Friday, May 11, 2007

Forrest Gump




A movie like a box of chocolates


Image Courtesy : wikipedia.org


Once in a while you get to see a movie that you just can’t get enough of. You had such a good time watching the movie that you tend to go back and watch it because of the sheer joy of watching it. Forrest Gump is one such movie which you can watch for a zillion times and still not get bored with it. Even after years since it became a big hit and swept the Oscars of its year it still feels as fresh today as when it was first released.


It is the story of a man named Forrest Gump and his adventures through life. He is someone who is a bit slow as far as mental abilities are concerned. You see his IQ is 5 points less than normal. So much so that his mother has to sleep with the local school principal to get him admitted into a school. Early on Forrest learns most of the things about life from his mother, who explains things to him in as simple a term as possible.


Image Courtesy: alexanderkharlamov.com


At school he is befriended by Jenny Curran, a girl who is physically and sexually abused by her father. Forrest falls in love with her from the very beginning itself. She on her part never lets on how she feels about him. However it is clear that she cares for him. As they grow up Forrest meets others who play a significant part in influencing his life. He meets Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue while serving together in the army at Vietnam. Bubba tells him all there is to know about the shrimping business. This later on helps Forrest to make a fortune from shrimping.


He also meets his commanding officer Lieutenant Dang while serving in Vietnam. Lieutenant Dang’s faimily members has fought and died in every war America was involved in. He therefore wants to die in the line of duty at Vietnam. However his plans are thwarted by Forrest when he saves him from an air raid. His legs however are amputated in the attack. He later on joins Forrest in his shrimping business thereby becoming a millionaire himself.





Image Courtesy : stmartin.edu


He meets Jenny again after coming back and finds her to be going down a road of destruction. She has taken to drugs and prostitution and seems keen not to drag Forrest into her doomed life. However she does make love with him once and leaves him while he is sleeping. A heartbroken Forrest begins to run all over the country and becomes a celebrity. But one day he gets a letter from Jenny that changes his life once again.


The best part of Forrest Gump is its screenplay. The movie’s catchphrases like “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get” or “Stupid is as stupid does” has achieved iconic proportions. The various situations in which Forrest finds himself in like meeting dead presidents, achieving success in sports, meeting other famous celebrities and generally being in the middle of all the major events in America’s most tumultuous period, is so well integrated into the plot that one cant help but enjoy it. It makes you laugh and cry at the same time and makes poignant remarks on life. Even Forrest, who achieves everything he didn’t wish for finds it hard to achieve the one thing he really wants; Jenny’s love.


Image Courtesy : wikipedia.org


The other major plus point of the movie is its superb cast. Tom Hanks, Sally Field and Gary Sinise all give superlative performances. Tom Hanks pays the character so well with the right touch of humor and poignancy that it is difficult to think of anyone other than he would have been able to do justice to the role. Gary Sinise gives an explosive performance as the crippled Lieutenant Dang and holding together the movie in its middle stages. He is so good that there are stages when he overshadows even Hanks.


A mention has to be made of the visual effects in the movie. Forrest Gump is a prime example of how to make CGI a medium of telling the story rather than making it the primary focus of the movie. So often we have seen good movies being undone due to their over indulgence with effects. Here however it brings to life one of the most magical moments in the movies like that of Forrest’s meeting with President Kennedy of Forrest playing ping pong.


Image Courtesy : wikipedia.org


The overwhelming theme of the movie is its positive outlook towards life. Almost every major character in the movie finds contentment in their lives. The movie shows how someone like Gump, who should ideally have no chance of succeeding in life, makes it big just because he flows according to life’s various currents. The movie gives the message of sticking on with life and not giving up no mater how tough the going might get. Both life and the movie are like its recurring catchphrase “like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”


26 comments:

Nenhum said...

Thanks for you coment.

Silvia.


http://albertoodemolidorbbb7.blogspot.com/

Rickey said...

Dude, nice blog. Rickey approves of it. Check out Rickey's sometime for old timey hilarity:

http://ridingwithricky.blogspot.com

R.Dress said...

Brilliant flick! My favorite scene is when young Forest breaks free from his leg braces and manages to out run a gang of kids on bikes.

Good point about the CG animation. I agree. Call me old fashion but when I go to a movie I like to see a good story:)
*R

Anonymous said...

I think my live is too like a box of chocolates... with a lot of flavours...

Kisses

darlene said...

i loved this movie!!.....good pic!!....

Manuela Fernández said...

Gracias por tu comentario en mi blog, lamento no saber inglés pero de alguna manera me transmiten ánimos para seguir adelante con mi "dama de agua"

LHS said...

Forrest Gump is my all time movie...

Thanks for visiting my blog :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the note.
My life is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes there's something sweet hidden inside, sometimes it's just chocolate.

jackass said...

Thanks a lot Jithin! Cya!

Isa Segura B. said...

Forrest Gump not only shares his innocence and purity with others, including the audience, he also manages to retain that innocence and purity through some very difficult times.
Nice blog.

Isa Segura B. said...

Forrest Gump not only shares his innocence and purity with others, including the audience, he also manages to retain that innocence and purity through some very difficult times.
Nice blog.

Peach said...

hello! yeah the whole him and jenny thing chokes me up - I haven't seen the movie since 1998 but I will never forget that letter...

A-Bye said...

Nice Blog...

I Like this Movie...
I Like Tom Hanks!!

Anonymous said...

That is my favourite movie. I watched the American and the German version. It is great. It shows that you can achieve everything in life if you just put your mind to it.

Chorima said...

Thanks for your coment in my blog, i hope you will be back to visit it :)

Ferhat said...

i loved this movie too, and your blog looks like good.
See you...

Buscapleito said...

I have seen this movie 35 times. Once in cinema and the rest in TV, VHS and DVD. "Life is like a box of chocolates... you have to know if you're diabetics..." Greetings.

Victor Alverca said...

thank you for your comment to my blog. yours is very nice too.

wait for my visits to your blog.

continue to good work.

Unknown said...

Merci pour ton commentaire !!! Les participants du blog c8s3.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Well done review and summery of the movie, good insight, kudos to the writer of the movie and this article. After seeing the movie that moved me, I found myself relateing to the character of Forrest more than once. Characters like Forrest and other not particularly noteworthy on the outside, have the ability to fly in under the radar in a non threatening non competitive way and see through the “fluff and stuff”. Just doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do and not act for other peoples selfish gain is perhaps the greatest form of autonomy. (I believe Forest (and others like him) are somewhat rebels in that good way.) I liked the movie it made me smile and I am glad people like the author of this article get it and I really enjoyed hearing about it from your point of view. Thank you biby cletus for visiting my blog. (thankyou for the kind words)I will make improvements http://twicespokenfor.blogspot.com/

runawaycat said...

This is my fav movie too. Watch it when you feel down, it won't pull your spirits way high up but it does give hope. It's great how it depicts life.

Martha said...

i appreciate it. thanks.

Unknown said...

I liked this movie. Except for the fact that it's kind of depressing :)

I love Tom Hanks, mostly. He's one of my favorites. And I love whassername, jenny-princess-buttercup.

Yeah. And that's another movie like a box of chocolates.

Swedish Kat said...

Hi there, cool thing you found my blog :) I absolutely love this movie as well, makes me think that there is some nice in this world after all :)

Take care, and see you!

Swedish Kat said...

Hi there, cool thing you found my blog :) I absolutely love this movie as well, makes me think that there is some nice in this world after all :)

Take care, and see you!

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