Noble is not a story about a little girl who leads a rough life and grows up to live a happy ending. It is a movie about a little girl who grew up experiencing pain , abuse, abandonment - just to name a few - and by the grace of God became a woman who has dedicated her life to assisting Vietnamese children living in despair, as she did when she was a child. Noble is heartbreaking to watch while also inspiring as it challenges your faith in God as to how much you can withstand and continue to believe in Him.

Noble is the biographical story of charity worker, children’s rights activist and writer, Christina Noble, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1944. She was one of four siblings who lost their mother when Christina was 10 years old. She lived in poverty and was eventually abandoned by her father after her mother’s death. Christina is sent to live in an orphanage where her life continues spiraling further. Later as a teen, she is gang-raped, and her baby is given up for adoption against Christina’s will. When you think her life cannot get any worse, it does. She continues to push through with the belief that God has a purpose for her. Christina’s determination to survive and faith, although she often questions it, enables her to hang on to see His plan through.

Noble presents some very harsh realities. What makes it most difficult to watch is the fact we are witnessing what another human being actually experienced. It is a movie, but it is depicting someone’s real life. Christina also experiences physical abuse as an adult at the hands of her husband.

Through Christina, we see a child and then woman who questions, but never gives up on God. Realizing He has a greater purpose for her. There are not many people who could go through all that Christina does and come out on the other end still trusting Him.

The story is one to share, but the movie is definitely for mature audiences - older teen to adult. The abuse at the hands of her father and later her husband, the violence of the gang-rape, and Vietnam during the war, and the sadness of losing her mother as well as her infant son after birth are all intense situations. They may be difficult to comprehend in one sitting. There is also some strong language. Even after experiencing all of that, Christina still believes in God and holds out faith that she has not been forgotten by Him; and she has not.

Christina has a dream about Vietnam and goes to care for abused children. She realizes this is where He wants her. The saving grace is Christina and the dedication she has to the Vietnamese children she later helps through her organization, Christina Noble Children’s Foundation (CNCF), which was founded in Vietnam in 1989. Her compassion for these children is sincere and empathetic. Christina understands their plight, because it was hers as a child. We may never understand God’s way, but He knows what He is doing when He prepares us for His plan.

It is stories like Christina’s that one should watch or read every once in a while. You will be reminded that regardless of your struggles, God can always use you and also to never give up on Him, because He has a very special plan for all of us.

-Product review by Jennifer Smeltser, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July, 2016