Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber’s classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. source
With a movie like this, it is guaranteed to warm your heart.
My friends aggressively convinced me to watch this movie for weeks on end, but I never really had the time. I mean, I had time, but it was the wrong time. I know this is a great film, I trust my friends’ judgment. But I didn’t feel like it. You know, those times when you just don’t feel like watching a good movie, or reading a good book? You just want to lie in your bed, thinking about nothing at all.
Anyway, I know it might be rude not to say anything about the film, because well, this is similar to a movie review, and it has to state some of the facts or some synopsis. But ya’ll can always go to IMDB or rotten tomatoes for the plot/summary. What I want to convey, through this post, is my feelings, because, come on, what better kind of persuasion there is than your feelings? I mean really? No really. I’m kidding. Sorry technical geeks.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty accurately portrayed that we are all made of flaws, and we all have imperfections, that sometimes we wish we were someone else, that we wish we were some place else doing something more interesting than what we usually do. Things don’t go our way, and we have to accept that. We fall on our backs sometimes, even on our fronts, if that even makes sense. Walter isn’t an interesting guy, believe me. He works in a normal job, with a life that screams, “Boring!” He likes a girl in the office and imagines himself the knight in shining armor in a couple of times in his daydreaming time. It’s not just about a person looking for a photo, (spoilers) it’s about how he triumphs all the obstacles he was faced with. It’s more than just retrieving a lost photo that he was assigned for, it’s about the mundane experiences that we fail to recognize, which are, by the way, of the littlest importance, but rather makes a difference in our lives.
Life is short. And oftentimes we forget to stop and just, feel the moment. Be the moment. It’s amazing how life takes us to this extraordinary journey, how we are all connected, how we are all gazing at the same moon at night. Times may come in our lives when we feel like everything is meant in its place, and we’re safe nestled in our little nests. But one day, we will feel like we’re slowly dying. Merely being alive is not living.
I know a movie might not affect our way of living, maybe not as much as experiencing life itself, but somehow, through this very minimalistic and amazingly crafted movie, it’s better to live life when you’re watching someone else’s, I think.
*I know you might cringe at the sight of feel-good, heart-warming, and all those hyphenated movies in the universe. But believe me, this is one of the most beautiful movies of the decade. You just have to look closer.