I’m gonna write it differently for my paper. But here are my unedited views, there’s more freedom here.
Sometimes, seeing is believing.
(beat)
And sometimes…
the most real things in the world are things you can’t see.
— the Conductor of the Polar Express tells the boy.
Polar Express is about faith. About belief. And the wonder of life for those who believe. Robert Zameckis seems to continue from where his previous films left us.
Forrest Gump‘s Momma told us that life is a box of chocolates and you never know what you’re gonna get. It told us keep walking and run when there’s trouble.
Contact told us that both science and the religion are in pursuit of the same thing. Truth.
Castaway told us that no matter what, you have to keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise and who knows, what the tide would bring. And now, Zameckis takes the simplicity of Forrest Gump, the skepticism from Contact, the spirit of life from Castaway, and weaves the philosophical elements into a fantasy format with loads of adventure and tempts you to dream. And inspires you to believe.
It’s Christmas eve and the boy just can’t go to sleep. As he watches his parents put his sister Sarah to sleep, he sees Santa’s hood hanging out from his Dad’s pocket. Maybe Santa isn’t real after all. Maybe there are no jingle bells. Maybe there is no sleigh.
Just the perfect setting for The Polar Express to come to a screeching halt right outside his house.
“Well, are you coming?” asks the conductor.
“Where?”
“Why, to the North Pole, of course. This is the Polar Express.”
And the adventure unfolds. One rollercoaster of a joy ride with thrills at every drop as the Zameckis takes animation to new heights, fulfilling every child’s secret desires, having a big cup of hot chocolate, be it pulling the chain, or getting on top of the train, blowing the horn and driving the train, pulling the brakes, finding out if ghosts exist and the biggest dream of them all — going to the North Pole and find out if Santa is real.
Just in case you missed the director’s touch, he reminds you of his earlier work with subtle cues: The ticket wafting in the wind like the feather in Forrest Gump, or the snowman that seems to have a very human side like Wilson, the volleyball did in Castaway.
Watching it on 3D IMAX, you really don’t want the trip to get over nor do you want to shut up that the kid in you which is delightfully excited on finding a new adventure at every turn and corner.
So will the boy finally wake up on Christmas morning and believe it was all a dream? But like the conductor tells the boy when he gets off the train…
“One thing about trains …
Doesn’t matter where they are going.
But what matters …
is deciding to get on.”
Okay…
Now, do I really… like… have to spell out the verdict for this movie?
Yes?
ALRIGHT DUMBASS, GO GET YOUR TICKET NOW!
MADRAS INK. 