A Classic

Rating: Null/10 (29 October 2011)

Warning - Spoiler Alert!
The last weekend, my students and I saw the 2009 film "Up in the air" starring George Clooney and Vera Farmiga.
This is a funny and witty film which has you chuckling and grinning through out, but, in the end - in the end, the films sets you thinking.
Ryan has perfected the art of blunting his emotions and living a life that "without attachments". He does not feel the need to connect as he wonders how relationships can weigh one down. All of us, at some point in time, have a fear of getting too close in a relationship and then not being able to assert oneself. Ryan has no relationships and it does not bother him. Or so it seems.
Ryan ends up advising his to be brother-in-law about relationships and happy moments. The apparently fake but persuasive advice hits back only to shake his ideas about relationships.
I would not like to ruin the plot for you but here is my take:
a) Building trust and having nurturing relationships lie at the core of our heart. All else is perfunctory and ephemeral. The new acquired independence, confidence and the powerful feeling of the teen years can carry over as a habit wherein we assume that our heart has no needs. There is a phase where outgrow our physical desires and needs and look for more meaningful relationships. What matters most is whether we find ourselves in a pleasant world or are surrounded by the debris of hurting relationships.
b) Professional and financial success can cloud our vision of what is right or wrong. We may get caught in what the Bhagvad Gita calls "the pairs of opposites" - pleasure and pain, love and hate, etc. This "blindness", as it were, can strike a blow to what our heart may desire.
c) A single word or a statement from anyone, known or unknown, has the potential to set us on the correct path. It pays to listen and it pays to collect feedback.
The movie sets you thinking about your own life and the relationships that you share.