The Blind Side

These days, like the rest, films are compartmentalized. We have become a society that functions and performs based primarily on focus group consultations, random samplings, and demographics. Gone were the days when films were produced to inform a good story, or feature a great actor or actress in a part that moved the heart. Perhaps it is due to the vast amounts of money spent on a film, with the cost of actor's charges as one of the most serious expense. But if not for the known actor, maybe the film wouldn't sell.

It is a chicken and the egg eventuality of who is to blame for the rocketing cost of films and the decline of the quality of the movie story. We go back to compartmentalizing into 2 kinds of films : those that make the super bucks and those that don't . And for those that want to make the mega bucks, they're further subdivided into groups : horror/slasher, action, and comedy. Rarely have we got drama films that do make the hundred million mark at the box office. But due to the relatively low budget of the drama films, they don't have to. These are the films that are praised by the critics and often are given the Oscar nods. These are the films that couples like to watch, goaded especially by the female to excite the mind of an often unresponsive partner. These are narratives that teach a life lesson to us all, those that you would want to collect in your DVD selection. And if we are lucky, we are getting a film that's got a bit of action, a little bit of drama, a bit of reality, a bit of comedy, and a ton of things that makes one think about life.

We have one this year that has all the above.

The Blind Side is a movie based mostly on a true story about a young man given a second chance in life through the intercession of a female coach, who is as headstrong and bullish about how life should be lived and how values should be inculcated. Through the game of football, this young man is given an opportunity to show his excellent talent for the game and through his coach, his adopted mom, so to speak, this young man learns how to live life. This film won for its lead actress, Sandra Bullock, her first academy award on her first nomination.

Maybe it is about time to see the film and for the first time, enjoy a great movie and learn from it also.