Running on Empty (1988)

Personal Movie Rating: 68%

Here is my thought on the movie "Running on Empty" (1998):

*WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*

Love Requires Sacrifice

The movie "Running on Empty" is about the story of a hippie couple on the run from FBI, and how their elder son starts to break out of this fugitive lifestyle. Annie (Christine Lahti) and Arthur Pope (Judd Hirsch) were responsible for the anti-war protest bombing of a chemical laboratory when they were young. A janitor who wasn't supposed to be there was accidentally blinded and paralyzed. The Popes and their two-years-old son, Danny (River Phoenix), were on the run ever since. The families had been relocating and assuming new identities for the past 15 years. Danny, who was already 18 years old, caught the attention of his music teacher, Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley), due to his overwhelming talent as a pianist. Mr. Phillips pushed Danny to audition for the Juilliard School, which was one of the world's leading music schools. However, Mr. Phillips started to dig into Danny's personal life, as Danny wasn't able to provide records from his previous schools. Mr. Phillips then talked to Annie, hoping that she could provide some explanations on Danny's missing school records. Mr. Phillips also told Annie about Danny's audition for Juilliard.

Annie was surprised to find out that Danny auditioned for Juilliard, as the family were constantly on the run, and it would be wiser for them to keep a low profile. She was in a dilemma between two choices: (1) Let Danny go and find his "own" way; or (2) relocate and assume new identities elsewhere. After some consideration, Annie decided to opt for the first choice, which was to let Danny pursue his own dreams. She risked her safety to contact her estranged father in order to arrange a home and life for Danny if Annie and Arthur should decide to leave him behind. She even considered to turn herself in, so that Danny wouldn't have to continue living a dangerous life on the run for which he bore no responsibility. Annie loved her son so much that she would rather sacrifice her own freedom in order for her son to purse his own dreams. The same can be said for Arthur. When he first heard of Danny's audition and Annie's meeting with her father, he was enraged and decided to bring his family and relocate elsewhere. However, in the end, Arthur realized that it was better for Danny to stay and pursue his own dreams as he wasn't responsible for what Annie and Arthur did in the past. This showed that both Annie and Arthur loved Danny so much that they were willing to sacrificed for their son's future.

Sacrificing one's own happiness for the happiness of a loved one, is by far, the truest type of love. Annie and Arthur did what they need to do because they truly loved Danny. They wanted their son to live a better life, even if it required them to make some sacrifice. Love requires sacrifice, but it's definitely worth it.

Awakenings (1990)

Personal Movie Rating: 82%

Here is my thought on the movie "Awakenings" (1990):

*WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*

Sometimes Breaking the Rules is Necessary

In the movie "Awakenings", Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) was a physician mainly in charge of taking care of catatonic patients at a local hospital in New York. He discovered that the patients, to certain extent, were capable of reacting to the surroundings after being exposed to certain stimuli. After attending a conference on L-Dopa's success with Parkinson's patients, Dr. Sayer believed that the drug might be useful in "waking up" the catatonic patients under his care. After gaining permission from the head physician and a patient's mother (Ruth Nelson), Dr. Sayer started to test the drug on one of his catatonic patients, Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro). After numerous unsuccessful trials, Dr. Sayer decided to secretly triple the dosage of the drug administered to Leonard, without the permission of the prescriber in the hospital.

Of course, what Dr. Sayer did was totally wrong. His actions were against the principles and regulations of the hospital.  He didn't know what will actually happen to Leonard after increasing the dosage of the administered drug. It was a risky move with the potential to cause unacceptable harm to the patient. But guess what? The drug worked and it 'awoke' Leonard. So, Dr. Sayer administered the drug to the other catatonic patients and it "awoke" all of them. In my opinion, the end result is all that matters. Yes, the effects of the drug eventually wore off and in the end all the catatonic patients went back into their catatonic states. But at least they had the second chance to live their lives. For instance, Leonard got to see his mother again and meet a girl, Paula (Penelope Ann Miller). In addition, after seeing what the catatonic patients went through, Dr. Sayer understood that people should learn to appreciate and cherish every moment and every person in their lives, because they will never know when it will be the last time they see someone. Also, the "awakening" of the patients served as a motivation for Dr. Sayer and the other doctors to keep trying and never give up, as they knew that it was possible for them to "wake up" the patients after all.

If you follow all the rules, you will end up with ordinary result. If Dr. Sayer didn't secretly triple the dosage of the drug, Leonard and the other patients wouldn't have "woken up" (and, there wouldn't be a movie about this story as well). But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that people should break every rule. I'm just saying that breaking the rules is sometimes necessary. Well, at least that was necessary in the movie.