Dare to dream,Live the dream

500 Days of Summer

Thursday, August 08, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master…” ―Elizabeth Gilbert

This above quote is what I thought of immediately after I watched 500 Days of Summer.

The narrator was right, this is NOT a love story, but this is a story about love.

As similar as it sounds, there really is a stark difference between the two.

Summer and Tom, I really think they're soulmates.
But they're not meant to be together.
Summer broke down his defenses, reignited his passion for architecture; while Tom broke down her emotional barriers, and made her rethink love.

There are a few things that I really love about this film.
The music is really fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing. I love the oldies and the mood it brought to the whole film. Secondly, I love the whole film presentation, how it shows you snippets of their 500 days together, the whole compare and contrast thing is a pretty refreshing take that I enjoyed greatly.

Thirdly, I love the movie quotes that spoke volumes about life and love. They are so real, so close to the reality we know, and so amazingly true. Here are a few of my favourite quotes from the film.

Photo Credit: HERE

This really tugged at my heartstrings, because I guess it wasn't just applicable in love but in every aspect of a relationship you had.

Photo Credit: HERE

This one really struck a chord with me, because I guess it's something that I've always grappled to understand. A good friend tried a few times to explain this concept to me, but it was always kinda distant, like I couldn't really understand what he meant. But after watching this film, everything just clicked into place.

I guess I can understand how Summer felt because with love, it's not just about the right person, it's also about the right timing. The timing has to be right before you can have a Summer Epiphany like the one shown in the photo above.

“Look, I know you think she was the one, but I don’t. Now, I think you’re just remembering the good stuff. Next time you look back, I really think you should look again.”

— Rachel Hansen: 500 Days of Summer

And lastly, this quote made by this cute little girl in the film. As with all relationships that ended, we all go into a flashback of all the memories and strangely all that we remember are the good stuff.

There's always been alot of arguments about how people hated Summer for ditching Tom for "no reason at all". But I really love Summer, her courage to be able to end a relationship that is not serving her or growing her at all.

“Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company.” ―Milan Kundera

It's like this quote by this great author Milan Kundera, when you love, you can't expect to be loved.

People think that as long as your love is sincere and true, the other party has to reciprocate. And if they doesn't, they're deemed the bad guy.

Everyone thinks Summer is the bad guy in this film, the weak one escaping commitment.

But ya know what I think?

I think Summer is the brave one, the one with her eyes wide open, the one who knows what she wants.

It's not that she doesn't want to commit, it's because Tom is not the right person for her to commit to.

And it takes real courage to be able to face up to that kind of realization, and to be able to make that kind of decision, especially when she's in love with Tom.

Verdict: 4.5/5