Limitation, weakness, disablement, intolerancy, failure. Nothing prevents you from being YOU. Hundreds of thousands of people have proven this to be true in the history of mankind. Forrest Gump, is one of them. However fictional, Forrest is representative for all those thousands of people who lived sad or happily, had their ups and downs, and BECAME a legend of their own life.
Forrest Gump, comes from a countryside family in Greenbow, Alabama, in mid 40s. His father was absent during his life, a single child with a single mother who did everything she could to bring the best for her only son. "Your father is on vacation..." said Forrest's mom every time he asked for his dad's absence.
Forrest was different in some ways; different from all other kids. As a child, he had a minor disability on both of his legs, so he had to use some metal like auxiliary equipment packed around his legs. His IQ level was not high enough for the days standards, which caused him trouble signing up at school. As you can guess, he wasn't much of a popular boy in school either; except for Jenny. His one and only friend in those childhood years. Jenny was with Forrest almost all day long. They used to play and run and talk and... be with each other all the time. Jenny lived with his dad, a miserable alcoholic, which was not a fortunate thing. One day while returning home from school, a couple of bullies chased Forrest on the road. Forrest was with Jenny, but surely she couldn't do anything to stop them even if she'd tried; so running away from those kids was Forrest's only option. And so he did. Winning through his legs disablement was Forrest's first step forward of many others to come. He surmounted almost all his other problems one by one. Forrest ran, so fast and so craving that RUNNING became a vogue of his life. It even got him his first job, as a forward to his local Baseball team!
Years past by and Jenny & Forrest were now in college; not in a same college though, Jenny signed up in a Girl's College while Forrest went to one were the presence of Black students was recently allowed. (I also couldn't believe how Tabus were extravagant back then; and this is just a few decades ago.) Nevertheless, all was going fine until when the war started. Yes, The War. The war of Vietnam where in millions of men and women died and countless facilities left behind. Forrest was also sent to this war. He went to say farewell to Jenny and his mother. Jenny was living her life as a singer/guitar player. She couldn't stop herself from falling into tears when seeing his old pal, leaving the country, going to a war. "Be careful Forrest. Promise me that you're going to be careful. Run. If anything happened, just run. Run Forrest." Were her last words to him, before leaving for war. And what a better time than now, to remember what Forrest's mother always used to say to him: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get!"
Like it or not, Forrest is now in Vietnam. Aggregate jungles with trees taller than clouds and rocks sharper than a knife. Massive circles of shootings and fires where you have no choice but to RUN. A lot of things happened in there, specially for Gump; not unlike many others he came back home a different person, but not MUCH different. It was the same Forrest at heart. I'm not going to spoil you the enjoy of watching scenes of him being it Vietnam, but to cut it short, the Vietnam experience didn't leave Forrest empty handed. At first, he found a true friend while being in Vietnam. Soldier "Baba" from whom Forrest learnt a handful. Baba owned a small shrimping business gotten to him by family. They both had a lot in common and also a lot in opposite that they could teach to another and talk for hours. Not much before Baba dies in a combat, he asked Forrest to join as his partner in his shrimping business. A few days later, it was Forrest who carried Baba's body with his last breaths, but Baba did not make it. Forrest also saved their lieutenant, named Lt. Dan. He and Forrest later became good friends, but for what related to war, Lt. Dan was pretty angry with Forrest, because weren't for him, he'd still had legs. Lt. Dan survived but lost his legs from the waist down. Forrest himself got a bullet too, but nothing too damaging. After all these troubles and accidents, Forrest was ordered to stay in the Army but not in the battlefield; so he had almost all the day to himself, and one thing he started learning, was toplay Ping-Pong! Just as lots of other things, Forrest mastered the skill, so good that when got back home, he was sent to China for the Olympics! How weird is that?!
A kid with tough childhood, a lonesome boy, a soldier, a friend, and now, an Olympic medalist! But one issue was yet unresolved, Jenny.
Jenny. A midsummer night's dream that never left Forrest's mind. She was a hot snow, Forrest's all time sweetheart. Pile of letters they wrote to each other just in the days when Forrest was in Vietnam, but now he's back home, safe and sound.
They met the first chance, continued to be close friends. Forrest, a war hero, shared Baba's portion to his family and started his own brand of sailing & shrimping business, named "Babagump". He bought his first ship and named it "Jenny"! Although Forrest was spending his days & nights over seas, yet there was no night he could pass by without thinking of Jenny.
To this point, you've read a lot about Forrest; but it's interesting to know that actually, you haven't. So much more goes into the story of Forrest Gump. From his unstable relationship with Jenny, to his more adventures to come in personal life.
One day, when Forrest is walking down the street, he sits on a bench waiting for the bus, and meanwhile he starts to tell the whole story of his life. From the very beginning, and much more interesting from what you heard from me!
The movie Forrest Gump is fictionalised, although some parts have real basis. It attained to win 6 Oscar awards and nominee for 7. The brilliant "Tom Hanks" played the monumental role of Forrest Gump, and "Robin Wright" performed Jenny. The incomparable "Robert Zemeckis" directed the film, and the delightful music (also one of Oscar winning items) was composed by "Alan Silvestri". A movie, a character, and a music to remember...
Please share your thoughts and opinions on this movie, whether you've liked it or not. I'll be happy to read them.