A Lesson In Cinema!!

Movies are one of the best things to happen to man! It’s no news by now how much I enjoy watching them because I never seem to stop talking about it. While I enjoy action thrillers and even horror, there are times I enjoy a bit of romance and comedy as well.

Some of the beauties of action movies are the choreographed fight scenes, the awesome gun battles, and of course, the blowing of stuff up. It’s always impressive to watch things go up in a fiery ball of flame and watch people try their utmost best to kill each other.

One thing I’ve always loved about these movies is usually the soundtrack they use to accompany these scenes. Music is so important to movies because just one wrong song or score can ruin the entire theme of a particular scene. So, I always appreciate it when the makers of the movies take their time to use good music because that sets you in the mood better than anything else.

With so many movies out today, many of which I find impressive, it’s hard to say there’s one in particular that did it for me. Because a different number of them evoked a variety of emotions within me. I’ve seen a movie that only made me mad at the protagonist because of the stupid decisions they made, I’ve seen movies that made me understand the reasons the antagonist had to do what he did. After all, that’s the point of a good story. It strokes your emotions and makes you feel things for the character.

So, you see why picking one is not as easy as you would think. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie that made me cry. One movie that brought me close to tears was actually a K-drama I watched many years ago. Back when we were still watching on disks. It was Illjimae: The Phantom Thief.

It’s kind of like the Korean version of Robin Hood, he stole from the rich to feed the poor. And when the authorities came close to arresting him, his adoptive father donned his costume and pretended to be the Phantom Thief in his stead. So, the old man was arrested and publicly executed. That was not even the painful part.

A law was passed that because he was a criminal, no one was allowed to mourn him. He wasn’t given a proper burial and was treated like a common thief, his family couldn’t even cry or show their pain in public. So, the painful part for me was these people trying to live within these constraints set by the government. And for an innocent man at that. And then, let me not talk about the scenes of Illjimae crying at the loss of his adoptive father.

There were a lot of scenes in that drama that could bring anyone to tears, but no worries. Even when I was a boy, I was already a hard man😇. We don’t cry easy where I’m from🤤. Hehe… I only came close, but that was it.😂

Another movie that brought me close as well was a Nollywood movie called A Million Tears. A heart-wrenching movie that till today still has one of the best soundtracks to come out of Nollywood. In this one, there’s no particular scene that’s painful. It just sort of builds up and the further you go, the harder the storyline pulls on your heartstrings. And you won’t even know when the tears start to come.

It’s an old movie, another story of that bad boy turned good because he fell in love with the nerdy girl. Sadly, this nerdy girl had a terminal illness and was gonna die within a short while. It told the story of how their relationship changed both of them, making them see the world in a way neither knew of before and it helped a lot of the decisions they went on to make.

That movie was really touching, even listening to the soundtrack alone is enough to make tears of nostalgia stream from your eyes. I watched it a very long time ago, and to date, no other movie has touched me that way.

These days, movie companies are more interested in telling stories that sell, not telling stories that will touch the hearts and minds of the people. But then, once in a while, you come across a really good story that’ll impress you and stay on your mind for a long time.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from these two movies I’ve mentioned, it’s the fact that we’re not alone. We have to surround ourselves with people who will look out for us and want what’s best for us, no matter the price.

These days, we need more movies with actual life lessons. So far, all I’ve learned from some movies is not to be the dumb guy who gets shot while the main character dodges all the bullets. So, choose to be your main character and dodge your bullets as well. It sounds deep and all, so you can apply it in your life.

You’re welcome.