the Curious Case of Benjamin Button- my version of review

come to think of it, Benjamin Button does seem to have similarities with Forest Gump since they are both imaginatives that came from the same bright mind. you'll have to watch Forest Gump for yourself to comprehend the relation between the two.

Even after hours of watching the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, my head is still buzzing with the seemingly insignificant quotes by the characters.

The story is so simple yet the meaning that comes with it goes a long way.

Benjamin is just a young soul entrapped within an old and fragile body. let's put it this way, born looking old doesn't makes you an old person but the general perception of the society defined Benjamin as old, and the old accept and see him as their peers.

The social construction of meaning is what generally accepted by everyone of us. just like the idea of "time". at certain period, i just think... time is the creation of human being, we coined the term "time", because we see changes. changes that cannot be unmade. to comprehend these changes, we explain that in every moment that we live, it is one second longer we have been living on earth.

the good thing that Benjamin is born old is that he is able to see life from a different perspective than anyone of us who born "normal" and grow "normal". so why am I highlighting the word "normal"? the funny thing is, what perceived as normal lies in those who owns the power discourse. they are the one who has a say in what is and what is not. Benjamin grew up knowing his life as an oldman, however, his soul is nothing close to old. so what makes him think of himself as an oldman? He grew up in an environment that is full of the elders, who look physically inept just like he does and thus he feel that he belongs to the crowd, and hold the belief that he will soon die, just like any old people do. so you see, individual's perception of himself is shaped by what he sees, hear or feel.
but as time goes by, as the other elders living under the same roof moved on, Benjamin started to feel that he is the odd one out because unlike what he expected, he feel stronger and younger from day to day. and when you are different than others, you belong to nowhere, you are alone.

thus, at young age, Benjamin knew death and the emotions of loss when someone you know passed away. he learned young then and there, unlike many if not most of us who started young, knowing toys. won't it be too heavy for a child to know death before his time? in Benjamin's case, it's not because he grew up knowing he is blessed to be alive, as it is what his momma Queenie always tell him. it's how we see things that determine our attitude towards life. feeling blessed at every moment is what kept him having a positive prospective on his life.

why.. don't you think so? we would only start showing our appreciation whenever we realise we are starting and closing to lose something. as what Ms. Maple said "Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us". as much as we hate to admit it, we have the propensity to take things for granted. "we have a long life ahead", we always say. but sometimes things just don't go the way we as we pleased. more often than not, it takes us a lifetime to realise what is important to us, to finally comprehend the truth to life.
"Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss.", this is one of the quotes that i like. Opportunities come and go, some of them aren't recognised by our blunt sensitivity, because we do not believe in our luck. well, maybe it's not about luck, it's about how we perceive ourselves to be. sometimes we just perceive ourselves as what others think of us. we let outer perceptions shape our lives.

life can be so simple yet it is complicated at times. but are we the one who tend to make things complicated?
just how much difference skin colour, race and nationality brings, we are still the same in encountering possibly the same simple happiness of celebrating life, and the same problems in life (relatonships, finance, health, etc). "Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it." our lives are entwined, where one affects the other even when each event of our lives are happening simultaneously. (i think the movie "BABEL" depicted this really well)

and finally, i'll share another quote from this movie that i really like, "You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.", yes.. we complain a lot in our lifetime. the next time you start complaining, try to hold it for one second and think it this way.. instead of wasting energy on complaining, do something. this way you'll not only feel better, small changes follow and someday, you'll realise how big a change these small changes will bring.

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for some people, this is just another boring movie that stretched for almost three hours. for some of us, this movie imbued such strong message that we as city dwellers should take note of. remember the elders in the movie. remember the life encountered by Benjamin Button as he walks alone down the path. remember to always be true to yourself and those that you love.

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that's all for now.. until next time. xD
Cherish signing off.
22/03/09