Confessions of a Prodigal Son {DVD Review}

Confessions of a Prodigal Son {DVD Review} 

So many movies today are full of bad language, violence, sexual themes and other matter that I really don’t care to see myself, or have my family watch. I love it when a Christian film comes out and I get a chance to see it! That’s the case with the movie, Confessions of a Prodigal Son, starring Kevin Sorbo, Nathan Clarkson and Rachael Lee.

A coming-of-age tale following Sean (Nathan Clarkson) as he rebels and leaves his home, family and father (Kevin Sorbo) to figure out life on his own. Two years later–while still on the journey to find life’s answers–Sean suddenly finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew as he is confronted by a professor (Darwin Harris) who challenges Sean to see his life as a story; a best friend (Azel James) walking a dangerous path; and a strong and beautiful young woman (Rachael Lee) who is on her own journey to answers. Each one of these elements causes Sean to greater examine the choices he is making. The story is one of drama, laughter, relationships, faith, and redemption, ultimately asking the question “Can broken stories have happy endings?“

I think most of us know the story of the prodigal son in the Bible. It talks about two sons, and the younger son requests his part of the inheritance from his father (which is granted) and he goes away and wastes it all while the older son stays home and continues to work for his father. The younger son ends up starving and having to work, and decides to come home to apologize and beg to work for his father so he has clothes and food. His father, however, welcomes him home with a feast and open arms! The older son gets angry and doesn’t understand why he was never treated with a celebration when he was the one who did what was expected of him. In the end, the father says the younger son has basically returned from the dead and from his sin and that is reason enough to celebrate since he is welcome to be home again.

This is a great movie that deals with a troubled young man who strikes out on his own, along with half of his college fund. He quickly gets caught up in a rough crowd who drink, party and have otherwise bad behaviors that influence the main character, Sean. He grew up with a father who is also a preacher and felt he was being judged and expected to live the right kind of life, whether he really wanted to or not.

I think we’ve all been there, at one time in our life. Some of my kids rebelled around this same age, even the straight A honor student who got scholarships to college! I could relate to the parents as we watch their hearts break when Sean leaves to head out into the world on his own. My parent’s heart also aches as the story unfolds with bad choices of partying, smoking & drinking, girls, and trouble at school.

Thanks to a single professor at college, Sean starts hearing about the idea of being the creator of your own story. It’s this idea that impacts his decisions and his thoughts going forward in the movie. It’s interesting to watch as his life seems to fall apart and he has to decide whether to continue just to prove his point or go back home and face whatever consequences could be waiting for him there.

I won’t give away the ending of the movie. Needless to say, if you know the story of the prodigal son then you can probably figure out what choice he makes at the end LOL! But I enjoyed this family friendly movie, even if it wasn’t a huge Hollywood production. I would recommend this movie to Christians, young adults, and even youth groups to view together.

You can purchase your own copy of Confessions of a Prodigal Son on Amazon as of 3/24/15! 

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in this article in exchange for my honest opinion. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation. Regardless, I will only recommend products or services I use personally or believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”