Walk the Line

After an early afternoon dinner with my parents and some time to just sit around and relax, I went with my parents to Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. If you didn't already know, it's a story about the life of Johnny Cash. Since I only heard about him and his music here and there, I'm glad to have learned more about the man behind the name and the music. If you haven't seen it, don't worry I won't (hopefully) say too much :-) I just wanted to mention one of the important things I've taken away from the movie.

<IMPORTANT THING STARTS HERE> Life is messy. This may be common sense to most people, but it has only become apparent to me recently. Or maybe it was always apparent, but I finally recognized that it is a part of every life, especially mine. Back to movie. From the movie, I felt that Mr. J. R. Cash had a rough life for a little over a decade (1955~1965), and I think it's safe to say that he had "life" problems during this time. These problems of his did not resolve themselves immediately, nor was he able to resolve them himself. He had to go through hell, and the only way he got out of hell was through the love of a friend. The movie hinted that this love was an integral part of that friend's family, but didn't go down the road showing the root cause of that love. At any rate, the point is that his problems were finally resolved because of someone reaching out and helping him. You see, the whole time he was living with guilt and nothing was able to relieve him of his wrongs. He tried to do it, but it just wasn't working. He couldn't make it on his own. He was not self-sufficient. He was helpless, unable to combat the person he had become. The solution was the action of another. Another's love rescued him from himself, and restored him to being truly human. With all the mess that life is, a friend can help you when you cannot help yourself. Life is messy, but there's a point to it. <IMPORTANT THING ENDS HERE>

Besides that important thing, the movie was quite enjoyable. From my dad, I learned that Reese and Joaquin did the singing themselves, and each did a superb job. The portrayal of Johnny by Joaquin reminded me of the portrayal of Ray by Jamie Foxx. Joaquin did a great job acting, and really made me feel that he was Johnny Cash. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves at the Oscars.

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