garden state...

okay, so tonight, after it was highly recommended to me, i went to see garden state... not really knowing what to expect, i read the reviews/summaries on imdb.com and had heard bits and pieces from here and there... i still didn't really know what to expect... so i went... all by myself, with popcorn and diet coke in hand, i sat down to what was one of the best movies (if not the best movie) i've seen this year... and i loved eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and i loved 13 going on 30... and i loved napoleon dynamite... (not to mention others i'm sure that i have seen and loved...)

warning - i will not do justice to any kind of anything related to garden state... just posting preliminary thoughts and ideas right now - i just got back from seeing it and wanted to write them all down before i did anything else!!!

i read amy's entry about it on her blog... and i agree a lot with what she said... i am kind of in the same boat... when i left for college, i was gone... i was gone every summer doing random things and i never went home for the weekend... ever... then... i went to east asia for a semester and then moved far away from anyone right up to the northwest... and i've often said, "home is where my suitcase is..." playing off that heart expression... but for the last several weeks/months tried to figure out where "home" is... since i was in the 7th grade (i think), i haven't lived in a place longer than about 9 months... i didn't switch schools a lot or anything... we just moved a lot... not to mention, my "permanent" address is a house i never lived in... then when i went to college i moved every semester... since i've been in the northwest (one year), i've moved twice... anyway - all that to say... i could relate... there are a couple of quotes... amy already posted 2 that i love... and then there's one more...

Sam: If you don't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a lot longer than you want it to.

Sam: This is your one opportunity to do something that no one has ever done before and that no one will copy throughout human existence. And if nothing else, you will be remembered as the one guy who ever did this. This one thing.

Andrew: You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? That idea of home is gone. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place.

i wish it didn't cost $8.00 to go see a movie... i really want to see it again... i feel like there is so much more that i want to say... i guess the main things i "gleaned" from it...

1) this idea of home - i don't really know what to say about it right now - but it gave me so much to think about... where is my home? what does "home" mean? what about "family?" just a lot to reflect on...

2) living life to the fullest... the character of sam had a tremendous passion to live every second... boldness and originality... (natalie portman did an excellent job) i have been thinking about this a lot... i think sometimes i try to fit someone's mold of what i should be... and sometimes, for whatever reason... i miss out on being me... and i hate that...

3) ideas of lonliness and safety... i've already been dealing with this... but it became more evident... there was one point in the movie where andrew says, "i feel safe... with you... it's like being home..." which kind of makes me think of a line from sleepless in seattle... but i won't go there... well, my prayer is that i feel that safety... that sense of home in my Daddy's (God's) arms...

anyway... it couldn't wait... i had to post stuff tonight before it passes... quick warning - there is some stuff in garden state that is not appropriate for all audiences... but it is definitely one of the most thought-provoking movies i've seen in a long time... and i agree with amy - it's a movie that makes you feel... i like that a lot... wow...