Our history book, All Ye Lands, recommends the movie “Inn of the Sixth Happiness” for the unit on China. Although my kids aren’t usually wild about old movies, I thought I would try it because I am a big Ingrid Bergman fan! For Sam, my 8th grader, (my intended victim!) it was a big hit.
The movie is based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a lower class Englishwoman who feels that she is called by God to travel and live in China. Gladys is not well educated, but she is a hard worker and works as a maid. To realize her dream, Gladys applies to become a missionary to China, but is turned down because of her lack of education and credentials. Determined Gladys, saves her money and pays her own way to China. She has much to overcome. The local people do not trust her, she cannot speak Chinese, and the Inn where she has come to work is in terrible condition. One by one she overcomes all of these obstacles and becomes one of the most respected and well loved people in the area. When the Japanese attack China, Gladys leads 100 children in a treacherous journey through the Chinese mountainside to safety.
There are so many lessons here! First there is the lesson that if you really feel called by God to do something, and are determined to follow that calling, you can’t let the opinion of others deter you! The man who rejected Gladys as a missionary is there to meet her years later as she arrives at her destination with children. He is amazed at how wrong his judgment of her had been! Gladys’s determination is also evidenced in learning a foreign language (how many of us have struggled with that one!) and in getting her inn up and running in proper order! This movie is rich with character development lessons!
A big topic in this movement is the treatment of Japanese women, tradition and foot binding. In one scene a baby girl is left abandoned by the side of the road simply for being a female Sam had been unfamiliar with the tradition of foot binding and the status of women in China. This look at culture and history was quite enlightening for him.
There is plenty of opportunity for geography lessons from this movie. Gladys first travels to China on the Trans-Siberian railway from England! She settles in the town of Yang Cheng. Later she travels with the students to the town of Sian. We plan to look up all of those places today!
I understand the film was shot in Wales, (after permission to shoot in China was denied!) but we got the “feel” and understanding of the geography and the problems it presented.
Perhaps as a Christian, the most important lesson to be learned was how Gladys chose to witness her faith. She did not preach and proselytize. She simply loved. She helped where she could, she spoke the truth even when the truth wasn’t very popular, and she gave of her very self 100%. There is a scene where the leader of Yang Chen honors Gladys, just before their tiny government closes down and abandons the city in preparation of the Japanese attack, by saying that he wants the last thing written in their records to be that he has become a Christian. It is a very moving scene.
I would highly recommend this family film to homeschoolers, or to any families looking for a good uplifting film to watch together!
Please browse my eBay items!
Visit my new Amazon Store!
