garden state

i know i mentioned this in my last post, but garden state really is a most awesome movie. i've read reviews that thought it was stupid and pretentious, just because zach braff wrote, directed and starred in it. it would indeed be stupid if the movie sucked, but it doesn't. "but he's just trying to be all deep and show how cool he is." um, i don't think he's trying, i think it's just an expression of how he felt and it just happened to hit a chord. i know it did with me. i think because i'm at that age that he's trying to express in the movie. in an article i read, he was talking about how all the generations before ours got married straight out of college and started a family. now there's this certain period of a "no man's land" for people - we're done with school, but we're not ready to start a family yet. what are we supposed to do? i mean, yeah, we get jobs and stuff, but i suppose it doesn't feel like the purpose is really there. there's this lost feeling sometimes. i know i've felt it.

and the scene in the pool where he's talking about the idea of home really struck me. he talks about how at a certain point in your life, that sense of home you've always had is gone. "sure, you have a place where you keep all of your shit," but that idea of home is missing. and while i still consider where my parents live "home," i've lost a little of that sense after living away from there for so long. and after living in so many different places. yes, i've always lived at tech, but i've lived in different dorms, in different rooms, and after awhile, you get used to the change. i've never lived anywhere longer than two semesters since i came to college, so i think to a certain extent, i've lost that true feeling of home. i'm afraid that when i get a job and really settle somewhere, i'll start to get restless. it's sad to think that that sense of "home" may not ever really be there again.

and i think the "love story" part of the movie is beautiful - it's poignant without being cheesy. that's the kind of love i want: one that changes your life, but is found with someone who wouldn't change a thing about you. a love that makes you feel safe and brings out the best in you.

ultimately, i think that braff is trying to say that you have to take life as it is - the good and the bad. sometimes life sucks and it hurts like hell, but that it's okay to feel the pain.

besides, the acting is great, the cinematography is beautiful, and the soundtrack is amazing. i could go on and on, but i should probably sleep. (i'll write more about this weekend tomorrow).