Moments in film, as in time.

[I've not been writing as of late, for various reasons ... I think I'll remain relatively inactive in terms of this blog for most of the summer, but I'm trying to be more relaxed about reviewing films or whatever, so who knows, maybe you'll get some random updates every now and then.]


There is this brilliant little throwaway joke in 3 Idiots, a movie that I feel deserves all my worship of it (and of the fact I've rewatched it like 5 times since I first saw the film), which happens in the toilets of the university, where the guys are washing their teeth, and Raju is stressing out about exams and the antagonism Rancho has built with Virus.

Farhan steps in to assure him, relax, it's going to be fine - "Nothing is impossible."

Raju stops his storming out from the bathroom to turn back at Farhan, and asks, "Nothing is impossible?"

He then empties half of Farhan's tube of toothpaste onto Farhan's palm and says something to the effect of, "Try putting all of that back in there and then tell me nothing is impossible."

I love this joke, because not only is it funny, it demonstrates something we all know about life. Nothing is impossible is true when it comes to most things (other than the truly impossible things, like reductio ad absurdum type of logical fallacies) but of course, putting the tooth paste back into the tube would be an ultimately useless, tedious process that nobody in their right minds would consider taking up, unless they really, really, really needed that specific tooth paste. And even then, unless you're in severe financial circumstances, it'd probably just be better to buy a new tube.

Nothing is impossible, yes, maybe, but some things are so difficult, time-consuming and fruitless efforts, you can question whether they'd be worth it in the end. Nothing is impossible, but some things are so improbable, it's easier to rely on the improbability than it is to put your trust in something happening.

I think as we go through life, we want to believe in 'nothing is impossible' but are faced with certain challenges that make us lose faith, or come across a certain realism that it would just be foolish to keep believing. I'm not saying we should believe, I've never been the type to keep insisting there's no ceiling to achievement or circumstancial / structural things that might prevent certain things from happening. But I guess what I'm saying is, I think when you assess certain situations, and have a determination to make things possible, you know, they just could be.

And that's why I've been thinking about this scene as of late, and of the film as of late. There are going to be some steps I'll take in the future to mold my life in a way that I think Rancho would have liked me to; in a way that hopefully benefits and satisfies me and my future goals. But it's scary, and it's especially scary to think about the end results - what if I don't know myself enough to make the right choices? What if I've still go blinders on and cannot see what I'm really meant to be doing with my life? And is there ever going to be anybody to show me?

Life's not like a movie, things happen randomly and for no good reason, and affect each other in unexpected ways. Good timing comes and goes and who's to say that good decisions taken now will be good decisions in 3 years' time?

It's these sorts of difficulties that the film does not address, nor should it, being an uplifting comedy. It re-affirms life, and the kind of trust you can only place in yourself, but of course, life is so much more complicated and requires different solutions than just the "go-get" attitude movie characters exhibit.

So that's what I've been thinking as of late; a bit of filmi-inspired philosophy for you..