3 movies that can change you
Movies are a powerful medium and I think they do have the potential to change people. In fact one movie which made me choose my career path is Terminator 2. It may sound silly, but after watching terminator 2, I decided to learn computer programming and years later I find myself to be a programmer!
In this post, I will look at 3 powerful movies which probably would have affected/changed a lot of people.
1. Forrest Gump – If you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you rent a DVD and watch it today. It is one of the powerful movies I have seen and I think would have influenced a lot of people.
Forrest Gump (starring toms hank) is mentally challenged. He is also a simple, honest and innocent man. Surprisingly his honesty and innocence alone takes him through life and he accomplishes great things in life. The film superimposes important american events from 1950s with his life.
Some may say that it is unrealistic, but the movie is highly inspiring.
2. American Beauty – American beauty shows what is meant by “modern dysfunctional family”. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a middle aged man living a rather boring life in the suburbs. His personal/professional life is in ruins and one day he realizes it and decides to do something about it. The only problem is that he ends up dead.
One character which I found very interesting is Ricky Fitts. Here are some quotes from the movie which I found very interesting,
Lester Burnham: Remember those posters that said, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life?” Well, that’s true with every day except one: the day that you die.
Lester Burnham: I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time… For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars… And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street… Or my grandmother’s hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper… And the first time I saw my cousin Tony’s brand new Firebird… And Janie… And Janie… And… Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me… but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst… And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life… You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry… you will someday.
3. SiCKO – This is technically not a movie. It is a documentary by Michael Moore which looks at the bad side of american healthcare. It is shocking and at the same time shows that there are a lot people who require help from society – even in america!
Tony Benn: If you can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people.
SiCKO is released last week and it is yet to see what sort of impact it will have on people. But one thing is sure, even hardcore moore haters may applaud after the movie.
Trailers
Forrest Gump Trailer
American Beauty Trailer
Sicko Trailer
I couldn’t agree more with you about Forrest Gump. I must have seen it more than 20 times and every single time I find something new. Cinematography is superb. Colours are all meaningful (dark and gray when sad, bright and vibrant when happy). Dialogues cannot be any better. And acting is one of the best I have ever seen. The scene where Forrest walks in Jenny’s and she tells her about little Forrest. The look on Hanks’ face is all that delivers the moment. He doesn’t say anything. But you can read everything from his face. Just perfect. Literraly everything about it is perfect. After you’re done watching it, you are left with a strange feeling that is neither sadness nor happiness and is hard to describe. Anyone who hasn’t seen Forrest Gump is missing a great enjoyable film. It’s not what you get after watching the usual Holly Wood drama at all. Watch it. You won’t regret it!
My top three are:
1) Forrest Gump
2) Little Miss Sunshine
3) Am?ɬ©lie
Great post but I have a different take on the idea.
My top three:
1) Shawshank Redemption – Shows the power of hope in even the most dire of situations. Quite possibly the most powerful movie of all time (IMHO).
2) The Matrix – Shows the value of questioning the appearance of reality and digging past that reality to find Truth. Also gets points for it’s heavy inspiration from Plato’s Cave.
3) The Corporation – Since a corporation is, legally, a person this film’s producers go about evaluating what kind of a person a corporation is and conclude that a corporation is, due to only focusing on profit, a psychopath!
Thanks Adam for your list. In those movies, the only one I saw is The Matrix and I am not very impressed by it. Shawshank redemption seems to have a lot of fans and I going to watch it this weekend.