I had almost lost hope for a good movie that I could watch without a tangible sense of being deceived. Last time we went to a cinema and chose the "Buzz Lightyear". And it was a disaster. A few years later, we had "Sound of silence." It was a relief. But as you know, one bird does not make it spring. This time we decided to give "500 miles" a try. And, guess what - it got us good.
The story follows the young (but maturing) boy, Finn, and his younger brother, Charlie. From the very first seconds of the screen time, the story shows us the perils of Charlie. How small he was, how many times he went through a hospital, and how funny he was. We get to know the brothers' parents and grandparents. And for now, nothing spoils what will go wrong. A few scenes later, the boys are running away to Ireland, where their Grandpa lives. In the words of Finn, only he will know what to do. About what? So far we know only that the parents struggle. We can only imagine that they don't get along softly.
The problem is, we do not know everything. Skillfully crafted scenes only suggest us what is going on. The whole time we are being baited to judge. The movie is constantly serving us hints about something - hints that we are willing to accept as the whole truth. Like with the statue of a dolphin, that were a local attraction. It is visible on screen long enough for us to think that it's dead. And it probably is. But the family? No, nothing is what it looks like here. The good-hearted Grandpa is responsible for Charlie's death. Finn is traveling alone for the whole time. Charlie appears on screen, but this is only Finn's imagination. And the parents are arguing over guilt and shame originating from their loss, not some kind of wicked thing like betrayal or acts of violence. The point is, every one of these were telegraphed to us too - but we were tricked to not think about them this way. And not that the movie itself shows us that it telegraphs such things. Clever.
Finn's journey has classic framework and some plot twists at the same time. All we see and hear revolves around Charlie - but Finn is the protagonist here. And that's the problem with the family: they cling to the past, they forget what they have now, and cannot build proper future. They fixed themselves to the now deceased son and brother. And, as Finn said already, only the Grandpa can do something about this. We have a journey's beggining (an argument that Finn overheard, that sparked the idea of it), a mentor (Kait, a girl Finn met, that had her own, but very simmilar problems), and a "treasure" at the end. By "treasure" I mean: change and growth. By the action started by the Grandpa (the one that caused all the mess), the family mends. Last scene is full of joy and smiles. Reunion. They hadn't got problems with each other. They had problems with themselves. But this is an open scene. We don't see what will be next. We can only guess. And I suppose I already said that the movie tells us that kind of secrets. We got a clue. They will be fine. They will be happy and free of guilt that nearly destroyed what they valued the most.
The movie starts with the narrator's (Finn's voice) speech about the Charlie. It ends with silence. The camera fades away and all we can see is water. The very same water that took away Charlie's life. The water gave them despair - and the same water set them free. But not without the help of some wise guy. He was there all the time. He was waiting. He was giving signals, that he cares. But he was unable to do anything beceause of the denial. Only when the family opened to him, the story concluded the way it should. Familiar story, isn't it?
The movie's plot is based on the book "Charlie and me. 421 miles from home" by Mark Lowery. I haven't read it, but if it is nearly as good as the cinema version, then go and get it. The "moving" version I know is beatiful and thought provoking. And I cried a lot. You have to watch it closely to understand it. It's not obvious, however it may seem to be. Just like life we have. Just don't judge. Maybe there is something more you don't see yet. Or maybe you are the one who's blocking your own progress. Haven't you seen any hints about that lately? Go on your own journey. The freedom you desire is at it's end.
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Aenu