[xrr rating=4/5]
This is a wonderful movie that revolves around a terrible period in our history.
Where were you on September 11, 2001?
Now there’s a question that almost everyone reading this article can answer.
I was at work, making the world a prettier place to live in (cutting lawns), as I usually would do on every sunny Tuesday morning in September. Little did I know that day would change the lives of Americans forever.
We have a routine at my work. I get on the big “52 inches of sheer power” riding lawn mower and start chopping the grass, while the father/son duo of Eduardo and Wilson would small mow the back yard and weed wack. And just like a finely tuned engine, Anibal (our secret weapon), would follow behind us and pick up our barrels of grass and eventually blow the yard off. I’m telling you, Queen Elizabeth herself would love the way we’d professionally bust out a lawn. I must say, we were damn good at what we did.
That day was rolling along the same way every other day would. I was on my mower, with my headphones on. Like usual, I was listening to Howard Stern on WBCN when he came on and said, “A plane has hit the World Trade Center.” At first, he seemed to think it was a little Cessna biplane. A few minutes later he said, “Another plane has hit the other building!” He was apparently looking out the windows and seeing smoke (he works right in New York City) and was immediately convinced it was terrorists.
Howard doesn’t hold back his thoughts, and no lie, within an hour he had picked out Bin Laden along with other known terrorists that were responsible for this… Now, he may have been quick to jump to names, but hey, he was right! He said America was at war and we would have to get these terrorists. He stayed on the air that day for about four extra hours and kept me informed of what was going on in NYC and I loved him for that.
Me and my employees were freaked out that day and we still talk about it every so often. It’s something we’ll never forget.
Now that I have your attention, I saw a movie this weekend that revolves around that fateful day.
I saw “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” tells the story of a young boy named Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) who loses his father in the September 11th attacks. It tells the story of how a young boy copes with losing a parent so suddenly.
Tom Hanks plays Oskar’s father (Thomas) and Sandra Bullock plays his mother (Linda). This was great casting because although they’re not in the movie as much as you would think, they needed strong parental influences to make the film work, and who better than these two? They were both great.
Father and son had a game they’d always play. It was called “reconnaissance mission.” Thomas would have his son go out and find clues by asking people certain questions until he would find the correct answer. I think Thomas did this because his son had a hard time connecting with people. I’m not sure about this, but I think Oskar may have had some type of disorder that made it hard for him to form close bonds with people (besides his dad). He would often keep his hands over his ears, and he also needed to walk around with a tambourine. I think it was to keep his rhythm or focus, I’m not sure.
On the “worst day” (that’s what Oskar calls it) Oskar loses his dad in the attacks. This is where the story takes off.
A few weeks after “the worst day” Oskar finds a key in an envelope in his dad’s closet with the name “Black” written on it. Oskar thinks it’s a “reconnaissance mission” and sets off to find everyone with the name “Black” in New York City. He thinks this key will give him the answers about his father.
Along the way he meets many, many characters – all named Black. He meets nice people, happy people, sad people, angry people, and quite strange people. I think this is helping him with his “connecting with people” skills.
Now, I bet you’re saying to yourself, “Where in the hell is the mother, and why is she letting her son run all around New York City all by himself?” Believe me, I asked myself this same question. Go see the movie, there is a great answer to that very question.
What I gathered from this film was, it is a movie about coping with the loss of a parent (or a husband, or a son). And everyone deals with grief in different ways.
As I was watching this movie, I was thinking, “This is a good film.” As the movie ended, I was crying and thinking to myself, “This was a GREAT film.” I fell in love with the mother. It made me think of my own mother and how wonderful she was, and how wonderful mothers are. They love you unconditionally. This movie solidified that for me.
One thing I absolutely took out of this film is, ALWAYS tell your parents you love them. ALWAYS tell your children you love them. ALWAYS hug your brothers and sisters. Hug your friends. Hug your aunts, uncles, and cousins. Hug a cop! Hell, if you see me out on the streets, hug me! I’ll hug you back! I know it may sound morbid, but you never know when it may end.
I loved this movie. It may revolve around a terrible time in American history, but it showed me all the good there is in this world.
Hugs from me to you.
Fun Fact: Oskar would rattle of some interesting facts in this film. One being that there are more people alive on this planet right now than there are dead in all of history. Another was, elephants can’t cry. Humans are the only creatures that can cry… I hope these were true, because they were very interesting.
Matty Fact: I actually watched the World Trade Centers crumble on the Spanish Channel, so one of my buddies could understand it.