The Amazing Mr Blunden – a review

I watched the film with our family, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Featuring ghosts, time travel and a multiverse plotline, it felt like a cross between the new Spider Man blockbuster No Way Home and The Secret Garden. It’s well acted, not too scary for the children, and enough drama to keep everyone entertained. 

I found myself very moved by the children’s pleas to Mr Blunden, as they implore him to rescue them from being killed by their uncle, his girl friend and her mother. We soon discover they are about to be  burned to death in a house fire, which I found particularly poignant. I had only just heard the news of two sets of young twins, Kyson, Bryson, Leyton and Logan, who perished in a house fire this week in Sutton, with a 27 year old woman arrested under suspicion of child neglect.

 

Their tragic death had come not long after the sentencing of those responsible for the murder of Arthur Labinjo Hughes and Star Hobson. Hearing the children in the film beg for their lives triggered something inside me. This film is not just entertainment, but a stark reminder that we must learn from the past and do something ourselves that will change the future. 

 

The story of Mr Blunden is a redemptive one. It challenges us whether we will be that hard hearted person who ignores the cries of the children for help, effectively complicit in their tragic endings, or the sort of person who is dedicated to find a way to save them. The Bible is clear that God has special concern for the orphan and the widow. (Isaiah 1, Isaiah 58, James 1.27) God describes himself as a protector of vulnerable children and women ( Psalm 68, ). Too often the church has not only failed to care for the children within its community but we have also failed to protect children in our wider society. But the deaths of children reported in the news in recent weeks can be a wake up call to us all and to the church in particular. 

 

I believe we all have a vital role to play in providing families with the support they need so that fewer children will face the toxic cocktail of poverty, drug abuse and domestic violence that Arthur and Star faced. I also believe the church can help look out for children vulnerable to abuse and neglect and make sure we are working well with statutory authorities and diligent in our reporting of fears and concerns. You can find out more about how Christians can be involved in this area by signing an open letter here.

 

I would encourage families around the nation to watch The Amazing Mr Blunden this Christmas. For those with ears to hear, this film could radically change your life.