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| A Man Called Otto: A |
A simple story that hits upon some of the most complicated parts of life. A story of loss & yet a story of gain. I was told before going into this film that it was very sad, but I beg to differ. It started off sad & depressing but it ended on a very high note. It's difficult to review a movie like this as just a movie because it hits on such a personal & emotional topic. A topic that we all seem to be well aware of, yet at the same time very quiet and private about.
Rather than write this movie review right away, I instead found myself writing about the actual topic of suicide when I got home from the theater. The film moved me to open up about a topic that is so hard to talk about with others. A topic that is so hard to be honest about. To be vulnerable about.
Some say that a film's sole purpose is to entertain. That a film's job isn't to move you & that it certainly isn't to get you to act. I didn't find A Man Called Otto to be didactic or preachy. Yet I did find it to be motivating. I did find it to cause me to think & to cause me to act.
The performances were good. Tom Hanks has been and continues to be one of the greatest actors of our generation. Yet the story here is what was so compelling. People don't just wake up one day and want to end their lives for no reason. It's usually because of a sense of loss & furthermore a sense of no hope, nothing left to go on for. A sense that all that is left in life is pain & suffering.
Once Otto discovered through fate or intervention that there was more to go on for, he no longer wanted things to end and that's why this film isn't a sad one. That's why I beg to differ with those that argue that it was.
Had he succeeded in any of his suicide attempts, he would have died a lonely, sad, bitter & depressed old man. Instead, he died happy & at peace. That's how I walked away feeling.
Rather than write this movie review right away, I instead found myself writing about the actual topic of suicide when I got home from the theater. The film moved me to open up about a topic that is so hard to talk about with others. A topic that is so hard to be honest about. To be vulnerable about.
Some say that a film's sole purpose is to entertain. That a film's job isn't to move you & that it certainly isn't to get you to act. I didn't find A Man Called Otto to be didactic or preachy. Yet I did find it to be motivating. I did find it to cause me to think & to cause me to act.
The performances were good. Tom Hanks has been and continues to be one of the greatest actors of our generation. Yet the story here is what was so compelling. People don't just wake up one day and want to end their lives for no reason. It's usually because of a sense of loss & furthermore a sense of no hope, nothing left to go on for. A sense that all that is left in life is pain & suffering.
Once Otto discovered through fate or intervention that there was more to go on for, he no longer wanted things to end and that's why this film isn't a sad one. That's why I beg to differ with those that argue that it was.
Had he succeeded in any of his suicide attempts, he would have died a lonely, sad, bitter & depressed old man. Instead, he died happy & at peace. That's how I walked away feeling.
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