Timeless masterpiece, very unique

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2014)

20 years after "Forrest Gump" came out, I decided to rewatch this one and it was even better than what I remembered from watching it the first time. The film won 6 Academy awards in 1995, including Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis, "Back to the Future"-trilogy, "Cast Away" again with Hanks later on) and Best Actor (2nd win in a row for Hanks after "Philadelphia"). And even if it lost "Best Score" to "The Lion King", the music, especially the main theme, is nothing short of brilliant. It starts right away as we watch a feather fly towards the film's central character. Visually and acoustically a feast from minute one.
Forrest sits on a bench waiting for the bus and tells his story to the other people who are waiting. Thank God he did not know that he could just walk to Jenny, otherwise we may have never found out about his stories. And as diverse as Forrest's life is, as diverse are also the reactions from those people. Some sit quietly, others accuse him of being a liar and the old lady finally is captivated by his story. The interesting thing is that Gump gets out the photo as evidence not before the man (who accuses him of lying) leaves. He could have proved it easily, but he has nothing to prove to anybody. This is the frame of the story. The real action takes place in the stories Gump tells. Some true emotional highlights are included: Bubba's death and the funeral eulogy to Jenny (great HI. reference by the way) at the end. Of course, all the moments with his son (played by the very young Haley Joel Osment) are very much worth watching too. And then there is Gary Sinise who was pretty much on par with Hanks during their comedic and dramatic moments together. He did not win the Oscar, but was at least as deserving as Landau and Jackson. With his character, early on, you could never say if he would develop into a friend to Gump or stay/become a big antagonist. Finally, it turned out to be the former. When they have prostitutes one night at their place, it becomes truly clear for the very first time. Gump serves as a great role model to Sinise's character for all he achieved despite his limitations.
This is not the greatest movie ever made, but there is a certain charm to it that makes it so unique in movie history, possibly because the central character is at least as unique. And finally, there is the Forrest-Jenny love story which is sweet from start to finish and one of the main reasons why this film will make you laugh, will make you cry and will make you feel for Forrest for its almost 2.5 hours . And even in the almost impossible case that you will not remain interested in Forrest's story, this film is very much worth watching alone for all the references to past decades (most of all in terms of the movements in society, music and politics). "Forrest Gump" is a must-watch and that's all I have to say about that.