An Odyssey into Modern America

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2008)

Forrest Gump (1994) ****
Forrest Gump is the sappiest of melodramas, but it is also a wonderfully made and wonderfully touching film. Everyone of course knows the plot of the film, so I won't bother discussing that. Robert Zemeckis' talents as a special effects filmmaker are astounding, and the effects in Forrest Gump are no less than incredible. Such as the scenes in which he meets a number of presidents in archival footage, and his address of a peace rally in Washington. The film seems to have either a love it or hate it following. What surprises me most though is the extreme hate and overreading that some people have regarding the film. Some critics have claimed that the film is "mawkishly conservative," and triumphs the idea that ignorance is bliss. The biggest shame is that the film has been politicized - it is not political, it is human. I am inclined to agree with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's interpretation in suggesting that the movie is about how America has never come to terms with its historical past, and is not about neglecting things such as the Vietnam war. It is not about following rules, or suggesting that if you're a hippie you will become a drug addict or anything like that. The movie is simply about the journey that life is. To politicize the film is to present an element to the film which was never there to begin with.
Forrest Gump is simply a story about humanity. I've never understood the "ignorance is bliss" comments. The film has nothing to do with that. Like the politicization of the film, so too is this an element brought in by critics which was never part of the film. The picture is about the reaffirmation of life. Forrest Gump is not a smart man, but just because he is not smart does not mean that he cannot succeed in life. This is a problem that i have with many liberal academics, and I say this as a left wing academic myself, wherein uneducated or unintellectual people are regarded as failures and placed on a pedestal far lower than they place themselves upon. One does not need to be intelligent to be enlightened, and enlightenment is not an intrinsic characteristic of intelligence. Forrest Gump is a magical and touching human dramedy. Take it for what it is, and what it is is a much smarter film than people give it credit for. Its a wonderful movie, and its shame that its been politicized because of its historical odysseys.