Movie Review Thursday

I just finished watching Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray. His work in films like Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic and Lost in Translation has been amazing. He is my favorite actor.

The movie is about an older Don Johnston (Murray). Don is wealthy, having made it big in computers. Don lives in a really nice house. His girlfriend leaves him and he's left alone in his really nice house. Don reads a pink letter recently received in the mail, telling him he has a resourceful 20 year old son looking for him. The letter, written by the mother, is unsigned. Urged by his neighbor, Don goes on a search to find all the potential mothers.

As the movie progresses, you see a series of lives changed. The women, without giving details, reveal Don's past as a womanizer, definite charmer, and possible asshole.

There is a scene at a cemetery that lasts just moments. Don says not a word. But the work in that scene by Murray... my God... worth 5 Oscars.

The point of the movie is summed up well in a random piece of philosophical advice Don gives a 20-something year old boy towards the end of the film:

"Well, the past is gone, I know that. The future isn't here yet, whatever it's going to be. So, all there is, is this. The present. That's it."

The movie ends with Don standing alone at an intersection. And that's all he has. But he wants so much more and finally knows it. It is gutwrenchingly sad yet beautifully happy. The character learned so much about life in the course of just days, as he reunites with himself.

It's a really good movie. Highly recommended for those who need to feel more Alive. If you need the inspiration to find symbolism and meaning in your day, watch this movie.