I love watching movies. I remember Christmas of 1999 very well. Marixa got me my very first DVD player. I remember the excitement as I hooked it up to the new TV she had also gotten me. My very first DVD was Gone in 60 Seconds. I still love that movie to this day.
Last night we watched the movie Sabrina. Not the one from the 1950s, but the really cool remake starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford. It has been several years since I had seen that version. I remember liking it, but walked away with an even greater appreciation this time.
If you haven’t seen this one, it’s a story about a rich family who has a chauffeur. The chauffeur and his daughter, Sabrina, live in an apartment above the rich family’s garage. The daughter has an extreme infatuation with the rich family’s youngest son. He doesn’t know she exists. She takes a trip to Paris, learns a craft, finds out who she is, and returns home a very different person. The youngest son now notices her, and the story ensues. it ends with her falling in love, but not with who she thinks she wanted.
The movie came out in 1995. Marixa and I watched it several times in the late 90s and through the 2000s. I never thought I would watch it and see different things come out of the story. However, that is exactly what happened last night…my son watched it with us for the first time.
It is easy to forget that a story doesn’t carry as much meaning unless we have a understanding of contexts the characters find themselves in. The pain that Sabrina endures in the first part of the movie doesn’t make as much sense if you don’t understand what unrequited love is. The story really packs a punch if you understand what it feels like. For my 11-year-old, he struggled at the end of the movie because Sabrina did not end up with the person she “loved”. It really bothered him.
We had to explain the nuances of the story. Marixa and I both understand what it feels like to be in “love” with someone and they not feel the same way. We both understand what heartache and loss feel like. I am so thankful he has not had to endure that yet. We explained that when Sabrina went to France, she learned who she really was. When she came back and was confronted with her old life, she was finally able to see through her infatuation and was able to fall in love with someone new. It wasn’t what she originally wanted, but it was so much better.
Something else struck me about this movie. In many ways it’s a very interesting love story because of Harrison Ford‘s character. He had no intention of falling in love, but that is exactly what happened. He thought he was conducting business, but his heart had other plans. He was a man with no scruples, but was given the opportunity to become someone new. The opportunity to love Sabrina was worth leaving everything he’s ever known behind.
When you are 11 it is hard to understand there is a difference between what you think you want and what you really want. I think that’s sometimes hard to understand as an adult as well. Sometimes we become so sure of what we want that we never consider other possibilities until we are forced to. The loss of a job, a breakup, losing a friend may all seem like life is letting you down. What if there is something better?
When it comes to love, I am so glad I got what I wanted and not what I thought I wanted. I thought I knew what love was before Marixa…I had no clue. I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up…I’m still figuring that out. The list goes on.
Yes. All of this came from a 25 year old movie. I love that. The good stories continue to move us in new ways.
David Willis 