Man's true maturity is to understand love and death
However, many people tend to think of the former as desire
The latter is deliberately avoidant
No one is sure what tomorrow will be like, we just feel like it's coming, as is customary. It's like a painting that gets too close and you can see the dark part of it, or the bright part, but you don't step back and never know what you're seeing.
Life, breathing, smiling, family, some people take it for granted, and some people have to fight for it.
The latter is like the protagonist of the love song on the clouds, the boy Zach, a bone sarcoma patient.
He was diagnosed at the age of 14 and died at the age of 18. He has also been like everyone who has suffered the misfortune of heaven, repeatedly questioning, painfully throwing out the question: "Why me?" "Did I inadvertently annoy God?"
When he learned that his life was only 6-10 months left, he was deeply struggling with himself, but with the help of relatives and friends, by chance, he overthrew and re-understood the face of life, and realized what he thought was crazy in the past. He wrote the song "Clouds", to the beloved girl, to the people around him, to all experiences. "Clouds" serves as Zach's final farewell to the world, expressing gratitude, but also expressing the desire to survive and the power of positivity. Although the plot of this film is mostly expected, it does not prevent many things hidden in the details and lines from being thought-provoking. Jump out of the perspective of life as it should be, and help people rethink what the point of life is.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="101" >01 Real life has begun</h1>
If you know when you're leaving, do you want to put off your real life until tomorrow?
If you know when youth leaves, will you still spend every second in your frustration with the world?
If you know when your loved one is leaving, will you still leave the quarrel, indifference, and estrangement to the present?
When you think of procrastination, what comes to mind? Is it getting up, working or running?
None of these are the most frightening.
The scariest procrastination is when you feel like your real life hasn't even begun.
Just like in the movie, at the beginning and end of the story, the male protagonist Zach sang on stage. The only difference was that he didn't start by singing his own song — because "singing his own song" was just a thought for him who loved music, a distant thing that he didn't know when to do it.
But life is not far away, and each of us has an invisible countdown on our heads. Movies are wonderful because of their limited duration, and life is only a limited long movie.
"Have a Song of Your Own" for Zach, like some thoughts that each of us would have, is what we call the "Lifetime" series.
He would secretly write the lyrics himself, but when his mother praised him for his good lyrics, Zach did not dare to admit his dreams openly.
"I just wrote it when I was bored." "Not to be the next Ed Sheeran or whatever."
Isn't that what we are?
Whether it's like Zach who wants to write a song of his own, an album, a book, a trip around the world or a company of his own.
There is still more time and longer days, which is our greatest illusion. So much so that we always leave the compromise to the world to the present, and the pursuit of dreams to the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="101" >02 stands too close to understand the painting</h1>
When Zach learns that he only has a few months to live, he is also vulnerable, irritable, depressed, and emotional at first.
His high school teacher asked everyone to write college applications in class, and Zack was desperate because he knew he wouldn't survive college.
Zach's mother, a strong but strong man who loves her son deeply, says to Zach, who is close to death:
It could also be a weird opportunity for you to forget about superficial things that waste people's time.
The reason why the male protagonist has an emotional breakdown comes from the fact that he feels that he has only a few months left and can't do anything. On music, trying to realize the album dream in the rest of his life is like extravagance; on love, he feels that he can't give anything to the girl he loves.
All the plans, promises, and expectations that come out of the mouth of a person whose time has been cut off by the disease are like bubbles.
So, caught in despair and panic in the face of death, replaced by love for the world, he chose to hurt.
His song with his good friend Sami soared tens of thousands of times on YouTube, and when they were about to be interviewed, Zach and Sami broke out into an argument. Because of the happy Sammy, this is just the beginning of success, and Zach is swallowed up by the fear that everything is coming to an end.
"But it doesn't matter what I want, because it can't happen, can it?"
When he and his beloved girl and girlfriend Amy talk about the future and plan a better life, he once again fell into the impotence and panic of death, grabbed the door and even ignored the girl left behind.
For Zach at this stage, the film portrays his sensitivity, fragility, capriciousness, and irritability.
On the one hand, because he is pessimistic about the impending death, and on the other hand, because he has not figured out what is important at this time.
Because he stood too close to the painting of fate.
As many times as we are.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="101" >03 Compulsory course on love and death</h1>
The second half of the film has some chicken soup in the plot, and Zach seems to have embarked on a "life winner" route: he and Sami are recommended by their teachers to sign a contract with a music company, the creation of Clouds is on TV and radio, and Amy has a relationship with him... As a Disney film with music, inspiration, and friendship and love as the theme, it has embarked on an almost fairytale ending from a certain turning point, which is indeed stylized.
On the so-called "hard to chase and realize dreams" line, the chicken soup tastes really strong. Therefore, I personally believe that the shining point of the second half lies in the topic of understanding the two things of love and death.
The fear of death doesn't dissolve, but Zach learns to live with it. He is no longer occupied by the pessimism that "nothing I can do" but "I want to write them down before I forget them.". So, i wrote a moving love song on the clouds.
In the second half, the characters of the film move towards profound and complete emotions, and in the process, they reflect the philosophy of touching people.
What the world cares about is not necessarily what our loved ones care about. "For example, how much is more glorious, what can be loved." Zach, who had thought he didn't have the time or ability to give Amy happiness, was disheartened and said "I have nothing to give you." "And hurt Amy. Almost the same words were spoken by his father to his mother, like a heavy piece of ice between parents who were exhausted by the pressures of life. However, Amy's only concern is to love each other with Zach, Sammy only hopes not to lose her best friend, and Zach's mother wants nothing more than the comfort of Zach's father.
How the parties and their relatives and friends face the final moments has become a final discussion and end at the end of the film. With the last grand graduation ball, performance, and birthday triad, Zach's life gradually burns out, and those around him endure pain and cherish the last time with him. At the Met performance, the whole audience sang "Clouds".
Well I fell down, down, down
Into this dark and lonely hole
There was no one there to care about me anymore
And I needed a way to climb and grab a hold of the edge
You were sitting there holding a rope
And we’ll go up, up, up
But I’ll fly a little higher
We’ll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer
Up here my dear
It won’t be long now, it won’t be long now
When I get back on land
Well I’ll never get my chance
Be ready to live and it’ll be ripped right out of my hands
Maybe someday we’ll take a little ride