Films

Sam: It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.

Everyone loves movies. I am no different. I have always loved movies, ever since I can remember. We all remember the classic Disney movies that all children (American ones at least) have grown up on. Bambi, Cinderella, Snow White.. all American classics. My favourite Disney movie is probably Aladdin. I love the soundtrack for that movie. I can’t remember the first time I ever watched any of the Disney movies, but–as I am sure most of you do as well–I still look back upon these movies with much fondness and a smile on my face.

Movies are a source of comfort as well as a means of escape. Whenever I am upset or in any sort of bad mood, I can always turn to a movie to make me feel better. By watching a movie, I am able to leave behind whatever pain or worry or real world emotion I am experiencing and enter a separate, fictional universe. One that has a handsome knight in shining armour, true friends, good explicitly winning over evil, and an actual “happily ever after.” And in the films that are more realistic and therefore more heartwrenching, I can still take comfort and inspiration in seeing how the characters deal with such loss and hardship.

Take Lord of the Rings for example. The quote at the top of this page. The characters in that trilogy go through so much and their ending is much more bitter than it is sweet. The book definitely shows the bitterness more so than the movie, with its classic Hollywood happy ending, but you still innately know that the ending cannot be entirely happy. There has been too much loss, pain, and hardship endured during the journey for the ending to be unmarred. But to see the characters still pull through, never giving up, and going on with their lives is.. inspirational.

And that is yet another example showing that I cannot distance myself from the movies that I watch. I have a tendency to completely immerse myself into the films that I love, and yet I am incapable of expressing what it is that draws me to them. The actors, of course, and the storyline, I would definitely hope so. But I can’t articulate anything beyond that. It can be quite frustrating, my inability to hold an intellectual discussion about films. Sometimes I consider taking a class, so I can actually analyse films and critique them and hold intelligent discussions. But when I think about it, maybe it’s better off not putting into words what I feel. Words can be so inadequate sometimes and with some films, such as Lord of the Rings, I doubt words can ever truly express how I feel towards it.

Some of my favourite films:
300, A Wolf’s Attraction (늑대의 유혹), Aladdin, American History X, Benny and Joon, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Fight Club, Forrest Gump, Garden State, Life is Beautiful, Love Me If You Dare, Moulin Rouge, Remember the Titans, Shiri (시리), Taegukgi (태국기), The Dark Knight, The Godfather trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Notebook, The Passion of the Christ, The Princess Bride