Life’s Like This — It seems there is one day anyone of us could point to as the worst day of our lives. In the must-see movie, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, in what I deem an Oscar winning performance by Thomas Horn, such a story is told. Thomas, who plays Oskar, is convinced that his father, who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can’t be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the observable world around him.
This movie is an incredible journey for the viewer as well; it is a journey of swelling emotions that is difficult to be suppressed especially if you lost someone on 9/11. It is difficult in life to make sense of tragedy when it strikes close to home. But when it happens to other people, we can find ourselves detached and unable to have the empathy and compassion for those that are lost on days like 9/11. We all have days that while they may not be as profound as the scope of loss as 9/11, they can touch a chord of personal loss that can be felt all of our lives. Quite often, it is those that are left behind grieving that we often forget to reach out to in a spirit of love and compassion. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a film that serves as a bridge to our inner consciousness and soul — a film that touched my heart, not only by the riveting performances, but from the seed of understanding it planted to help me comprehend not only the loss other people experience but my own personal losses as well.
Life's Like This 