by: Uel Ceballos
The 2013 film Secret Life of
Walter Mitty brings an unforgettable experience that would make you embrace
even more the great splendour of life. The movie is a remarkable motion picture
that engaged the viewers to its inspiring concept of adventure and exploration.
It is effective in firing the mind and emotions to grasp the idea of getting
out of your comfort zone and discover what else out there are in store for you
in the world.
The story is focused on Walter
Mitty who works as negative asset manager at Life Magazine. His mundane existence is suddenly transformed
when for the very first time in his long career he happened to misplace (that what
his boss and other co-workers thought so) a very important film negative, the
negative 25. The negatives are sent to Walter by the photojournalist Sean O’Connell
including a wallet gift for Walter for his excellent works. Sean O’Connell says
that the special photograph, negative 25 should be the cover for the magazine’s
final print issue. Now the great problem is that Walter cannot find the
negative 25 among other negatives that Sean O’Connell sent. Sean O’Connell
cannot be reached and Walter’s corporate transition manager Ted (bearded guy
they call him) is pressuring him for that negative.
In this film you will be
privileged to go along with Walter Mitty in his journey of finding Sean O’Connell.
And where do you think Sean O’Connell is? Using the other negatives as his
leads to Sean’s whereabouts Walter gets ready his backpack and his travelling
journal. You wouldn’t believe that in the midst of Walter’s monotonous life, he
would suddenly gets out of his dungeon to travel the Greenland, survive the
eruption of volcano Eyjafjallajökull, and conquer the Himalayas Mountain.
The cinematography of the film is
brilliant and stunning. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is delivered with its
overpowering grand designs that serve as splendid backdrop to the film’s significant
message. Its vibrant spectacles will make you thirsty for your own life’s
adventure. The concept of the story is quite touching and it would make you
proud of whatever you do in life as long as you do it with the sincerest
dedication and passion as Walter Mitty does with his profession.
Ben Stiller who directed and at
the same starred in the film has brought to life a Walter Mitty that is both
funny and admirable. This film is really a potential motivation to those who are
longing to break their dreary existence, and go out in the world to meet
greater challenges and discover much more beautiful things just like what
Walter Mitty did. Even Walter Mitty himself is greatly overwhelmed by all
things that he has found out in his extraordinary journey. He left New York for
that unplanned travel and came back as a different person.
Sean Penn who did the role of Sean
O’Connell has short but very noteworthy appearance in the movie. He has
effectively imbibed the character of a photojournalist who imposes an unbearable
influence not only to the characters in the film but to the viewers as well.
Just because of that missing single
piece of negative film, Walter Mitty is forced to travel. Sean O’Connell says
that the special negative film has captured the quintessence of life, that it
should take the cover space of Life Magazine. Walter Mitty got no single idea
what’s in the negative but all he wants to know is where it is placed by Sean.
You know what, that negative 25
is worth the description that Sean gives. When I finally see it, I was moved by
its perfectness, no, not really the technical perfectness of the shot but the
enigmatic attitude of the picture. The negative 25 shot was taken capturing the
abstract concepts of zeal and passion over something that makes a person more
alive than ever. If you want to know what the negative 25 is all about, see the movie and you wouldn't regret it that you did!
For this movie that has inspired me even more to go out, explore and travel the world, I’ll give it a rate of 10 Espresso Shots.
