Carpé Diem

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2007)

"O me, o life Of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, Of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, o me, o life?
Answer: That you are here. That life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse!

Walt Whitman

It is only an apt tribute to talk about Dead Poet's Society with the quote by Walt Whitman, narrated by Professor Keating. "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse" - certainly one of the most powerful statements I have heard, but in its simplicity, it forces you to reconsider your role in the grand scheme of things.
The plot is simple  a teacher who wants to make a difference in the lives of young students, who amidst pursuit of wealth and riches, as taught by their parents have forgotten the meaning of life. These young students have been persuaded to tread along the very same path of success as their predecessors, unmitigated by distractions, affections or devotion towards activities or objects other than professional success itself. And amidst this strict environment with severe restrictions, the teacher uses poetic murals to re-kindle lost passions for ideas simpler than growth and prosperity. 'Carpé Diem' is the theme of the story  'seize the day' such that you can shape yourself into the men they truly wish to be. With the beauty of expressions weaved in a delicate fabric of verse; he stirs up extinguished fires in young hearts and minds.
The theme sounds tremendously clichéd, but it also appropriately depicts the pace of the modern world. Investment bankers, lawyers, businessmen  no doubt successful, rich and living pompous lives in posh mansions  never stop once to think about their own dreams and deepest desires  those that defined them in their youth and formative years, those that gave them a will to stand up in the harshest of times, dreams - more like lessons - teaching them that sorrow is too futile an emotion to waste tears on. Today, desires have become synonymous with one word  money. Resigned to utter dormancy by culpable craving for professional success and money, true passion today is as obscure as memories of an amnesiac.
Professor Keating makes a powerful entrance by advising his students to feel poetry without its mathematical measurements and graphical introduction in books. His dislike for such misrepresentation of the art that is poetry compels him to have such insertions ripped out of every text. An alumnus himself, he was a part of a secret society that gathered every night to read poetry, or as he points out, 'bleed through their skins and lips' in true appreciation and understanding of poetic rhythms. Stimulated by this, his students form a society to follow their predecessors, in the process of which they discover themselves, their enthusiasm and desires. However the ardent enthusiasm turns into fanatical zeal and drives one of the students to suicide. Irate at the potential defamation of the school, the authorities pin the incident on Keating, by threatening his unwilling students to accept such an accusation. Being a forgiving man with a big heart, Keating understands the plight of his students, and to protect their futures, accepts his fate without the slightest resistance. As he leaves the room for the last time, a student who would shiver to speak up, in a show of respect and admiration, calls out to Keating one final time. 'O Captain, My Captain!' - from a painfully shy student who was given the courage to overcome his fear by Keating, through poetry, through the beauty of expression in words.
The movie deserves a high rating for the simplicity in a plot that delivers a strong message. I would rate it 8/10.