The Good Lie (2014)
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I have been seeing this poster for the longest time, but for some reason, I never saw the description of the movie. We had a heavy day today, so we wanted to watch something light, so mom and I chose to watch this. We were not prepared because we had no idea that this was a serious movie. It did have light moments towards the end, but what these young people have experienced really broke a lot of hearts and are still breaking a lot of hearts. Wow, I'm on a roll. I have watched about five(5) movies without anything to prejudge the movie. It is a beautiful movie that gives people hope. Perseverance does have its rewards and true FAITH gives you courage and strength,
Here's the summary from the Worldwide Web: |
| Written by | Margaret Nagle |
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- Reese Witherspoon as Carrie Davis (may her tribe increase)
- Arnold Oceng as Mamere---effective acting
- Ger Duany as Jeremiah---endearing
- Emmanuel Jal as Paul---there's more to him than meets the eye
- Corey Stoll as Jack (hope there are more guys like Jack out there...Corey made Jack more lovable)
- Sarah Baker as Pamela Lowi---sweet
- Kuoth Wiel as Abital---she was like a super model in one of the scenes
- Thad Luckinbill as Matt (still restless even if he's not so young any more)
- Sharon Conley as Erin Sullivan---expressive eyes
- Mike Pniewski as Nick Costas---great in any role he plays..mostly villains...here, he's the grocery store boss
- Joshua Mikel as Dave
An Ayala Cinemas exclusive
OPTIONAL READING* if you're pressed for time, just read the stuff below the photograph.
(There's a reason connected to the movie why I'm mentioning this...)
Our long day comprising of business transactions and personal stuff started well. In the middle of the day I brought my mom to a beauty salon, checked the prices and since they looked reasonable enough, talked to the beautician or whatever you call her these days and we had an agreement. I left my mom to do some important things. When I returned to pay for the services they did for my mom, I was shocked at the price, to think they gave her a 20% discount because of her age. For some reason, I thought the haircut was done, so I paid for it. After they gave the receipt, I noticed that they haven't cut my mom's hair yet. Ergo, they charged her for long hair, instead of medium length hair. That's highway robbery. Oh well. I didn't feel like debating anyway, so I didn't argue. I just told the receptionist to add HAIR STYLING in the receipt so that it would be justified. So here I was, just taking everything with a grain of salt until this guy, who kept on praising my mom saying she looked younger than her age and she looks European. I guess I was in a good mood(I probably was because I didn't complain about the services) so I just said, "Di nga ako pinamanahan..."(I didn't inherit her genes.) That's all I said. I did not say I was ugly or anything. You know what he said, "Eh ano magagawa mo kung mas maganda ang puno sa bunga!?!" The nerve. He said, "What could you do if the tree is much more beautiful than the fruit?!?" Gosh. I got mad. Imagine, I didn't complain when they were obviously charging us more than they should even with the supposedly 20% discount and here he was insulting me. I made him experience hell. I said, "Babawiin ko binayad ko!!!" (Essentially it just means that I was demanding them to return my money...) Other things I said couldn't be printed, but when he asked for forgiveness, I did forgive him, but when he started holding my arms---even if he's gay---I felt I needed space because I was about to explode. I went out to walk, momentarily forgot if the sunnies on my head were dark enough. It was dark enough so I covered my eyes and started crying. (If by any chance you read this, I am not mad at you anymore...I know you are remorseful, but please, be careful of what you say even when you're joking in the future...you don't even know me and I'm a paying customer, so you don't have any right to insult me or anyone else for that matter. I'm so tempted to name your salon, but the others were good to my mom so you're blessed!)
Why are Filipinos mean to kayumangging kaligatan(lighter than black, butdarker than beige)like me? Isn't my color the predominant color in this country? Just because there are lot of people who use whitening soaps doesn't mean they are really white, right? I have nothing against people with whiter skin. That's not the issue here. I did dream of having whiter skin when I was younger, but...The impact of this movie in my life is even greater than 12 years a Slave because this is more recent. The children who experienced all those things are still alive and some of them even acted in this film.
Meet the Real-Life 'Lost Boys' of Sudan In The Good Lie
The local producers sold this film as a Reese Witherspoon movie and it worked. If I had known that it was about the plight of children who survived war and were dwelling in a refugee camp, I think I wouldn't have watched this film because in my own way, I was experiencing inner turmoil. Whatever was eating me was nothing compared to what they have experienced. I really do not want to be in their shoes.
What they experienced was not a war between different colors, but between people who are in the same race. These kids weren't even aware that there were people who were different from them until they met the UNICEF volunteers and they even thought they were born without skin. It made me chuckle a bit.
The journey of Theo, Abital, Mamere, Paul, Jeremiah and the rest of the Sudanese "Lost Boys" is very inspiring. They had to fight wild animals to survive and had to drink their own liquid waste to live.
Not everyone survived, of course. Others even had to sacrifice themselves to save others.
Why is it called "The Good Lie"? If you are familiar with Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, then you need not ask why.
"If you want to go fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together."-African Proverb
The movie is very moving, touching, traumatizing and all that, but it gives people who suffer hope. Even if a lot of scenes were fictionalized, it's real as real could be.
It's so easy to judge people just by looking at them, not knowing what they underwent or what they are undergoing at the moment. It's easy to just conclude that he or she is like that, without even walking a few feet with them.
Watching this movie made me feel I know them, even if I don't. I was there when they were running from the soldiers. I was there when they were walking hundreds of miles together. I was there when they had nothing to drink...
I was also there when they experienced their simple joys, etc.
Even if this movie was not we expected it to be, my mom and I feel blessed that we were able understand, even just a bit, what the Sudanese "Lost Boys" experienced and our faith in humanity is more than restored.
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