After watching the movie Awakenings, it was instantly placed in my
imaginary list of all time favourite movies of mine, as I love movies that are
based on true events. As I saw the cast of the movie in the beginning I knew
this would be a good movie, as Robert De Niro(Leonard) and Robin Williams (Dr.Sayer) are both
astounding actors. In my opinion the movie has its own simplicity, but impacted
all of us who were watching.
This movie allowed us, and me to take a step back and to be cognizant of
the little things, the simplest of things, things that matter to us. As Leonard
was a boy, everything was fine, then those little things were taken away from
him, and within a blink of an eye, he was a mere vegetable physically. This
transition of the movie made me reflect on my current life. I have to admit I
do take the little things for granted at times, however, after this movie, I
would change the way I see things and look at it in a different perspective.
Some of the scenes that I found intriguing and captivating is when Dr. Sayer
is waiting for the consent of Leonard's mother, and as she mentioned to Dr.Sayer
if I can recall correctly “ what more can he look forward to the world”, and to
what Dr.Sayer replied “ He can look forward to you”. This scene implied to me
personally that, no matter how hard life hits you, there is always someone who is willing to support you no matter what life throws at you, and here a mother’s
love, is the ultimate support Leonard had been getting and to continue receive in the movie.
Another scene that was heart-wrenching and melancholy for me was, when
Leonard had developed tics and was talking to Paula. She mentioned how she went
out with friends and danced, and Leonard said he cannot do any of that. This scene again,
reminds us that, those things such as dancing, eating and talking which we take so lightly, but maybe a huge deal for someone else. We are so engrossed in chasing our personal goals, and fail to appreciate what is around us, and that these little things can make us feel alive, it is what we used to forget. We tend to forget how to live.
All in all, I loved the movie. The subtle messages that
the movie was trying to portray to the
audience was spot on. The movie is
thought-provoking, shows us the dedication and the risk taking of a doctor and
the breaking through in the medical field. It displays the essence of what
life should be about-embracing life as it is, to live in the moment, as it can
be snatched away from us anytime, and thus we all should or try to seize the day or
the popular Latin word for it- Carpe Diem.
