Carpe Diem! Follow your dreams!

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2000)

Seize the day!. This is the main message this movie tries to convey, and it's not the first nor the last movie to try this. But, for me, it is the one that succeeds best, outclassing even the much acclaimed American Beauty by placing the message into a much deeper, more profound shell.
The story is that of an English Literature teacher who comes to profess into the highschool from which he graduated several years ago, a highschool of great tradition who praised discipline, respect and... well, tradition. John Keating starts by totally surprising his students with his unconventional teaching approach and ends up, in a very short period, by changing his students' way of seeing the world, helping them start thinking for themselves, seeing things through their own eyes, in short, helping them develop a personality.
Of course, all this initiative, doubled by the unusual teaching methods which involved exercises in the courtyard, playing soccer, etc. is not well seen by the other professors and by the children parents. This conflict will evolve into a sad, but extremely touching ending, that manages to transmit the clear message that was intended.
This is a simple but very powerful movie by director Peter Weir (Truman Show, Fearless) and displays one of the best (my favourite) performances by Robin Williams as John Keating together with a very believable interpretation by a group of young actors.
See this movie and try to learn the lesson and live by its teachings. It seems quite hard to do, in a society that usually "forces" us into roles that we didn't want to play, but we should never cease to follow our own dreams if we care to feel what means to be alive.