'The Miracle Season' Highlights Father's Faith in Face of Unthinkable Tragedy (Interview)
LOS ANGELES — "The Miracle Season," the inspiring true story of Caroline Found and how her life and death touched those around her, highlights how her father's commitment to his faith allowed him to persevere in the face of unthinkable tragedy.
Starring Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt, "The Miracle Season" is based on the true story of the West High School girls' volleyball team in Iowa City, Iowa, that lost its star player, Caroline "Line" Found, to a tragic moped accident on her way home from church. Before the tragedy, the team, led by tough-love coach Kathy "Coach Brez" Bresnahan, was on pace to win a second record-breaking championship.
While grieving the loss of their captain, the volleyball team, now led by Line's best friend Kelley Fliehler (Erin Moriarty), must rally to fulfill their dream of winning the state championship. Meanwhile, Ernie Found (William Hurt), Line's father, leans on his faith to help him deal with the loss of his daughter and wife, Ellyn, who died of cancer just two weeks after the accident.
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"Ernie Found is amazing," director Sean McNamara ("Soul Surfer") told The Christian Post during a sit-down interview. "He faced an unimaginable tragedy, yet when I first met with him, even though he had tears, he also had laughter. What I learned is, it's possible to go beyond the worst possible thing and move on with your life. He'll never forget or be completely healed, but he was able to move on."
McNamara said that Ernie's perseverance and courage in the face of tragedy is a testimony to the fact that faith enables one to have hope in even the worst of circumstances.
"When somebody passes away before their time, when they're young, that's the time true faith really has to work," he said. "Ernie had that. Live your life to the fullest, but have the faith that when you do go, there is something more than what's here on this Earth. When you have faith, it will help you get through these tragic times."
"The Miracle Season" depicts Line as a vivacious 17 year old who exhibited kindness and compassion to everyone around her — a portrayal her father told CP was "absolutely correct." Her funeral was attended by over 4,000 people, many of them students who were touched by the teen's infectious personality.
Today, Ernie wears two bracelets on his left arm: One reading the phrase, "Live Like Line," the other, "Love Like Ellyn."
"Ellyn exemplified and taught Caroline what love is all about, and Caroline then continued putting a lot of spit and vinegar into that, but that was the bottom line in how she treated people," he told CP. "I'm very proud of Caroline, overwhelmed, and honored, but she was 100 percent a product of her mother."
After losing his wife and daughter, Ernie's character in the film experiences a crisis of faith, saying, "God hasn't exactly shown up for me." However, he told CP that wasn't exactly how it happened.
"That was Hollywood," he said. "I never was angry with God or questioned why things happened. I don't think we have the right to question Him. I didn't understand why it happened, but I never doubted His goodness."
Still, Ernie said his initial reaction after seeing his daughter's story portrayed on-screen was "joyous relief."
"I was relieved because, you never quite know what Hollywood is going to do with your story," he explained. "There was nothing extraneous, not that I anticipated that, but you never quite know. I felt some element of joy, heartfelt joy, that the girls were portrayed as a strong bunch of young women. Whether they won the state championship or not didn't matter, they were all there together."
He also remains close to Line's teammates, who he said were instrumental in helping him cope with the loss of his daughter.
"We'd all cry together, and then they'd go on the court and kick butt," he recalled. "Most of them were Caroline's friends from early elementary school, and I always felt they were struggling just as much as I was. I would do whatever I could do help them, but just being with them and looking them in the eye and hugging them was so helpful."
While sharing his story with the world has been "hard on the heart," Ernie believes Line's example of kindness, compassion and strength is one today's world desperately needs.
"There's no sports-female-inspirational type movie out there," he said. "We need that, we need to portray young women as being strong and having the fortitude and willingness to share and collaborate. With a lot of the things going on today, I'm glad that it's coming out at this time. We need some good stuff to happen. If this whole endeavor can help one person go in a positive direction, it would've been worth it."
After watching "The Miracle Season," Ernie said he hopes audiences walk away with the realization that while life isn't fair, life is good — and God is always present.
"It's our God-given human responsibility to make life better for others and for ourselves," he said. "There's always a reason for joy and for trying to understand others and put a smile on others' faces. If you do that regularly, it will come back to you."
"The Miracle Season" was produced by LD Entertainment, which also produced the faith-based film Risen, and opens April 6 in theaters nationwide. For more information, click here.
