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A conservative news and views blog.

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Location: St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Saturday, March 31, 2012

October Baby's "October Surprise"

Jack Kemp

Recently conservative journalists, such as Brent Bozell, have written articles in praise of the anti-abortion movie "October Baby," in which a young woman, Hannah, finds out during an investigation of an illness that she was actually born as a result of a botched abortion attempt. It is also the first time she hears that she is adopted. Hannah then goes off on a quest to find her birth parents hundreds of miles away from her home. Jasmine Guy gave a great performance as the nurse who first worked at the abortion clinic and later on helped the mother get to a hospital for the birth. The young woman, played by a newcomer named Rachel Hendrix did a fine job as well. The liberal media critics vilified this film. You can see at America Online's Moviephone page a common phenomenon in many non-political films also happening with "October Baby," but for different reasons. The critics hated it (only 34 percent approved) while the audiences liked it (67 percent approved). http://www.moviefone.com/movie/october-baby/10070838/main

One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie - without giving too much away - was the birth mother, now a lawyer, breaking down and crying alone in her fancy office. The acting was amazing. But during the final credits, there was an unusual last minute revelation where the actress playing the birth mother appears on screen to say that when she got the script, it mirrored her life, as she had a secret abortion many years ago while working in a law office. She felt this was a sign that it was time for her to openly admit what she had previously told only a few people - and to grieve over the loss of her child. She says that she was not acting on camera and her tears were real.

This film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Red Rock Film Festival for Best Fiction Feature. Although obvioulsy pro-Life, it isn't as "preachy" as one might expect, just telling the human story of a confused and troubled young woman whose world is turned upside down by the late teenage discovery that she was adopted and why. There is a scene where Hannah discusses her situation briefly at the nearest house of worship (not her Baptist faith) with a priest.

I urge all to see "October Baby" either in its limited run now or on DVD later. It is a moving story.

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