Life as a House
"Sometimes change takes years. You work at it and it comes slowly until finally it becomes complete and there you have it, you are changed.
But sometimes it can come in an instant. In a split second. Something happens all of a sudden and you're a different person."
These lines came from the movie -Life as a House- uttered by the excellent Kevin Kline. I've watched the film a dozen times, and it just gets to me everytime. It's just a sweet story about a father and the relationship he has with his son, and the father's life- and what has become of it- all that lah.
Kevin Kline's character (George) is an architect, and he's been working for a firm for twenty-odd years. One day, the firm decided to fire him. On the same day, George collapses outside the office and later learns that he's dying. All in one day, he learns all this.
George was an architect, but what he really wanted to do in life was to build a house of his own.
So he decides to spend the summer with his son, who has been distant eversince George's divorce from the mother.
The son's role is really something- played by Hayden Christensen- he's this gothic kid who wears eye shadow and has green hair, and he's extremely hateful of his father for leaving him. The son is really rebelious and unhappy.
So there they were father and son trying to mend their relationship and trying to build a house together. Let's just say it's not that easy lah- I mean, if you got divorced and your father practically kinda ignores you. And you feel so frustrated at the world- and then all of the sudden your father tellsyou: Hey son, let's stay together for the summer and build a house together! Let's bond!--how would you feel?
But of course George doesn't tell his son that he's dying at first.
But he did finally tell him, the son got even more angrier. The son said: "YOU TOOK ME IN FOR THE SUMMER TO MAKE ME LIKE YOU? FUCK YOU!"
George replies: "NO. DIDN'T TAKE YOU IN TO MAKE YOU LIKE ME. I TOOK YOU IN TO MAKE YOU LOVE ME."
...........Here'sa a man, who's dying of cancer, and his plea is sad but so essential, so truthful. I mean you can't deny the man has a right to be loved no matter what he did to his son.
But the thing is the son loves his dad so much. He used to hug the father all the time when he was a kid.
That's the thing about love- when you love too much, it's also easier to hate too much. And vice-versa actually. Multiply hate a hundred times and chances are you starts liking the thing you hate- and then voila...you like it!
Then there's the theme from the movie about the
path you choose in life:
George is an architect, for 20 years he works at the same company. And then all of a sudden he's fired. Hey, he's done quite a bit for the company. Built some of the best projects of the company. So why wasn't he happy?
OK, OK, who says in life you gotta be happy all the time.
But still he wasn't happy- partly I think it's because he had all those problems with the divorce and loneliness and the separation from his son.
The boss said this when George was throwing a fit after getting fired: "You're not even a fucking architect and you're a miserable person."
Now why would George's boss say that? George has been an architect in the company for
20 years. He's a freakin' architect. Or maybe he wasn't.
Maybe he just wanted to build a house of his own. He could have done it, I mean he's a freakin architect. Maybe he could have convinced his boss to build something he liked. I guess buidling you own house doesn't really benefit the company does it?
Why didn't he ever do it? Did he ever liked his job?
"Sometimes change takes years. You work at it and it comes slowly until finally it becomes complete and there you have it, you are changed.
But sometimes it can come in an instant. In a split second. Something happens all of a sudden and you're a different person."
These lines came from the movie -Life as a House- uttered by the excellent Kevin Kline. I've watched the film a dozen times, and it just gets to me everytime. It's just a sweet story about a father and the relationship he has with his son, and the father's life- and what has become of it- all that lah.
Kevin Kline's character (George) is an architect, and he's been working for a firm for twenty-odd years. One day, the firm decided to fire him. On the same day, George collapses outside the office and later learns that he's dying. All in one day, he learns all this.
George was an architect, but what he really wanted to do in life was to build a house of his own.
So he decides to spend the summer with his son, who has been distant eversince George's divorce from the mother.
The son's role is really something- played by Hayden Christensen- he's this gothic kid who wears eye shadow and has green hair, and he's extremely hateful of his father for leaving him. The son is really rebelious and unhappy.
So there they were father and son trying to mend their relationship and trying to build a house together. Let's just say it's not that easy lah- I mean, if you got divorced and your father practically kinda ignores you. And you feel so frustrated at the world- and then all of the sudden your father tellsyou: Hey son, let's stay together for the summer and build a house together! Let's bond!--how would you feel?
But of course George doesn't tell his son that he's dying at first.
But he did finally tell him, the son got even more angrier. The son said: "YOU TOOK ME IN FOR THE SUMMER TO MAKE ME LIKE YOU? FUCK YOU!"
George replies: "NO. DIDN'T TAKE YOU IN TO MAKE YOU LIKE ME. I TOOK YOU IN TO MAKE YOU LOVE ME."
...........Here'sa a man, who's dying of cancer, and his plea is sad but so essential, so truthful. I mean you can't deny the man has a right to be loved no matter what he did to his son.
But the thing is the son loves his dad so much. He used to hug the father all the time when he was a kid.
That's the thing about love- when you love too much, it's also easier to hate too much. And vice-versa actually. Multiply hate a hundred times and chances are you starts liking the thing you hate- and then voila...you like it!
Then there's the theme from the movie about the
path you choose in life:
George is an architect, for 20 years he works at the same company. And then all of a sudden he's fired. Hey, he's done quite a bit for the company. Built some of the best projects of the company. So why wasn't he happy?
OK, OK, who says in life you gotta be happy all the time.
But still he wasn't happy- partly I think it's because he had all those problems with the divorce and loneliness and the separation from his son.
The boss said this when George was throwing a fit after getting fired: "You're not even a fucking architect and you're a miserable person."
Now why would George's boss say that? George has been an architect in the company for
20 years. He's a freakin' architect. Or maybe he wasn't.
Maybe he just wanted to build a house of his own. He could have done it, I mean he's a freakin architect. Maybe he could have convinced his boss to build something he liked. I guess buidling you own house doesn't really benefit the company does it?
Why didn't he ever do it? Did he ever liked his job?
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