Rewatched one of my favorite movies a couple of weeks back and I realized I never wrote about it, so I will do so now because I think there are a few lessons in it that are worth learning.
Ben Randall is a coast guard swimmer who suffers a trauma and loses his crew in a big storm. He is sent back to the academy to teach a class of new coast guard swimmers and there meets
Jake Fischer.
Jake is a great swimmer, fast, focused, but he is haunted by the ghosts of his past. Once
Jake is able to forgive himself and focus on the job at hand is he then able to become the best version of himself.
Ben, on the other hand, passes the baton as he swims to his last rescue.
I saw this movie in the theater and loved it immediately. There is something about movies dealing with military, navy, this one is about the coast guard and even movies about the secret service that simply draw me in. America is big on these, but a lot of them lack an actual lesson or moral. 'Suck it up' and 'be tough' is not always a good premise, believe me... But this movie gives you an insight as to why some wish to help others.
Superheroes do live among us, let me tell you that, and I bow my head to those who really put up their life every single day to help others. Of course, the history of law enforcement in America is completely different from the rest of the world. It is no wonder that these movies get made there. A story about the military of a country in Europe will either be about a terrible death or it will be boring as hell, no offense. There are exceptions of true heroes that made it home alive, but most of those stories have already been told because we, the viewers/readers are suckers for a good superhero tale. This movie in is about one in the making:
Jake.
Now,
Jake has lost his friends in a car accident and this has haunted him for the most part of his life. He questions why he was the one to survive, what it all means and sometimes there is no real explanation.
We are not taught how to go on living once we lose someone. But if we make the best of the time we are given than I truly believe that each one of us can become a hero.
Jake meets someone, falls in love, excels at his work and, in a way, replaces
Ben perfectly. There is a lesson here, that we are replaceable, and I don't mean that in a derogative sense.
I mean that sometimes we fear letting go because we condition ourselves to believe that without us something bad might happen. That we are essential. We do not like to think that others can do without us. It is a scary thought, isn't it? But life does go on. We are not forgotten, we are not taken for granted, no, the work we do will not have been in vain. Sometimes, however, we do more damage when we don't let go. In the movie there is a seen when
Ben freezes because of his post-traumas and deems someone dead, whilst
Jake is able to save them.
Ben should not have been in the water in the first place. His legacy is not lost and his life is best honored when he decides to stop holding on.
Watch it? I do recommend it.
There are multiple story lines and a lot of characters that can teach you a thing or to about trying your hardest and accepting your losses if they come. I personally should learn about this movie and let go of my monsters too, because they are causing more damage than good lately. I do recommend this movie whole-heartedly!
Until the next item on my list!
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