Forrest Gump

1994

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Key Elements: Story – Characters – Lines – Music – Symbolism – Message

My Review:

The popularity of this movie is due largely to the fact that it tells the shared stories of it’s target audience – those who went through the major events of the sixties. The magic of it is that the most unlikely person, a slow and unassuming southern boy, is a single character that linking all these events together.

What I love about this movie though, isn’t so much that this antihero finds himself consistently in the most socially meaningful settings, but that he sees them all with eyes different from our own. The scene where he tells Jenny that she’s been with him his whole life shows us some of the most beautiful scenic shots in any movie.

The real question the movie asks through it all is - what is life like? Do we have a destiny of are we just floating. I think Gump has it right when he says that maybe it’s both. God is looking out for us and has a plan for our lives. At the same time, our lives are what we make of them. We can hate ourselves and our situation, or we can look at what’s around us and see the beauty that fills every moment of the world.

My favorite scene is when Gump meets his son and his first question is – Is he smart? Such incredible vulnerability just grabs you.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
• What's normal anyways?
• He should not be hitting you, Jenny.
• Stupid is as stupid does.
• It's funny Lieutenant Dan said that, 'cause right then, God showed up.
• Sometimes, I guess there's just not enough rocks.
• Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is.
• I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now.
• Mama always said: dying was a part of life.
• Jenny, I don't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny.
• I just wanted to tell you I love you.
• That's all I have to say about that.

Stills: