Forrest Gump

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2011)

Forrest Gump
Forrest: My momma always said,"life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
It is a 1994 American comedy-drama film based on a novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film is directed by Robert Zemeckis, staring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise. The story is of the Forrest Gump, a man from Alabama, his travels all over the world and the experiences he has had in his life. The film was first released in the United States on July 6, 1994, and was well received by critics. It earned over $677 million worldwide. The film garnered multiple awards and nominations, including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards. The film starts by showing a feather floating in the sky and coming to Forrest's shoes. Then we see Forrest, sitting at a bus stop, taking the feather and telling his life story to the woman sitting next to him. As he tells his story, the listeners at bus stop change. Some of them are indifferent; some do not believe him while some others are interested and even fascinated. He was born with strong legs as we see later but with a crooked spine. The first day of school he met Jenny, the girl who changed his life. Once while they were walking among the trees, some boys tried to bully him. Jenny shouted" run Forrest, run" he started running and tore the strings which tied his special shoes. From that time on we see that his special ability and talent is running. While in college, again he was bullied by some boys, and this time ran through football field where he was recognized by the coach and invited to the team. After that he was taken to arm where he met his best friend Bouba who died later on in Vietnam. He saved some lives and also got wounded during the war and when he came back he received a Medal of Honor. While in hospital, his hobby was playing ping pong. He became a member of Army's team and went to China and won the competition with the Chinese and became a national hero. During his life he met different presidents and other famous people like John Lennon. All his life he was in love with Jenny and finally he married she and they had a son whom she had called Forrest. He started his shrimp business and became successful in it. Then through Lit. Dan, who he had met during war, invested some money in other businesses but went back to his hometown and lived with his momma till she died. For some years he was running without any reason. After Jenny's death he continued his life bringing up his son. It seems as if the feather which is carried by the breeze and is left in its hands and goes wherever is taken, is Forrest himself who is moved all his life by others. In the film in a scene when he was talking to Jenny's grave he was wondering "if we are all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze". The first days of his life it was his mother who told him what to do or not to do. Later it was Jenny who took up the role and it was by her demand that he even overcame his physical problem. This shows itself so vividly in Forrest's first encounter with Drill Sergeant when he answers the Sergeant that he was there" to do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant!". Even his success in ping pong was due to the fact that the first day he was told not to take his eyes off the ball.
The times he starts doing something without others ordering him, the action is misled by others. It can be shown best in his period of life when he started running. At first nobody paid attention to him but after a while he was surrounded by lots of reporters who tried to label him by some movement. Although he was completely ignorant, the answers he gave to those questions inspired some people. In the process, he forms the iconic"simply face" logo and tells the man to "Have a nice day". This way others try to control his actions.
Although he had no plan, by his actions, which sometimes even seemed stupid, he changed the way of American history. While staying with President Nixon in Watergate hotel, it was by his phone call that the security office was informed of what was going on there and it initiated the Watergate scandal. In his interview with Dick Cavett, where John Lennon was a guest too, his answers inspired Lennon to write his famous song "imagine". Finally we can say he was an individual who had no will. When he was in love, he was treated in a way he even did not know his feeling and later on when he was told the child was his, he accepted it without hesitation. He was an individual who was affected by collective will. Whenever they wanted they sent him to war and when they were tired of war they took him to anti-war meeting to talk against war. During Cold War he was sent to China to beat the enemy in sport field. He is the individual human being without any will who is taken wherever he is destined to.