Boyhood

Down with the flu and medicine makes me groggier and drowsier than ever... So today, I stayed at home instead of going for the usual Friday training. I was already having a headache from sleeping too much, but at the same time, I felt too lethargic to do actual work. After lazing around for the longest while, I decided on watching Boyhood.

For those who don't know, Boyhood is a movie shot over 12 years, documenting, as its name suggests -- the growing up of a boy. It's amazing because it the whole 12 years of it was shot with the same cast, and the script was never complete; it was always being discussed and improvised with the cast themselves, moulded around their own experiences. 

It's not a great movie per se, tbh. It doesn't bring you great joy nor sorrow, it doesn't make you excited, it doesn't entertain, it doesn't have stunning graphics.

What it does, though, is paint a startlingly reflective picture of life. Of my life, at least. It starts with the perplexity about adults from a kid's perspective; then, the slow (albeit still cruel) easing -- into a realization of the fragility of life, of relationships, of people and what they ever thought they were and wanted to be; and lastly, it ends with telling us how life is never really in your control.

It reinforces the whole "how do you know what you want is what you really want?" conundrum. And the eventual answer the film provides is: you'll ever only know what it is for this moment. The ending is sweet, quote-worthy, but well, it isn't an ending to me, because it doesn't close the story there. It's not a conclusion. Instead, it sort of is a progression, for the protagonist, and for me, the audience.

After watching it, I'm convinced it's not exactly a movie. Movie buffs are gonna be bored out of their minds. Instead, it's a creative and original medium that provokes your thoughts and makes you review your life -- if that's what you're looking for. I know I enjoyed it.