by Karen Wang
Rating: Prepare tissues because the feels are COMING! ♥
Have you ever pondered upon the what-ifs in your life? Have you ever imagined your life to be completely different the next morning you wake up? Have you ever thought about the endless possibilities that might happen in an instant that could change your life forever? Mia didn't see any of it coming. But on one snowy morning, it just did—which shattered the perfect life she once had.
Mia Hall, a 17-year-old cello prodigy has everything: a complete loving family, an adoring boyfriend, and a bright future ahead. She is an ordinary girl, whose every day revolves around studying and playing the cello. Adam, on the other hand, is her total opposite—a gorgeous guitarist of a rising rock band who every girl swoons for. The two, bound by music, unexpectedly fell for each other. Mia then faces the toughest decision of her life by choosing between pursuing her dream in Julliard or staying behind with Adam—or so she thought—until she and her family fell victims to a tragic car accident on a supposed family day out. In that instant, she is caught between life and death. The helpless Mia is left wandering the halls of the hospital alone—where nobody can sense her—seeking for answers and contemplating on the only choice left that would decide her fate.
Another successful tearjerker has been brought alive on the big screen this year, directed by RJ Cutler. Based on Gayle Forman's 2009 Young Adult novel, If I Stay is surely going to make hearts ache, and tears roll down our cheeks as we join Mia in recollecting fragments of her beautiful memories while deciding whether to stay or to go.
Some of those fragments contain the love story of Adam (Jamie Blackley) and Mia (Chloe Grace Moretz), perfectly depicting what it feels like falling in love for the first time. Theirs isn't some kind of cliché, nor a perfect fairy tale-like romance; but rather a love so pure, bold, and brave—even without the assurance of forever—that would make us swoon and experience falling in love all over again. Unlike the novel, the film could've been plain boring; but the story sprang to life with the exceptional acting accompanied by great music which evoked emotions hidden deep within us.
If I Stay is the kind of film that lets us realize how each and every moment of our lives should not be taken for granted, given our limited time here on earth. Also, we often get the wrong notion that material things are what we live for; but at the end of the day, what really matters is time spent with our loved ones—the laughter, tears, hugs, and kisses. So before we regret anything else, always make time for everyone we hold dear to our lives; savor those precious little moments spent with them, for all we know, it might be the last.
Live more, laugh more, and love more, for we only have one shot in life. Life isn't really as bad as it seems; we just have to find the good ones and let them be a reminder that, despite our numbered days, it’s definitely worth living for. As Kat Hall (Mireille Enos) once told her daughter Mia, “Life is one big, fat, gigantic, stinking mess and that’s the beauty of it too.”
Have you ever pondered upon the what-ifs in your life? Have you ever imagined your life to be completely different the next morning you wake up? Have you ever thought about the endless possibilities that might happen in an instant that could change your life forever? Mia didn't see any of it coming. But on one snowy morning, it just did—which shattered the perfect life she once had.
Mia Hall, a 17-year-old cello prodigy has everything: a complete loving family, an adoring boyfriend, and a bright future ahead. She is an ordinary girl, whose every day revolves around studying and playing the cello. Adam, on the other hand, is her total opposite—a gorgeous guitarist of a rising rock band who every girl swoons for. The two, bound by music, unexpectedly fell for each other. Mia then faces the toughest decision of her life by choosing between pursuing her dream in Julliard or staying behind with Adam—or so she thought—until she and her family fell victims to a tragic car accident on a supposed family day out. In that instant, she is caught between life and death. The helpless Mia is left wandering the halls of the hospital alone—where nobody can sense her—seeking for answers and contemplating on the only choice left that would decide her fate.
Another successful tearjerker has been brought alive on the big screen this year, directed by RJ Cutler. Based on Gayle Forman's 2009 Young Adult novel, If I Stay is surely going to make hearts ache, and tears roll down our cheeks as we join Mia in recollecting fragments of her beautiful memories while deciding whether to stay or to go.
Some of those fragments contain the love story of Adam (Jamie Blackley) and Mia (Chloe Grace Moretz), perfectly depicting what it feels like falling in love for the first time. Theirs isn't some kind of cliché, nor a perfect fairy tale-like romance; but rather a love so pure, bold, and brave—even without the assurance of forever—that would make us swoon and experience falling in love all over again. Unlike the novel, the film could've been plain boring; but the story sprang to life with the exceptional acting accompanied by great music which evoked emotions hidden deep within us.
If I Stay is the kind of film that lets us realize how each and every moment of our lives should not be taken for granted, given our limited time here on earth. Also, we often get the wrong notion that material things are what we live for; but at the end of the day, what really matters is time spent with our loved ones—the laughter, tears, hugs, and kisses. So before we regret anything else, always make time for everyone we hold dear to our lives; savor those precious little moments spent with them, for all we know, it might be the last.
Live more, laugh more, and love more, for we only have one shot in life. Life isn't really as bad as it seems; we just have to find the good ones and let them be a reminder that, despite our numbered days, it’s definitely worth living for. As Kat Hall (Mireille Enos) once told her daughter Mia, “Life is one big, fat, gigantic, stinking mess and that’s the beauty of it too.”