Most stories are entertaining. Most movies are cool, fun, hilarious, or intense. But very few go into the category of powerful.
I came home last night from seeing THE GIVER, and was moved in a way that I have never felt before.
The movie starts with a boy named Jonas, who is selected to become the receiver of memories in his socialistic community far in the future.
But what happens when emotions return to a emotionless mind? What of color, life, death, hope, and morals?
They are told, in the this fictitious world, that control is to protect people. Control is to keeps harmony and prevent murder. But what happens when control become the very thing that kills?
Memory has been stolen, so how can they learn from the mistakes of the past?
What is the sanctity of life? Just because something seems painless or humane doesn't mean that it is not murder. What of family? What of love?
This film asks all of these questions and more. Bringing strange parallels to our world of big government, forgotten history, abortion, and true love.
Of course, that is not the only thing that this movie offers. A good story is one thing that is films wields with good characters and action. The action oriented question is: Will Jonas survive long enough to find the truth and set his family and friends free?
There are plenty of "cool" films to go out and watch. But usually they don't mean much. Don't get me wrong, I love pulp fiction books and movies. But is that all our generation is going to produce? Will we forget our memory and history? Will we forget our morals?
Most stories are entertaining. Most films are fun, awesome, or intense. But very few are powerful.
This film is powerful.
If you can, go see this movie.
And if you agree with me on this post, please share THE GIVER on Facebook, blog about it, Tweet about it, or talk about. This film has not done well in the box office so let's spread the news about its merit.
