My wife had attended the Fridays with Faria on Facebook where last week’s topic was Aha Moments. That made me look at some of the movies of 2020 closely for their Aha moments. I must say that this is the year I would have seen the maximum number of movies in years. We said goodbye to Cable and relied on OTT and on-demand viewing.
Here are my top 5 Aha-moments from the movies that I’ve watched this year:
# 1 Pursuit of Happyness
I cannot forget the last scene of “Pursuit of Happyness” which blew my mind away. That 2.40 minutes video is my top pick of movie scenes for the Aha moment. With that music in the background at 1.28 mins “This part of my life, this little part of my life ……..( pause)…….is called happiness.” I recalled instantly what Viktor Frankl said ” Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”
# 2 A Time to Kill
This came as a random pick on OTT. I was planning to turn it off after a couple of minutes. I liked Matthew McConaughey and so continued and it was in the clip below towards the end when he literally weeps and says, “Imagine it is a white girl ” was a statement I will not forget.
The real-life crime that inspired John Grisham to write “A Time To Kill” has remained a secret since he began writing it almost three decades ago. “It was one of those crimes you never forget,” said the 58-year-old, best-selling author, who began his career as a lawyer in the Memphis suburb of Southaven.
# 3 Primal Fear
The look on the face of Richard Gere when he said at 2.24 mins, “There was no Aron” will always be remembered. Primal Fear is a 1996 American legal thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit, based on William Diehl’s 1993 novel of the same name. It stars Richard Gere as a Chicago defense attorney who believes that his altar boy client (played by Edward Norton) is not guilty of murdering an influential Catholic archbishop.
# 4 Inception
Being a fan of Leonardo after seeing his movies and particularly Gatsby, I decided to watch Inception. We were told that it is a very complicated movie. Inception’s greatest puzzler is its final scene, in which Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dominick Cobb successfully reunites with his children against seemingly impossible odds after pulling off an elaborate “inception” heist to convince a businessman to break up his late father’s corporation. My aha moment in the last movie thanks to that music by Hanz Zimmer in the scene below and that final scene where the totem still rotates without falling. I get goosebumps hearing that Zimmer music. So when I am completely out of sorts I play this music track and I get the chills.
# 5 Forrest Gump
“I miss you, Jenny… If there’s anything you need. I won’t be far away,” this dialogue comes around 4.45 mins in the clip below. This was also my first Tom Hanks movie and I enjoyed the depth of his acting.
Every time I see these movie scenes, I get goosebumps. 2020 turned out to be the year I have seen the maximum number of movies in the company of family. Except for “A Time to Kill,” I saw the rest of the films with my wife. It is always nice to see that the other person is also with you and sharing those aha moments.
This movie playlist will go down as one of the best for me to feel good about myself. As we start the countdown for 2021, this list also provides so many facets of life. In fact, after seeing how Will Smith recognized that we cannot pursue happiness, it must ensue, it made me look at life differently by writing a daily gratitude post.
When Richard Gere realized that he had saved a killer, he felt so hollow inside after that revelation. We do feel that the world out there is tough and so we have to be prepared to face any outcomes.
How not to discriminate against people was another lesson from McConaughey‘s movie. Then Leonardo’s use of a totem to determine whether he was in the real world made me realize and practice and pursue present moment awareness. I need to find an equivalent of that totem. Finally, Tom Hank’s tryst with destiny by running towards life is a great lesson and that sums up 2020.
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