Life as a Movie

I love "redemption" movies. One of my favorites was 2001's "Life as a House." A more recent favorite is "The Painted Veil." These are not religious movies. They're both "R" rated.

In "Life as a House", George, played by Kevin Kline, has totally lost sight of his dreams. He should have had a big Loser sign on his forehead. He's estranged from his ex-wife and son, lives in a shack and works at a job he hates. Then he gets fired and learns he has terminal cancer.

But.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.

So he decides to tear down the shack and, with the reluctant help of his son, build a house. Yes, the house is a metaphor for his life.

I promise that if you rent this movie you will love it and it will give you some insight into your own life - and even make you feel grateful in this crazy time in which we're living. Ditto for "The Painted Veil."

Yesterday I was in a lunch/discussion group. I mentioned the "House" movie. A couple of other people had seen it and felt the same way I did.

Then a person whom I admire very much told this remarkable story:

In 2000, her daughter, who lives in Santa Monica, California, was helping to get a library started at her children's school. They had no building and no books. She learned that the house that had been built for a movie there had recently been disassembled and stored. She asked that it be donated for the library and reassembled at the school.

It was the house from "Life as a House."

Later that year the movie premiered in a little theater in Santa Monica. The proceeds were donated to the library.

So that particular house isn't just a metaphor. It will live on forever in the hearts and minds of the children who read the books they discover inside.

Remarkable!


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