I left off a few weeks ago while things got busy around here; but I can’t stand an incomplete set, and so let’s finish this thing! Five days to go. I may try to squeeze them into less, but we’ll see. Anyway:
Day 26 asks for “a film that made you feel happy”. And for that we turn to a vehicle for one of my favorite actors, Ewan Macgregor: 2003’s Big Fish.
It’s the story of Will Bloom and his dying father, Edward Bloom, who for years haven’t seen eye to eye, owing to Edward’s fantastic stories from his life prior to Will. Will isn’t jealous; he simply believes his father to be a liar. And who wouldn’t? Tales of magic, of circuses, of finding your wife by being shot out of a cannon, of a town that shouldn’t exist–it’s all so far-fetched. But it all comes to a head when Edward is dying of cancer; and now Will has to decide whether to reconcile with the father who still insists that the most unbelievable things are true.
There’s something glaringly obvious here that should by all rights be the reason for my love for this movie, something I’ve touched on in several of these posts. My own father passed away in late 2017. He and I didn’t always see eye to eye on things; in fact I assumed he was crazy with regard to some topics. He had his own collection of fantastic stories. Most of them were small-time things, none of them were magical–but all were part of the lore I learned growing up, as most children do with regard to their parents. I never questioned whether those things were true; the things I questioned were his views on some things, notably politics (which I won’t dig too deeply into right now). Later, I would come to agree with him on some of those very matters, and to see that he was right–agreeing, that is, not because of him, but because I looked at the world and saw that I had been wrong. I only wish he was still around for me to swallow my pride and tell him about it.
But that isn’t my reason. I didn’t see this movie until only a few years before he passed, and it was in a very different context. No, my reason for loving this one is much simpler: It was the first movie my wife and I watched together. It was 2015, and we had met in person only twice, though we had been in a long-distance relationship for a few months. The simple fact is that, while this movie is good enough and feel-good enough to make me happy all on its own, I’m happier because she loves it, and she shared that with me.
Putting that together makes today’s lesson a simple one: The best things in life are the people you love. Do what you can to get along with them and show them you love them, while they’re still with you. That’s one of the real sources for happiness in life…and a good movie never hurt, either.
Timewalkerauthor 