Jan 9, 2014

The Secret Life of Walter Witty: Find the Meaning of Life from Stiller's Finest Work


(I rarely write about movie review, but when i do, it means that the movie has a great impact on my life. And this is my first movie review on the year of 2014.)

If someone asks me the best movie of 2013, i will answer confidently The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Why this movie is so special for me? Simply, it's because i can relate my own self with the main character, Walter Mitty - a daydreamer, an adventure seeker, a timid lover and a family-loving person.

I still remember the day when i saw the trailer broadcasted for the first time on youtube last year. I got hooked instantly right after watching the trailer - firstly, it was because the music came from an Iceland-based indie folk/rock band, Of Monsters and Men. It's surprising to know that those hyped musicians filled the trailer track for this Hollywood movie. Few months after, the longer trailer was broadcasted, which depicted more about the story of the film - and it made me really want to watch the movie more and more.

The movie itself tells about Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) who works as negative processor and archivist in LIFE magazine. His life as dedicated worker brings him into a 'good' life story, - or it can be said as boring safe routine. He never tastes the exciting experience of adventure (and love adventure cos he's too timid to express his feeling to the girl he likes) on his entire life, thus all he can do is just daydreaming. The problem arises when the company ends its printed edition and has to go online. Meanwhile, Mitty cannot found the negative for the last cover of that magazine. Ready or not, he has been forced to find the missing negative, which will consequently leads him into challenging adventure that he could only imagine before and find the meaning of life.

Besides having connection to Walter Mitty, the movie itself offers lots of excellency to show, including beautiful cinematography, eyegasmic and landscapic setting, simple yet meaningful story, inspiring quotation, funny joke and most importantly heart-warming ending. This is a kind of movie that successfully warms my heart right after the ending has been revealed - It feels like my heart sheds some joyful tears in the end. Moreover, the credit title music (performed by Sweden-born José González) brings touching feeling as well - a great ender to make the movie memorable and brilliant.

However, there is a thing that makes me wonder; the fact that i just can't find any discussion or small talk about this movie on my twitter timeline or facebook post - it's kinda weird to know that this inspiring movie gets fewer attention rather than any of those overrated movies (like Pacific Rim or even Iron Man 3). I just don't know why people nowadays tend to watch movie with outstanding special effect and overly exposed promotion but has no solid storyline. Well, the world has changed already - what people see from the eyes sometimes can be more preferred rather than what they see with the heart.

Overall, I can clearly say that this is the best work of Ben Stiller so far. It's more than just entertaining, it gives the audience beautiful moral message to note also. I will give The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 4.5 stars out of 5. Trust me, if you love great story movie to spend your precious 114 minutes, then The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is just worth to watch. And as reminder, if you have watched the movie already, it's better for you to check the soundtrack also. Beautiful songs can be found on the album (including my favorites, Of Monsters and Men, José González, Rouge Wave and Rouge Valley).








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6 comments:

  1. "he's too timid to express his feeling to the girl he likes" berarti kamu kaya gitu ya pon hehehe XD

    anyway, i planned to watch this movie. But, i was hesitated because rotten tomatoes scored it with 49% according to movie critics. But, the audience liked it, securing 79% score.

    Having read this review, I will probably watch this movie after my payday :D Hopefully, it is still on screen here.

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  2. hahah. a kind of.. ya ntar model2 Mitty gitu lah pokoknya.
    well, Rotten Tomatoes sometimes doesn't give a high rank for almost all comedy movies. that's what i know. haha
    hmmm, i have a feeling that this movie won't last long on cinema. if you miss it, better torrenting it. because, it's a must-watch movie.
    anyway, i also still wait for the original release of Gravity. still curious bout it after reading your review.

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  3. The first time I watched this movie .. I fell asleep hahaha ... the first thirty minutes are kind of boring.

    Then, my friend told me that the movie showcases Iceland's amazing views...

    I rewatched the movie (I skipped the first thirty minutes for sure lol) ... And it turned out, the movie is pretty cool. It beautifully showcases Iceland's sceneries.

    "beautiful things don't ask for attention" is my fav quote

    I like how Walter's characters develop .. from the one who likes daydreaming to be the one who embraces an adventurous life. I fell asleep because of the many easily predicted daydreaming scenes in the first 30 mins of the movie XD Thank God such scenes stop in the next half of the movie.

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  4. ahahah, i see. slow-paced storyline is not your thingy. yeah, Mitty always does 'zoning out' at the beginning, but that's the point of the story right? about daydreamer. maybe, if you are a daydreamer and having a crush with someone, then you will exactly enjoy the daydreaming scene. of course, it's because you can relate yourself with the one on the screen.

    agree, this movie showcases cinematically Iceland's amazing view. perhaps, if you've ever watched this live film before, your impression of this movie will be so much different http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeQN249Jqw

    yeaahhh, that quote is great. i like that one also. beside this one of course "To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.". oh and when Sean Penn doesn't take the picture. he says "If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.". it seems like a subtle critic to our society nowadays. haha

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  5. Yeah! i also love the scene you mentioned XD

    I noticed that this movie is a remake of a 1970s Walter Mitty movie which is also inspired by a short story with the same title. Have you watched the first Walter Mitty movie?

    Not that I dislike slow-paced movies. I also enjoy slow paced drama movie. For example, Blue Jasmine.

    I actually enjoy the first or two daydreaming scenes in Walter Mitty. But, the daydreaming scenes become pretty much predictable afterwards. I thought that such scenes would reoccur. That is why I fell asleep XD

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  6. yup, it's a remake. but haven't watched that one. i think the old one is kinda boring, due to the lack of special effect and cinematic scene of course.

    Blue Jasmine?? well, haven't heard bout that one before. but i've checked on imdb already. surprisingly, it was released last year. how can i miss that???

    oh i see. repetition is kinda boring sometimes. but i think the repetition of daydreaming scene has different effect for a daydreamer, me for an example. haha

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