Produced by the team behind A.D.,Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, value-based film Little Boy will be released in theaters this weekend. A rarity in quality movies today, Little Boy is engaging, entertaining, and provokes audiences to consider the importance of family, faith and striving for virtue.
In the words of Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, “Art has a very important function to be able to teach people about life and about values. So when a film is made like this that has such a beautiful message and is done in such an artistic and appealing way, it provides a great service to the whole community. It’s not only entertaining, but it’s also something that’s uplifting.”
The film is set in small town American during the Second World War, following the trials and triumphs of “Little Boy”, so called because of his diminutive size. Little Boy doesn’t have many friends and the War takes away the closest friend he has—his father.
When his father enlists, Little Boy will do anything to bring him back home safely. His parish priest gives Little Boy an “ancient list” that he promises will help ensure his father’s return. The tasks are the corporal works of mercy.
In a quest that is at times amusing and at times touching, Little Boy strives to visit the imprisoned and befriend the lonely. He not only serves others—such as a marginalized Japanese man discriminated against because of Japan’s part in the War—he also grows in his own spiritual life.
Little Boy believes with his whole heart that his father will return. Catholic musician Matt Maher says of the movie, “the central most important thing for me, that I felt was obviously the importance of belief and having faith and believing that miracles can happen. It’s a trip through his heart and you kind of see the world through the eyes of a child.”
The movie beautifully depicts the relationship of a father and a son as well as other guiding influences in Little Boy’s life. Ultimately, it is Little Boy’s growing relationship with God the Father that will see him through doubt, loss and the War.
Refreshingly, the movie imparts a strong lesson about the power of faith, but does not do so in a preachy way. Rather the audience is drawn into a story that anyone could relate to, one that explores the hopefulness of a child that faith really can move mountains.
Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles commented “It seems to me that something very good and positive that we can learn from the movie is that our faith is a great gift that we have and also in that in living our faith, we make a big contribution to society.”
To watch the trailer and to find out more about Little Boy, visit www.littleboymovie.com
