CONSCIOUS CINEMA
manifests an adventure of her own, one straight
out of the pages of her own books. Other movies
with characters in search of comparable forms of
once-repressed personal fulfillment include “An
Unmarried Woman” (1978), “Sex, Lies and Videotape” (1989) and “Vertigo” (1958).
Living courageously for one’s art is a recurrent
theme in a number of motion pictures, such as
“Mao’s Last Dancer” (2010), a fact-based account of the defection of Chinese ballet sensation
Li Cunxin (Chi Cao), who willingly gives up everything for the pursuit of artistic freedom while on a
cultural exchange program in Houston. In a similar
but somewhat more macabre vein, “Hitchcock”
(2012) chronicles the struggle of the master auteur
of suspense (Anthony Hopkins) to produce his epic
scream fest, “Psycho” (1960), at a time when no
studio would touch the project (a film that, ironically, would go on to become the most successful
of his career).
Championing those less fortunate is certainly one
of the most noble and courageous pursuits one can
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undertake, as evidenced in films like “Schindler’s
List” (1993), the story of a wealthy, flamboyant German industrialist (Liam Neeson) who went out of
his way to clandestinely place Jewish workers in his
factories during World War II to keep them from becoming concentration camp victims. Activism such
as this is also apparent in “To Kill a Mockingbird”
(1962), in which a soft-spoken lawyer (Gregory Peck)
undertakes the defense of a black man (Brock Peters) accused of beating and raping a white woman
in a small Alabama town in the 1930s.
Overwhelming odds might easily deter many of us,
but those who successfully rise to the occasion end
up overcoming seemingly insurmountable circumstances. One film that aptly illustrates this is “The
Impossible” (2012), the inspiring story of a family whose members are quick to fright but who are
catapulted into their own heroism when subjected
to the ravages of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
while on vacation in Thailand. Newfound personal heroism also surfaces in “Fearless” (1993), in
which a plane crash survivor (Jeff Bridges) takes
on previously avoided challenges, believing that, if
he could survive a catastrophe that terrible, he can
now successfully take on anything.
Death and disability are among the greatest fears
many of us face. But, when such conditions loom,
we can often effectively counter our apprehensions
by choosing to embrace life in the moment. This
theme pervades the touching French comedy-drama “The Intouchables” (2012), in which an affluent quadriplegic Parisian (François Cluzet) refuses
to give up on life by vowing to live it as fully as possible, either on his own or through the experiences
of his free-spirited caregiver (Omar Sy). The same
is true in “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (2015),
the story of a teenager diagnosed with leukemia
(Olivia Cooke) who seeks to make the most of her
life with a pair of quirky pals (Thomas Mann, RJ
Cyler), who must also come to terms with the potential demise of their friend. Making the most of
life when the clock is running out also comes up in
the sci-fi classic “Blade Runner” (1982), in which
a special law enforcement officer (Harrison Ford)
is assigned to track down and neutralize a renegade human-like android (Rutger Hauer) attempting to extend his pre-programmed life span by any
means possible, a conflict that pits two powerful
foes against one another and brings each of them
face to face with their own mortality.