I HEARD THE BELLS’ Stars Share Movie’s Message: ‘There Is A God Who Loves [You]’
By Movieguide® Contributor
The stars of I HEARD THE BELLS are sharing what the movie’s message means to them as we approach the Christmas season.
I HEARD THE BELLS initially premiered last year in theaters and was nominated for a Movieguide® Teddy Bear® Award. I HEARD THE BELLS will premiere on Great American PureFlix Thursday, November 28 at 8/7c, with an encore presentation on Saturday, November 30.
I HEARD THE BELLS tells the true story of writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Christmas Bells.”
“Known as America’s Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow leads an idyllic life…until the day his world is shattered by tragedy,” a synopsis of the movie reads. “With a nation divided by Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. But it’s the sound of Christmas morning that reignites the poet’s lost voice as he discovers the resounding hope of rekindled faith.”
A portion of the Movieguide® review reads:
I HEARD THE BELLS is incredibly well-acted and produced. Despite grief, the movie champions the gifts of family, faith and hope in the face of the darkness of tragedy and Civil War. The movie suffers from some slow pacing, but it’s a wonderful Christmas movie with scenes of prayer, church, salvation, communion, and song. I HEARD THE BELLS points viewers to the goodness of Christ, and the freedom that comes through Him. Because of some violence and mature themes about grief, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children.
Stephen Atherholt, who plays Longfellow, spoke about the meaning and message of the movie.
“Hearing the Christmas bells, for all of us, I think can mean something, even if it means hearing them within another song that you’re hearing on the radio,” he told Movieguide®. “But, you know, you hear the bells and what do they mean to you?”
Atherholt shared how Longfellow’s grief during the Civil War consumed him, but ultimately, he reconnected with his faith.
“The poem brings you all the way back from that sorrow, back to…but God is here,” the actor said. “He is not dead and He speaks to us and hopefully the movie will speak to people as well.”
Atherholt continued, “I hope that they see the humanity of him and the real, honest struggle. He didn’t know his faith very well. He leaned on his wife for his faith, and he just wanted to be happy, and I think it’s something we all pursue very heavily…we all focus on happiness. So, when happiness is stripped away from you, where does it leave you? If you’ve made that your end goal in life, just to be happy, that’s not sustainable.”
“People need to know…that they’re not alone, and that there is hope on the other side of tragedy, no matter how severe it is,” he concluded. “Ultimately, what I want them to walk away with is that there is a God who loves them very much and will never walk away from them.”
Rachel Day Hughes, who played Longfellow’s wife Fanny, called the real-life inspiration for her character “a woman of spiritual strength” with “great humility.”
“In terms of seeing a healthy and beautiful, alive Christian marriage, I was so pleased that that made it into the film,” she explained. “I think…the home, the family, is under attack in many ways, and one of our best defenses against that is showing the truth…showing the goodness, the truth, the beauty of a solid Christian family and marriage that weather storms together and celebrates together is beautiful.”
Hughes continued, “It’s my hope that when people watch this film…as they watch Henry reclaim the truth of these words — ‘peace on Earth, goodwill to men,’ which are not his own; they’re from scripture — as you watch him reclaim the truth of those words, it’s my hope that people will do the same over their hearts.”
I HEARD THE BELLS is the first movie from Sight & Sound Films, which focuses on telling “true stories of historical figures [whose] lives changed the world because Christ first changed them,” according to their Instagram page.
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