Sunday, June 26, 2005

Forrest Gump - 1994

Yet another great movie (what a year!). This movie chronicles the life of a very sweet man with a room temperture IQ who happens to be present at the largest events of history. From meeting Elvis to repeated trips to the White House he sees it all. This movie fits the boomer lifespan to a tee and most of been like a greatest hits album for that generation.
But what makes it great is the central theme of the movie. Love denied. Worse than that, love acknowledged but rejected. Forrest has fallen in love with his gradeschool friend, Jenny. She's suffered abuse while young and subsequently turned to a path of destruction. The yin of Forrest's purity and the yang of Jenny's darkness is quite striking. And heartbreaking.
The soundtrack of this movie is outstanding. Kind of a popular soundtrack of life from the late 50's to the late 70's. Paired with very good cinema the effect is striking.
Seen this movie about a half dozen times and was struck for the first time by the Vietnam era Washington DC protest section of the movie. The anti-war parallels to our modern day are unmistakable. That we haven't gotten to the quasi military groups like the Black Panthers yet is a saving grace. Let's hope we never do again.

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