Perfect reviews of perfect movies - The Sunset Limited. Can we be happy without any faith?

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“The Sunset Limited” is about Samuel L. Jackson trying to convince Tommy Lee Jones that life is worth living. Nothing else. No explosions, no action and no change of environment. If you hate thinking, then you will have a hard time watching “The Sunset Limited”, and I would strongly advise to avoid the pain. After all, people who hate thinking have a tendency to know it all, so nothing will be missed. 

For everyone else, if you are still stupid and inexperienced just like like me, then give it a shot. You will be surprised. Also, Samuel and Tommy deliver.

Faith versus Death

First of all, “The Sunset Limited” focuses on smart people. Idiots are left aside; idiots do not think about purpose of life and they are happy if they get to eat a delicious meal. Simple as that. But what happens when you realize that reality is such a vague place? What happens when you see all the vanity?

The conversation between Black (Samuel L. Jackson) and White (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to answer it. It is clear from the names of characters (actual names. I am not trying to be rasistic here) that movie is pretty radical and there is no place for a compromise. However, it is brilliant how Black represents all the white things and White represents what is black in the world, and somehowe balance is maintained. 

Both guys only agree on one thing - humanity is swimming deep in shit. 

Black says that faith keeps us from falling apart and letting God in is the only option to find happiness. Tommy does not want anything to do with God. Also, he is on suicidal thoughts all the time. So... is it really only faith that keeps us from death? It definitely helps, but sadly, it has limits as well.

Samuel was left devastated after failing to convince Tommy that God can save the world. Samuel still lives in that bubble, thinking that he can spread the faith, teaching people to love life. In my humble opinion, it is utter bullshit, which is built on unrealistic intentions and might blow up any day. What happens then? You become a person, which you always wanted to save.

My interpretation a.k.a adding knowledge to equation

What I really missed in “The Sunset Limited” was covering the question of knowledge. Yes, you can be a professor, who sees reality and knows twice as much as anyone else, but that does not show your knowledge. It makes you smart, but not wise. 

A wise person would just come in terms with any reality he sees and suicide would never be an option. It is one thing to see things and another - to understand them. Tommy saw some depressing things are. However, when you understand why it is so depressing, it brings a lot of calmness into your life. You just see a reason behind all the pain and everything makes sense.

Just imagine seeing an old guy, spending his days in the prison cell, all alone and sad. That would make you feel sorry for him, right? What if I said that this old guy used to rape and kill innocent people? You might still feel sorry for him, but well, at least you know that he got what he deserved.

I think that Tommy wanted to commit suicide, because he couldn’t explain the reasons behind all the pain he sees. If it is the case, I can understand his actions. 

We are just not ought to know more than we can understand. 

That just corrupts our mind and leads to wrong conclusions or even worse – insanity. So to avoid being like poor Tommy, it is better to avoid learning without a reason and explanation. After all – too much of anything only leads to misery. 

Feel free to share your thoughts about the movie. If you haven't seen it yet... Watch it and share you thought then.

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