Ginger and Rosa MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -4

Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks. Drama. Written & directed by Sally Potter.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Two teenage best friends cope with early 1960s life in London. Inseparable; the girls skip school together, discuss religion, politics and hairstyles, and dream of lives bigger than their mothers' frustrated domesticity. But, as the Cold War meets the sexual revolution, and the threat of nuclear holocaust escalates, their lifelong friendship is tested when one girl becomes attracted to the other’s step-father.

PREVIEW REVIEW: It’s a sort of character study about two teen girls from broken homes and how they are trying to deal with the changes in the world, as well as the changes in their own bodies. They are best friends until the one takes a shine to the other’s philandering father. The closer the one 16-year-old comes to the male adult, the more stress it puts on her friend.

Elle Fanning, terrific in We Bought a Zoo, is gripping here as she conveys every emotion, from joy to surprise to deep emotional pain. It is a moving performance that suggests the young actress will have a solid career. And for me, the film signals the importance of the human spirit and reveals how fragile it is. Perhaps we can survive just about every indignity the world throws at us, but is that what God wants for his children?

Though the girls are intelligent, searching for true meaning, there’s no true openness to biblical instruction. The question of God’s existence is asked, but neither girl is given any true biblical teaching from an adult. The father, a narcissistic libertine, stresses to the girls that this is the only life, and that we should seize it. He doesn’t believe in an afterlife. This may lead to their downfall.

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV).
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10 NIV).<

When it comes to the content children are absorbing, how can concerned parents best protect their children? Well, perhaps more important than keeping the world’s perspective out is to get biblical instruction in. So allow me to pass along something that has influenced my life every year of the way. When I was about eight, my parents rededicated themselves to Christ. Bible study and prayer soon became a part of our lives. Before Dad went to work, we began our day by reading scripture and kneeling in prayer. When a father heads such a regimen, it drives home a lasting message to his children.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it," Proverbs 22:6 NIV.

The Bible is a guidepost that keeps us in harmony with the Heavenly Father and with our fellow man. By studying scripture, we gain an understanding of the nature of God. What’s more, knowing God’s Word will help us see through any ungodly standards that creep into our daily lives.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: A24 Films