Forrest Gump:

faith, resistance, hope

A unique man full of compassion, love, and enthusiasm, the persona of Forrest Gump was one of the most meaningful and touching characters that I've watched. Played brilliantly by Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump achieves great success in many fields in the movie, not with the intention to do so, but with the ability to adjust himself to new circumstances. With respect to a guideline from her mother, Forrest does his best with what God gave him. In an attempt to write his own destiny, Forest learns to do well with what he encounters, as "life is a box of chocolates".

The movie contains many cultural and political moments between the 1950s to 1980s.

In Alabama, Forest meets a handsome gentleman with jelled-back hair and a guitar who later becomes the King of Pop. Singing "Hound Dog" to little Forest, Elvis Presley is depicted to be learning the iconic hip movements from him. When Forest is explaining Elvis's fate, he says that he wrote too many songs, and got himself a heart attack. A yet so simple way of explaining the King's death.

Perhaps one of the most significant international issues in the eyes of the American public during the 60s was the US involvement in Vietnam. The US, supporting South Vietnam, was fighting against Soviet-backed North Vietnam. In the movie, Forest, after joining the military, goes to Vietnam. In a memorable war scene, the guerilla Vietcong fighters attack the US soldiers. The brief moment of the cease of the rain and the slight gleams of the sunshine diminish with deafening explosions. Knowing the forests of the land, the Vietnamese Communist soldiers ambush Americans without ever being seen. Forest does what he knows to do best: he runs. But this time, he carries soldiers to safety on his back.

After getting back from the war, Forest gets awarded the National Medal of Honor, which he later gives to Jenny. He makes a speech at the Washington Monument, which shows the historically accurate scene of a big gathering of anti-war protesters by the Reflecting Pool in Washington in 1967.

At the end of the movie, the shrimp company that Forest owned with Lieutenant Dan becomes a shareholder in what Forest thinks is "some kind of a fruit company". The Apple Computer Inc. investments make Forest an even richer man than he was, with the blooming sales it had during the 80s.

By portraying an arresting life story that is created under the light of the historical occurrences between the 50s and the 80s, Forest Gump stays as an imperishable cinematic sensation.

Three Favorite Scenes:

1- Jenny's breakdown

Jenny, one of Forest's only friends and the only woman he ever fancied, grows up with an abusive father. Forest recalls how she would escape the horrors of the house by being with him. In a scene from their childhoods, Jenny and Forest run away into the farm field to hide from her alcoholic father. There she prays "Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly, fly far from here."

This scene shows her reaction to remembering the anger she felt towards her father and at the house that witnessed all of it. After seeing the house, the farm, and the trees in their old places, she is exasperated by a flood of emotions. In the end, when Jenny collapses to the ground after throwing anything that catches her hand at the place of her demons, Forest utters "Sometimes, I guess there just isn't enough rocks."

2- Boba's death

After the ambush, Forest finds his "best good friend" Boba, and takes him to safety. The two friends who had endured the harshness of the battle life together make one last conversation before Boba's death. His last words, "I wanna go home", still linger in my mind.

3- The Ending: Do we each have destinies or are we floating around with the breeze?

After Jenny's death, big Forest and little Forest make a life for themselves. The bitter-sweet ending scene is Forest's monologue at Jenny's grave. Forest's life, following uncertainties and fluctuations for a long time, seems to calm down.

The audience sees a wiser Forest, a man who was molded by the hands of life.

Personal Rating of the Movie: 10/10