About Schmidt

I watched this film just for Jack Nicholson. I know this film has got polarized reaction. So I didn't expect a very good work before watching it.

Now I have watched it. I don't know. It just seems like several other movies that I have watched recently. They just could not stir something deep in my heart. Maybe it is my problem. After watching each film recently, I think, "So"? I can not feel the conflict, the pain, or even the struggle in these films. Are the situations in these films really so hard to face? Are the problems in those situations so hard to solve?

Is "About Schmidt" just another story of American failure? As Mr Schmidt says in the film, "I am the weak, the failure,..." And that's why his life looks like that. There are several points that I can not fully realize. As is mentioned in the film, Mr Schmidt joined the insurance company at the beginning stage of that company. And? I always think that those who could help build an organization right in the beginning stage should enjoy some kind of passion related to the whole process. It is not easy to make an organization prosper. You must devote not only your intelligence, but also your emotion and energy. You must devote the passion. If it is so, how could Mr Schmidt's life become so boring with such sorrow? Did he really succeed in the organization? Did he really contribute profound influences to everything related to the organization? Watching his life after retirement just reminds me the life of some man of routine, man without passion, man without ambition for the prosper of an organization and all the people in that organization.

The essence of this film is about the African boy. I am glad to see that Mr Schmidt gains some pleasure from his relationship with that boy. But an question still occurs to me. Why Africa? Why African helpless boy? The world is huge. Africa is part of the world, so is the United States of America. There are still many aspects of life to which you could contribute to make the difference. If Mr Schmidt really want to do it, he could still live actively with his community, his friend Ray, or even his daughter. He could make lives around himself better. And he could live a meaningful life without regret. In the film, Mr Schmidt still fails to make the relationship with his daughter and community better. And I don't think it is positive enough.

Well, I don't know. I am afraid that now there are seldom movies that could move me, shock me, or spark me like before. Is it a good thing or not?