Awakenings (1990)

Based on a true story, Awakenings recounts the story of Dr Sayer, a researcher without a clinical background who was suddenly entrusted with the care of patients in the Garden Ward, a ward in which patients were nurtured in pretty much the same way as plants- watered and fed. However in his perseverance, Dr Sayer tested a new drug on his catatonic patients resulting in their awakening and the friendship that forms, especially the friendship between Dr Sayer and Leonard.

How to Live: A Guide to Your Own Personal Awakening by Leonard Lowe

“My name is Leonard Lowe. I have been told that I have been away for some time... I’m back...”

1. Take everything in stride and positivism

Instead of deciding if a glass is half full or half empty, why not just fill it up to the brim? Even if you find yourself waking up from a catatonic state, in which you were as “substantial as a ghost” for almost 30 years, carry on. The world outside may be new and scary but this may only be your one shot to live again- your one last chance.

2. Kindness is powerful

Let me break this down for you. We are all people. Even if I do not have a voice, I have a mind of my own, and I have feelings. Even if I am a patient in a mental ward without a sense of agency, in which I cannot feed or clothe myself, treat me like a human and not an item.  

3. Fight for what you believe in

I believe that life is precious and fleeting and should not be wasted. Life is not only about the major life changing events, but it is also about every inconsequential little bit of routines and actions; things that we often take for granted. The matter of fact is this: That you are reading this means you are not blind and free to drink in the world around you with your eyes. Enjoy walking... Not everyone can do so. I also believe in my friend who will find me a cure. Yes, I am suffering, but I believe it is not in vain. I want a cure to be found and while it is a little humiliating, I would rather have him video record my symptoms, just so he could learn...learn...learn...

4. Love and sacrifice goes hand in hand

“If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were.”

Love is one of the wonderful adventures of life, and it is easy to selfishly want it for yourself. I met a beautiful woman named Paula and I wanted her affection for as long as possible, but when my illness came back, I knew that it would burden her and hinder her from her own happiness. Telling her that I would never see her again was difficult but I would rather sacrifice my own happiness for her sake.

Pro-tip:

Be good to your mother.

Cherish your friends.

Take more walks.

Don't let pollution stop you from enjoying what is left of nature. Wade away.

Books are lives that we don't have the time to live. Read.

What Leonard Taught Me

For someone who was barely awake and considered almost dead by the people around him, it is undeniable that his brief period of awakening had such an impact on the people around him and to us, the audience. There was definitely a moment when I myself thought, “Oh dear, there is so much that this man does not know of. There is much to learn, of living in the modern world, of how to be in love”, but I was proven wrong.

Most of us are born with the sense of agency, which is the awareness to initiate, execute and control one’s own action and through them, our experience of the outside world (Haggard & Chambon, 2012). While an important part of what makes us conscious beings, it is something that most of us readily take for granted.

Personally, I feel that I try to appreciate every aspect of my own life. I consider every day to be a new adventure but after watching this movie, it made me wonder...Would I still have the same positive disposition if I were in Leonard’s position?

Reference:

Haggard, P., & Chambon, V. (2012). Sense of agency. Current Biology, 22(10), R390-R392. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.040

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Introduction to the Movie

The movie begins with Salvatore De Vita, a middle aged man in Rome who is revealed to not have returned to his home in Sicily in 30 years. However, in receiving news of the death of a man named Alfredo, Salvatore takes a walk down memory lane to a time when he was a little boy lovingly nicknamed Toto. We are then guided through Toto’s childhood and adolescence and what was it that led him to stay away from his home.

The Death of a Cinema and a Celebration of Life

While this movie solely focuses on the life of Toto, I would like to focus on the cinema itself. As the title of the movie “the New Paradise Cinema” implies, most of the movie took place there and is, I believe, a vital aspect of the movie. Throughout the progress of the movie, we are able to see what the cinema meant to the people of the town of Giancaldo.

To Alfredo, the cinema was his livelihood and like Toto, had been in the business since he was a child. Yet amidst his complaints of the job, Alfredo revealed that he found reward in the laughter of the people and how he feels responsible for putting that smile on their faces, revealing that intrinsic motivation is what propelled him to continue his job despite its hardships (Repovich, 2014). This is further evident in one of the captivating moments in the movie when he reflects the movie out to a building wall for the people locked out of the cinema without asking for anything in return.

Alfredo dedicated his life to the cinema (until it turned around and almost killed him)

When Toto returns home after 30 years, we finally learn the fate of the cinema. It has now been abandoned and closed down as movies are now readily available in homes. Technology has advanced to make movie watching safer, accessible and convenient for the viewers. Yet, why does it make us viewers feel sad and nostalgic? 

The crumbling remains of a happy past

In this movie, we were able to become a part of the small community of Giancaldo. We became acquainted and formed a kind of connection with the people and it was a joy to watch how the community interacted with each other. How they laughed together and cried together, found romance, and teased each other . The unity that once was easily and unknowingly achieved is now destroyed and we feel the loss and loneliness now experienced by the towns’ people.

Of shared joys and tears

Not forgetting the main character in this story, it may be safe to say that the cinema meant more to Toto than anyone else. His love for film was like a magnet that would pull him to the cinema at any given chance, even despite the initial protest and disapproval by his mother and Alfredo. It was in the small dusty projection room where his love for film was enhanced and his friendship with Alfredo grew stronger to the point where Alfredo became the father figure that Toto was deprived of. Likewise, Toto became the son that Alfredo never had. As he walks through the old cinema one final time, one can practically feel the nostalgia he was experiencing and we ourselves would be able to recall memories of Toto’s past.

We are left feeling empty with both the death of Alfredo and the destruction of the Cinema so close to each other. Yet with the final scene where Toto watches the movie reel left as a gift from Alfredo, we feel a kind of peace and closure. The memorabilia which contained a montage of all the kiss scenes that was once removed from the movie reels in his childhood days could mean many things, but to me it was Alfredo’s way of rekindling the flames of Toto’s first love for films by reminding him of that little boy who would treasure these tiny clips.

Reflecting back on Alfredo’s words of departure of not giving in to nostalgia, we can agree that Alfredo had Toto's best interest at heart; to not allow nostalgia to become the thing that holds him back from achieving his dreams. Yet, we find that it is also nostalgia that bolsters the social bonds of the townsfolk during their time of grief (Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006). As for Toto, being reminded of his childhood sparked a positive regard for himself and for the first time, we finally see present day Toto truly smile in happiness (Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006).

Personal Take

I sincerely enjoyed Cinema Paradiso for its simplicity and how relatable it is to every one of us. Sure, not all of us had the pleasure of practically growing up in a musky cinema projection room under the warmth and tutelage of a kind man such as Alfredo, but I am certain that many of us holds a place of nostalgia in our hearts.

            For me, my grandfather’s house, that is soon to be demolished this year, is a great source of nostalgia for me. I look around and there are more than a few memories to recall. That was the drain that I fell in. That was the pole that I used to climb. This was where I celebrated all my birthdays. Most importantly, it holds every memory I have of my grandfather when he was still alive, who very much like Alfredo was to Toto, was a great influence to me. I know the destruction of the building would not erase my memories of him, but somehow saying goodbye to that old one-storey house feels like I am saying goodbye to my grandfather again. Like Toto though, I will carry on towards the future without letting nostalgia hold me back but to push me forward to becoming a person that my grandfather would be proud of.

References:

Repovich, W. S. (2014). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health.

Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J., & Routledge, C. (2006). Nostalgia: Content, triggers, functions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(5), 975-993. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.975