HBO has re-aired the classic Cold Mountain starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renee Zellweger.
The film follows the journey of Inman, played by Jude Law, a war-weary deserter trying to find his way home to the woman he loves. Based on the best-selling novel by Charles Frazier, the film (directed by Anthony Minghella) highlights the brutality of the battlefield.
In one scene, Inman meets a blind old man selling peanuts on the side of the road. He asks, “What would you give to see for 10 minutes?” The blind old man says, “I wouldn’t give a penny. I mean, the feeling of having something that makes you happy and then it disappears makes life just more miserable and regretful.”
“Then we’re not on the same page,” Inman said. “I would give anything to spend 10 minutes with a place or a person.”
That scene is only about 40 seconds long but contains different perspectives on happiness, love, accepting what you have or simply desiring what you want in life.
The choice depends on each person, everyone has their own reasons. It seems that many people will agree with the point of view, as Xuan Dieu said: "It is better to be brilliant for a minute and then suddenly fade away. Than to be sad and dim for a hundred years."
But life is not that simple. Especially in love. My friend has feelings for a girl, but he is afraid of weddings because he is afraid that after the sparkling moments of exchanging rings, cutting the cake, pouring wine at the wedding ceremony, there will be family life full of worries and conflicts, and then the love will fade, leaving only regrets when both are still single, filled with happiness together... He said: "Love each other less but for a long time".
Then another guy, during a meeting, suddenly said: "If something is too far out of reach, consider it as non-existent, life will be much easier."
The boy Inman was different from the other two friends. He paid the price with many challenges, and even his life, walking thousands of kilometers to reach a place and meet a person.
The word “enough” has only two letters, but to understand it, you need a long journey. 10 minutes is the same, sometimes it is not worth a penny, but it can be worth a lifetime.
