Director: Robert Zemeckis
Year: 1994
Country: US
Language: English
"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get" says the seemingly slow but remarkably intelligent Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump was the first non-animated films that I saw growing up and it left a profound impression on me. I needed to see this film as, like Forrest, I would eventually come across some difficulties due to a condition. While mine was physical, Forrest's was mental and even though he was supposed to have great setbacks in his life he overcame them with blissful optimism. 10+ views later and I still am inspired, wanting to move forward in life no matter what.
This film stars Oscar Winner Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, a simple man with the IQ of 75. He spends his childhood in Southern Alabama with his best and only friend Jenny (Robin Wright) and his loving mother (Sally Field). He frequently quotes his 'mama' who him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny, reminding him that his disability shouldn't cause a dent to his unconquerable spirit. His life is an odyssey throughout American history, experiencing firsthand the ups and downs of the world around him. He leaves a great trail of inspiration wherever he goes, affecting those whom he meets. Though his mind will always be on his childhood sweetheart Jenny.
One of the very noticeable themes in this film is escapism. The need to escape from the world and run away from your problems. Jenny's need and reason for escapism is very clear, she was abused as a child and had very poor parental figures. She cannot come to terms with her reality and thus tries as hard as she can to get as far away from Alabama as possible. Unfortunately the result is that she meets some less than savy characters, some of which Forrest ends up punching out. She then uses drugs as mean to escape but that does nothing for her either. Lieutenant Dan uses the Vietnam war as a reason to escape from his life, he is so desperate that he wishes to die in battle. However, Gump saves him and thus his forced to face the problems of his life in America. Though they don't like facing their problems, it seems their lives get better once they do.
Forrest Gump not only shows that it isn't necessary to run away from problems, because running away will likely make it worse but it also shows that your problems can be overcome if you face them. It teaches that it doesn't matter what people think, just because they call you "stupid" that doesn't make it so and you shouldn't fall into despair because of it. Though Gump's IQ is only 75, he understand more about the world around him than most "intelligent" people. There's great irony when Jenny, a stripper, tell Gump "You don't know what love is" because Gump likely knows more about the nature of love than the woman criticizing him. Tom Hank's portrayal of Gump is more than incredible, he brings a great deal of complexity and diginity to this role. It seems impossible to think of anybody who could be better at playing the title character.
In Conclusion, Forrest Gump is a masterfully made film that should be recognized as one of the greatest American movies of all time. The special effects which include using computerized visual legerdemain to place Gump in historic situations with actual people are both fascinating and unique. The screenplay is unconventional and feels more like it would fit more of a great novel than a big budget film. Though it could be criticized as "too optomistic" I find the optimism of this film incredibly necessary. You would have to have half the IQ of Gump to not be moved by this film. Praise it! 5/5
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