Movie Philosophy

Are screenwriters our modern-day philosophers?  It seems that we can quote bits of movies that resonate with us, far better than we quote Voltaire or Thoreau. (We may quote them but we don't always KNOW we are quoting them)   Last night I watched the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  One if the things that the manager of the hotel is always saying is "Everything will be alright in the end.  If it's not alright, then it's not the end."  Sweet, but is it really true?  Maybe.  I usually quote something from another movie, a terrible movie with horrible acting- "Roadie", with Meatloaf.  Yes.  MEATLOAF.  The thing I took away from that movie, in addition to the thought that I had just given away 90 or so minutes of my life, was the repeated philosophy that "Everything will work out if you let it."  It's an interesting concept, isn't it?  That you trust the Universe, or God or whatever you believe in enough to let go of control and let something else guide you.  When you are going through some terrible times, you think  "wow this is the worst thing that could happen"  but eventually, you do get to the end of it.  I think of it as crossing a suspension bridge across a large ravine.  The bridge is missing a lot of planks and you have to jump and hang on to the rope in order to get across it, but when you do; and when you are on the other side, the relief just fills you up.  The trick is to keep going.

I enjoy movie philosophy.  It's sneaky sometimes.  You don't realize you are getting a dose of it until later.  Unlike trying to wade through some of the complicated language of long dead writers; who use words that have fallen out of use and whose themes may be a bit complex for "light" reading, movie philosophy washes over you and can open up dialogs with others who have seen the same film.  I enjoyed "the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".  Any movie that has Maggie Smith and  Judi Dench is well worth the time.  Sweet, yet satisfying; it could have become mawkish in the hands of less skilled actors.