I haven’t read the book. I haven’t seen the movie trailer. I had no expectations whatsoever prior to watching the movie. I’ve only seen the movie posters a few months back and I’ve also seen a few raves and some rants from friends on Facebook and Twitter about this new pop culture phenomenon.
I was very much curious about this piece of literature (more on the film over the novel). And so I walked into the cinema house, alone, last Sunday to watch The Fault in Our Stars (TFiOS). Knowing that I’m a very emotional person, I was very much prepared to cry while watching the movie. I covered my eyes with my hands the whole time, just in case the scenes turn out to be overly dramatic.
It turned out that I was actually smiling almost all throughout the film. I was also eagerly listening to every dialogue exchanged as they had very relatable messages in them. The core of the film I believe were the two main characters: Hazel Grace Lancaster (played by Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (played by Ansel Elgort) The story was well narrated and the two leads portrayed their characters so well, in the end I just felt unexplainable deep sadness and hurt empathizing with them. I felt vulnerable. It made me reflect on the relationships I have with the people around me. That’s how powerful TFiOS’ storytelling was.
Now, I’m looking forward to watching the movie again this weekend. For me, it’s probably one of the Best Romantic Movies of all time (well, of course after The Notebook and About Time).
Here are probably five of the best moments in the film which made me completely fell in love with TFiOS. (Beware: there are a couple of spoilers below…)
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1) That moment when Augustus first met Hazel in a cancer patients’ support group… he laid his eyes on her, and BOOM! That was just the start of everything.
2) It’s a film full of love quotes that you will remember forever:
“The thing about pain. It demands to be felt.”
“Maybe our OKAY will be our ALWAYS.”
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
“The world is not a wish granting factory.”
“Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”
“It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”
“You realize that trying to keep your distance from me will not lessen my affection for you. All efforts to save me from you will fail.”
3) That moment when they went to Amsterdam. You will just fall in love with the concept of ‘traveling’ and of course, ‘traveling with a special someone.’
4) The eulogy, oh the eulogy scene… I just couldn’t stop myself from crying! When Hazel read that very painful eulogy speech in front of her dying boyfriend (who does that? not in front of someone who is still alive, I suppose!), the moment was just surreal. You can feel not only the pain, but also the utmost genuine love they have for each other.
5) For someone who hasn’t read the novel yet, you would expect Hazel’s character to die. The story began that way (i.e. that she’s supposed to be the weaker character vis-a-vis Augustus) and the plot was supposed to logically build up that way too! But then came the twist… Augustus, who seemed to be the jolly, stronger and more optimistic character, and who was supposed to be already cancer-free, ended up in the death bed instead after succumbing to his recurring cancer. Too poignant to fathom, isn’t it? Too much of a twist for a story that you would have hoped to have a happy ending instead. But that’s all right… all things don’t have to be perfect all the time for LOVE to be EXTRAORDINARY. Sometimes, we just have to let them BE.
Photos: Google Images & Youtube
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