Some thoughts on "Imitation of Life"

"Imitation of Life" is a movie from 1959. When Marsha lent me the DVD, I was hesitant to watch it coz it's OLD! It started pretty slow but the movie picked up later on. Though I didn't like the ending that much coz it was kinda bitin ... but it made me cry.

Gist: Annie (a black lady) met Lora (an aspiring white actress) on the beach. Since Annie and her daughter Sarah Jane (who has white skin and tries to hide/deny the fact that she has black roots) had nowhere to stay at, Lora offered her home for the night. Since then, Annie and Sarah Jane stayed with Lora and her daughter Susie. When Laura's career picked up, she started giving Susie the best things in life but since she was always busy, she was never there to be a real mother. Susie of course always went to Annie when she needed anything. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane went off somewhere to be "white" so she asked her mother to stay away from her. Little did she know, her mom is dying. After Susie and Lora settled their issue on Lora not being available, the tragedy happened. Annie was on her deathbed and she was leaving all sorts of reminders to Lora and Steve (Lora's boyfriend who she broke up with 10-15 yrs ago but when then they met again ... they settled their issues/differences and got engaged). On the march going to the cemetery, Sarah Jane came running to her mother's coffin. She was crying out "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!! I killed my mother!! I should've stayed!!" The end.

So anyway ... some thoughts / obvious lessons from the movie ...

• Never take anyone for granted. Don't let death make you realize a person's worth.
• Accept who you are and be proud of it. In the case that you are not happy with who you are, do something to change your future but never deny what you were in the past. Ika nga nila "Ang di marunong lumingon sa pinangagalingan ay di makakarating sa paroroonan"
• It is right that to have goals/dreams, but that shouldn't be the one dictating how we run our lives. Our goals/dreams should just be a guiding force that will give us direction, it shouldn't define who we are. Someone once told me that we should "Work to Live, not Live to Work."
• If love is true/sincere/real, even if it is put on hold for years ... it will still happen. If it's meant to happen, it will happen. Ika nga nila "Kung kayo talaga, magiging kayo ... di man ngayon, pero balang araw."
• Lying/Hiding things will never have a positive outcome. Sure ... it may be good for now, but since "Walang sikretong hindi nabubunyag", the truth will haunt eventually.
• Family is the most important thing ... make it your priority. Coz if you don't you'll regret it.