Titanic

**100 ** I have so many things to say about this movie, and in one review I will try my best to voice most of them. There’s truly no other movie that has made me feel so hopeful and hopeless as the credits roll. It’s imperfect in profound ways, but that’s truly what enchants it so thoroughly. It's perfection in my eyes—the rare glimpse of golden light I rarely see in films, no matter how many I choose to watch. There’s a reason so many people like myself love this film endlessly; there’s a real and raw truth behind its success, and while there are too many to list in one single review, I can share some sheer sterility. No movie has ever so thoroughly blurred the lines between majestic fantasy and vulgar reality as this one. The lovely dialogue between Jack and Rose, the fancy light shading their skin during the portrait scene, the way both of them mirror each other in subtle ways throughout, the way Jack, despite his poverty, has a more innocent demeanor against life while Rose’s perspective has been tainted. To me, it’s less about finding true love and more about finding the real love that is impossible yet raw, real, and witheringly beautiful—the love that navigates you through the harsh uncertainties of life, the deepest of sorrows in each chapter of our growth till we part, the happiest jovial soars, and the wild adventures awaiting us beyond our most powerful imagination. It’s the knife that cuts deep as we slowly realize that this beautiful, mysterious form of love will not be experienced for too long before it is taken away from Rose, not for a day, not for a week, but forever. Despite the melancholic wounds and dismal waves still pigmenting Rose, the impact Jack so silently but so strongly left on her will continue to grow as the years pass. With every smile, with every tear, with every shudder of fear, and with every breath of life, the signature Jack had marked in her heart will alter stronger with every passing second. Jack is the bravery we wish to develop and the hope we yearn to find in the midst of harrowing times, but Jack is the proof that you’ve had it in you all along. Jack didn’t craft Rose’s wildness, confidence, and bravery; he only lit a candle near it so she could see it; she had it in her palms all along, and perhaps the shadow was dominating her eyes slightly. It’s what life is all about: finding that person or thing that opens our eyes to a world we never knew existed—a world of endless possibilities, a world of music we’d never listened to, a world of light that has never shown itself above us, food we’d never tasted, and love we’ve yet to give and have. It’s an eye-opener to what life is like amongst thorn bushes and cackling thunders, the reminder that flowers bloom after rainfalls and that the sun can still shine even when we’re too afraid to open our eyes; it’s a treasure worth more than a billion-dollar necklace we’ve been forced to accept. It’s the harrowing reality when that precious love comes to an end, whether it be on your deathbed, in a kitchen flaring with arguments, or next to a sinking boat embellished by the freezing water of the Atlantic. The moment we realize it’s time to say goodbye, whether by force or choice, Jack’s death cuts you like a knife, no matter how expected it is. It’s the moment we’re all so afraid to reach; just like in life, we know death is apart, but we can never prepare ourselves for it. Jack’s poverty has been the prominent matter keeping Jack and Rose apart, but as he held her hand and promised her to never let go, his status wasn’t the case anymore. Good society has always barred him, barred him for a better life, and barred him from the love of his life, but now their departure was inevitable. The course of the film shows Jack and Rose fighting endlessly to save one another both physically and emotionally, succeeding in defeating everyone who splits their hands, but as the freezing waters overtook the last bit of breath Jack battled to keep, it was the painful realization that it was the vicious but enchanting way of water. It was the only time that Jack couldn’t peck her hand and glide her with him to wherever he ought to stroll next. It was the burning defeat that both the audience and Rose felt at that moment. Jack’s gentle demeanor didn’t respond to her calls as she announced the light and saving grace of a boat sailing beside them. The loud but silent scene that this was perhaps the end of this love in this life and that there was a long journey to overcome nonetheless, but now we as an audience have gained a tender placement of all the occurrences and Jack’s words imprinted in us forever, and so does Rose. Thus she does everything they expected to do together before tragedy sliced the ship's deck, and it was the powerful sound of Rose blowing the whistle that alerted us that she had not only experienced her first days of truly living but that she was ready to carry on and live—not survive, but live and live a life filled with happiness, bravery, excitement, and the slight slices of sorrow and fear that life will inevitably throw at us. Jack’s death sliced our hearts like a dagger, as it reveals to us the uncertainty of life and all that comes with it. The unfairness of it all and the endless possibilities of what our lives could’ve been if one thing had changed or another hadn’t been lived, It’s the understanding that we cannot change the past, but we can control our destiny far beyond the grave. Death is the one thing that a living person cannot possibly have at hand; it’s the destiny that will forever be permanent and unchanged, perhaps the only thing that could’ve kept Jack and Rose and their undying love apart. It’s the ending, the ending that was promised to Rose as she silently passes in her warm bed, just as Jack wished for her before his own tragic end. It’s the warm conclusion, the tranquil denouement, the hopeful ending that we were all awaiting patiently with so little proof it would happen, yet it did. Their love soared into a world that is forever, where they can stroll through the valleys that they’ve yet to see and peck each other as they once did, the forever promised life that is awaiting them, the life that they once again will keep each other safe in, only to come to the iridescent realization they never once let go of each other no matter the distance, the worlds, or the fates that kept them apart. I might be speaking nonsense to you, but If somehow you’ve read this far, I’d like you to know that I may not know you, but if you’re having a troubling time or you feel lost and unseen. Know that this isn’t forever; a tranquil river is waiting for you at the end of the huddled woods. I love you. Remember that life is uncertain, and as Jack said, every day is a gift. You might meet your Jack tomorrow or the day after. Just the fact you have the courage to wake up every morning is the prominent proof that you can do anything in this world, and you’re worth more than being a shadow in your own life, so break yourself free, follow your dreams, don’t let an incomplete life be your demise, don’t let faltering, venomous relationships and friendships keep you away from doing what you wish to,  don’t let the pain keep you from living and I think this is the biggest lesson Rose herself ever learned amongst her long life. I can promise you, you’ll see the light, and you’ll realize the beauty in every luminescence. I love you. Thank you.