Forrest Gump (1994)

         Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis is the story about a man’s life in the 1960s and 1970s as he winds up in the center of many historical events, all the while wondering about his childhood love, Jenny. The movie begins from the perspective of Forrest on a bus bench, explaining to strangers his life story up until that point. He tells about his childhood, college, the war, his life and success as a shrimp boat captain after the war, when he ran back and forth across the U.S., until the “present” where he waits for a bus that should take him to Jenny. Throughout these stories he includes several massively historic events that he accidently stumbled into the middle of. As his audience comes and goes, one woman becomes invested in his story and stays. When he reaches the present, he says he is waiting for the number 9 bus so he can go see his Jenny again finally. The woman tells him that she is in fact close enough to walk to and he takes off running. When he gets to her apartment, he meets his son. The rest of the movie takes place in the present with Jenny, Forrest, and their son together at last. Jenny passes away and Forrest is left with his son, the most important thing in his life.

         The cinematography is beautiful and bright, and the characters intimately developed. The structure of the movie itself also lends to a more cohesive piece. The story-telling perspective from the bus bench adds a dynamic layer as we go back and forth between the present and the past. The layer thickens and becomes even more interesting when we catch up to the present moment on the bench, and the movie continues on in the present. Having the entire movie told from the bus bench would have worked, but it wouldn’t have been as original or as interesting. We are drawn into Forrest’s back story so far and for so long, it is what we expect from the whole movie, but when he leaps up from the bench and runs to Jenny, we are with Forrest, living that moment and that excitement alongside him. The framing of the movie is also very well done, the opening shot follows a feather as it floats around and lands on Forrest’s bus bench, where he puts it inside his Curious George book in his suitcase. He begins his story and early on, his mother brings him to the bus stop to go to school. The movie ends with Forrest bringing his son to the very same bus stop. He gives the Curious George book to his son and the feather, trapped all that time, floats out and ends the movie drifting in the breeze. Not only is it a lovely image, but it symbolizes Forrest: awash in the breeze, going where the wind takes him, yet somehow managing to always be in the middle of things.

         The characters are thoroughly developed. Forrest is established through his stories, thoughts, and opinions, while other characters are defined through Forrest’s eyes, but mainly by their actions. Jenny, for example, has a troubled past, which is only lightly touched upon by Forrest when he explains how she had to live with her grandmother because her father was abusive. With that base knowledge, we watch Jenny become a nude singer at a strip club, have a violent boyfriend who she can’t seem to leave, and run away frequently. Her actions mixed in with her confusion over her feeling for Forrest paint her clearly as well intentioned and caring, but damaged. Lieutenant Dan is introduced as a loyal soldier who intended to die with his platoon. When Forrest saves him, he is resentful because instead of dying an honorable death, he is left with no legs in a wheel chair. From then on he characterizes himself through his disability and it drags him down. He does not seem to turn around until joining Forrest on his shrimping boat, where he finds happiness and begins to look past his legs. Mrs. Gump is shown through Forrest’s eyes, and idolized. She is the ultimate Mama Bear, and was willing to sleep with the principal to ensure Forrest’s place at the public school. She would clearly do anything for her son and it is her love that builds her character. Forrest Gump is clearly one of the greatest movies of all time. It is captivating, inspiring, and very well thought out.