In Eye of the Dolphin, Alyssa is a troubled teen. She’s recently lost her mother and is in trouble in school (and wearing way too much make-up so we know she’s troubled). When her grandmother can do no more for her, she takes Alyssa to the Bahamas to meet the father she never knew she had (and vice versa). Her father, Dr. James Hawk, is researching dolphin communication in hope of being able to understand them. Alyssa and her father must find a way to rescue her life from the edge of catastrophe. Can they each rescue each other from their troubles?

OK, that sounds a lot like some kind of after school special. And in many ways, it is. That isn’t saying anything bad about it, but it does have a target audience of teens and parents. Such a film may not develop characters and relationships as fully as other films might, but the film is designed to focus on an issue.

The real issue that is dealt with in the film is communication. Communication and its difficulties are central to the storyline. The research into communication with dolphins serves to sets the stage for the challenges that the characters face in their struggles to hear and be heard.

There are many things that get in the way of real communication. One is distraction by other voices. In the film, this is shown through the ear buds that people use while listening to iPods or earphones that Hawk often wears as he listens to the dolphins. These shut out other voices. I think the film thinks it’s a good thing that in her first encounter with the dolphins, they steal Alyssa’s iPod and ruin it.

Yet another obstacle to communication is being too busy. Hawk especially is so consumed with his research that he doesn’t pay attention to those around him, even those who can help or hinder him. It is always easy to put people off when we think we’re doing something important. Often, however, we miss something far more important because we haven’t been ready to listen.

Sometimes we just refuse to listen. Alyssa’s grandmother gave her a stack of letters that Hawk had written to her mother through the years. They are all unopened. Could what was in those letters have made any difference in their lives? Not when the words don’t pass from one person to another.

But the film also shows us that communication is possible. Hawk’s girlfriend Tami takes Alyssa to Tami’s mother’s grave, where she talks to her mother. Here the film begins to tell us that true communication involves a bit of a spiritual level. Communication is not just hearing, but connecting to the other person.

When Alyssa is asked if she thinks dolphins can talk, she says the problem is, “we just don’t know how to listen right.” That insight reflects all the issues that challenge the way the various characters hear (or not) one another. Listening is not just about the words, but in knowing the right way of listening, which involves connecting to one another.

It is that spiritual component to listening that will provide the opportunity for the relationship between Alyssa and her father to grow and for the problems that they face to be overcome.

We too need to pay attention to our communication, be it with the people around us or our communication with God. There are always obstacles to our being heard and to our listening. Often Jesus ended a parable by saying, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen.” He really didn’t mean that listening was a matter only of the ears. He also expects us to listen with our hearts, where true communication takes place.