those families, friends, and neighbors that are suffering from the tragedy that occurred. I hope and pray that we can turn away from violence and be healed with love and unity for each other. I hope that we can limit the attention on the wicked man, and instead grow together as neighbors.