Forrest Gump

The film

The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and tells the story of a man's epic journey through life, passing historical figures and incidents largely unaware of their significance: in the film, Forrest calls the police about the Watergate break-in, invents the smiley without realizing it, and makes millions on Apple Computer stock thinking he has invested in produce.

The film was a huge commercial success, and was praised by many critics as a modern fable. The film won several Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Directing and the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film's special effects included the at the time stunning, near-seamless blending of Gump with footage of various historical figures.

Plot summary

Young Forrest Gump was born with crippled legs and was forced to walk with the aid of braces, his odd walk being imitated famously by a young guitarist named Elvis Presley. Overcoming this handicap, he got into superb physical shape. His running ability brought him success in college football, and he carried his wounded platoon to safety during a battle in the Vietnam war.

After coming home from the war, he began a shrimp business drawing on advice from his African American army buddy Bubba. His former commander, Lieutenant Dan, joined him in the venture, and they took their boat out during a hurricane. They returned to port to find that all other fishing boats in the area have been destroyed by the storm, giving them an instant monopoly in shrimp and making Forrest a wealthy man. Forrest procedes to shock Bubba's mother by giving her what he felt was Bubba's share of the profits; and he also bought and tore down the house where his childhood sweetheart had been abused.

The character Forrest Gump bears striking resemblances to the lead character of a 1985 Telugu movie Swathi Muthyam (literally - Rare pearl).

Criticism of the film

Though popular among many, Forrest Gumps warm reception was not universal. Particularly outside the United States, the film was viewed as extended and underserved praise of ignorant naïvete, a character trait widely associated with Americans in some quarters. Some political liberals also criticised the portrayal of Gump's friend Jenny, whose experiments with alternative lifestyles through the upheavals of the 1960s end in self-destruction. In their view, this aspect of the film was an attack on the positive changes that occurred at that time and the alternative of Gump himself as empty nostalgia for a golden age that never really existed.

Divergence

Much of the beginning of the film is the same in the book, but later in the book Forrest becomes an astronaut and the two stories diverge greatly. For instance, in the novel Gump (after becoming an astronaut) crash-lands on a small jungle island with his crew. Gump himself is as dimwitted in the book but abrasive and judgmental rather than naive and accepting as in the film.

External link

• IMDb entry on Forrest Gump

Credits

• Direction: Robert Zemeckis
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field
• Writer: Winston Groom, Eric Roth
• Composer: Alan Silvestri.
• Editor: Arthur Schmidt.
• Producer: : Wendy Finerman, Charles Newirth, Steve Starkey, Steve Tisch for Paramount Pictures (USA).

Referenced By