Critical Film Analysis Essay: A Walk to Remember
Print Essay 
A Walk to remember is a quite interesting movie to watch. It is based on faith and spirituality. Also, it is loaded with life lessons for young people to learn from and provoke positivity into their lives. This is a movie that is recommended for everyone as it touches on all the relationships people can have. It shows how the relationships between parents and children affect their character formation. It highlights the relationship between God and an individual. It demonstrates the relationship between friends. It shows the relationship between a young boy and a young girl. This is a story that can be told to anyone and scoop lessons from the story. It shows the place of Christianity in the society and how Christianity can be used as a channel to change the world.
A walk to remember unveils the love between two young people that is sincere and sweet. The love story does not occur naturally, but it involves many different changes that cause it to be worth watching. The story begins with a young man called Landon Carter as shown by Ebert(Pg 1). Landon is a senior boy who is hurt and directionless in his life. He is trying to discover himself and understand what life is. Landon goes out to have fun with his friends. Accidentally, one of his friends is intoxicated and is a victim of a minor accident. Police officers follow up the case, and Landon is given a punishment. He is told to work on community development as a way of correcting his unruly behavior. While he is with his friends, he takes alcohol, and he is violent. His company uses vulgar language and is famous for all the wrong reason in school.
On the other hand, there is this kind and selfless young girl. She is the daughter of a pastor named Reverend Sullivan. His daughter is called Jamie Sullivan. She is a disciplined person with a commitment to her faith. She believes in God's plan and has a genuine love for God. Although she is sick and dying, she still believes that God has a plan for her to make her joyful. Jammie is not a product of her environment, but she has a deeper understanding of faith and why she believes in God. Jammie is consistent in her love for God. In school, she loves carrying her Bible, and she enjoys reading it every time she is free. Unlike most Christians, she is not judgmental, and she uses her faith to make her word a better place.
One day in school, Landon and his friends create a prank of Jamie. They create images of her naked, and the images become popular in school. However, Jammie is not affected by the joke. She goes to school and continues enjoying reading the word of God. This is a message of forgiving people despite what they've done against someone. Unfortunately, the principal of the school understands that Landon and his friends had a prank and he punishes Landon. This time he is asked to join the drama club. The principal tells Landon that he needs to meet different people. The drama club is the new walk of faith for Landon. It completely changes his life and who he is. It is a beginning of a new journey in his life.
Unlike in the past, while in the drama club he notices Jammie. He begins to develop a friendship with her. Later, he asks her to help him master the play he was featuring. She agrees, and they begin a journey of love and forgiveness in their life. They start to develop love towards each other as shown by A.O.Scott(Pg 1). One day when Landons friend starts to tease Jamie. Landon stands up for her, and they grow fond of each other. They develop a bond between each other. The are emotionally connected, and they kiss one day, but Reverend Sullivan sees them. This is a theme of love in the story. Love that is natural and not forced on anyone. It grows on its own. Unlike most Christians, Jamie did not judge Landon. She embraces him and impacts his life. This could be confusing for a young Christian lady. It can be a dilemma if it is right or wrong to date someone who is not a Christian but it all matters with the intentions of the heart of a person.
Reverend is not an easy man. He is against the relationship. In fact, he is bitter about Landon's father whose grandfather built his wealth through harsh methods. The movie is bringing out another theme of healing and forgiveness from the past. Most people live through life bitter about things they will never change. However, it changes because Jammie is in love with the son of this man he hates. The man of the cloth has a wise daughter who believes that one day the money that was unfairly extorted from people will be given back to the society. This happens since Reverend Sullivan agrees that he is assisted financial in meeting the bills of Jammie's illness. It is not easy for Reverend to approve the relationship between Jamie and Landon until Landon asks Reverend to put faith in him. Landon reveals that Jammie makes him feel to be a better person. This feeling makes her mean everything to him.
Landons unruly behavior can be traced from his bitter past of his father who walks away from them and leaves him with his mother. After the play, his father approaches him and requests him not to walk away from him. However, Landon walks away from his father and reminds him that he taught him how to walk away from him as indicated by In (Pg 1). This another theme of forgiveness and the impact of parenting on children. Different people parent children differently and sometimes hurt their children without their knowledge or with their knowledge. It is up to these parents to create a space where their children can vent out frustrations and live a life full of forgiveness and peace. Landon forgives his father eventually and extends the same grace Reverend offered him to his father. It took him a lot to let go but he forgave, and eventually he became best of friends with his father who was a politician. He is the best man in his wedding with Jammie.
As mentioned above, different themes have been demonstrated in various plots and subplots. The subject of healing and forgiveness is paramount since most of the characters in the movie who were hard and painful to live with were people who were battling bitterness. These people came out strong than what happened to them after they decide to forgive and move on. They develop better relationships with people around them and can learn to become better people. Another articulated theme is the idea of spirituality and a connection to God. Jammie is the character whose relationship with God is peculiar as it is genuine and self-driven. She believes that God has a perfect plan for her and know that He wants here happy. Her commitment to God drives her to change the world around her. She changes Landon. Also, she changes her father and Landon's friends. She is nonjudgmental and forgiving which makes her sweet. Her commitment to God is sound to her such that instead of here environment affecting her; she impacts the society. She remains pure until her marriage to Landon.
This is one of the best movies that the media can use its inherent power to affect the society by praising honorable behavior in people. Especially, the youth and teenagers who have a lot of decision making to do. Some of the young people straining with forgiveness and understanding their direction in life can use this movie as a platform for change. The media in this instance is used to project the benefits of making the right decisions while young. Besides, the move shapes the perception of Christians towards the society. It challenges Christians to use their faith to impact the world rather than being the judges of the world. Possibly, there is a contradiction for young Christian girls, whether or not they should date non-believers. However, it is a challenge posed to them to examine their hearts when locking out the world because they do not accept Jesus as their personal savior. Instead, they should learn from Jammie to walk with God in their journeys of faith ad impact the society positively.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY A.O.Scott. "FILM IN REVIEW; 'A Walk to Remember'." The New York Times (2002): 1.
Ebert, Roger. "A walk to remember." rogerebert.com (2002): 1. in, Plugged. "A walk to remember." Pluggged in (2017): 1.
If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the SuperbGrade website, please click below to request its removal: