Forrest Gump

I could write almost the same thing for this film as I did for Pulp Fiction. When it premiered, I was studying in České Budějovice and I couldn't miss the screening in the local cinema, especially after reading the enthusiastic review in Cinema (at that time, under the guidance of Iva Hejlíčková, it was still worth something). There were about twenty of us in the cinema, and at the end there was a chorus of sniffling, accompanied by wiping tears on handkerchiefs. And what happened next? Then, full of enthusiasm, I recommended Forrest Gump to all my friends and acquaintances at the uni, and it’s admirable how word of mouth worked at a time when there was no internet (and mobile phones were the size of a small suitcase and owned only by a select few). Five days later, on the day before the last screening, I wanted to repeat the experience and I was unlucky – it was sold out! Back then, premieres and films in general were screened only for a week, unlike today's multiplexes, but with Forrest Gump they made an exception and extended the screenings for another week and almost all the screenings were full. As far as I know, Forrest continued to fill cinemas across the country for at least another year and a half after its premiere. You know, back then it you couldn't download a hideous screen-rip from the internet, you had go to the cinema for the experience. (03.02.2014)

Für mich in der gleichen Gewichtsklasse wie der viel geschmähte Die Verurteilten. Ein Film, der brillant inszeniert ist, um die Seele zu packen, ein Film mit einer gut versteckten Manipulativität und billigen Gesten, die auf den ersten Blick völlig in einem ausgeklügelten Spiel mit den Gefühlen des Publikums verschwinden. Eine klare Erzählung, die wie gutes Eis geschleckt wird, angenehm süß ist und nach Erdbeeren duftet. Aber wie jedes Eis ist es eher ein leckeres Dessert. Es stimmt, Zemeckis und Hanks sind Meisterkonditoren, und Forrest Gump ist in jeder Hinsicht ein exquisites Dessert. Mit seiner Lesbarkeit, der gut ausgearbeiteten Illusion von Intimität und der schön abgerundeten Gedankenstruktur ist Forrest Gump einfach ein Leckerbissen für die breite Masse. Aber ich bevorzuge einfach die Hauptgerichte des Films, weshalb diese rührende Süßigkeit nur vier Sterne bekommt. Aber in einem großen Hollywood-Film ist die Geschichte eines gelähmten Jungen, der mit der Leichtigkeit und Einsicht eines brillanten Idioten durch die moderne amerikanische Geschichte spaziert, in der Tat ein seltener Anblick ist, dazu noch einer, der lange im Gedächtnis haften bleibt. Aber für mich wird es nie wieder so intensiv sein wie damals, als ich den Film als Junge zum ersten Mal sah... (27.11.2006)

The American version of the greatest Czech, Jára Cimrman. And he runs too. He runs a lot. Forrest’s mom always told him to do this and that. My Mom always told me that this is a darn good movie. And I absolutely agree with my Mom. This is the kind of a movie which whenever you start watching you always say to yourself “I’ll watch just this one scene, oh, and then this one and…" And you end up after watching one scene after the other till once again you find yourself at the end of the movie. It’s moving, funny and sad like almost nothing else (especially if you, like me, believe that the child isn’t his) brilliant acting (not only from Hanks) and unforgettable scenes in every other minute of footage. But what am I saying, in every minute of footage. (20.11.2003)

My most emotionally fulfilled film. With no other film have I experienced that the more times I saw it, the more times it brought tears to my eyes. Zemeckis has forever stepped out of the "master of family films" box with this masterpiece, and millions of people will forever love Hank's elusive character. In other words, whether you are a sentimental person with faith in love, a skeptical melancholic who no longer sees joy, or perhaps a life-disappointed unhappy person, everyone can find themselves in Forrest. Is it too perfect of a film? Eternal thanks for it. (25.12.2005)

I saw Forrest Gump for the first time today. (It's 2011). I had high expectations for it and I have to say it surprised me. Tom Hanks, of course, gives an unbeatable performance. The narrative itself is brilliant. Not to mention the music that so casually supports the fantastic script. I don't think I'm able to fault the film because, even if something is wrong, you feel like it's meant to be that way. Every word, every detail is a treasure. Forrest went through everything and understood everything in his own way, never forgetting what his mother said. And even though he only had four people in his life (later five), his life was interesting and full. Now here's where the film surprised me... in other moving films, there are one or two passages that will make you cry. Here, I didn't cry for the entire time, but from beginning to end, something tickled my heart and I cheered in my mind at every word Forrest said. Maybe that's why I liked the movie so much. The emotions were poured into the film evenly so the viewer had no chance to get bored. Gump touched me deeply. (13.02.2011)

Zemeckis's masterpiece, which is an American variation of our fairy tales about Czech Honza, or how a simpleton came to happiness without his own effort. A comical walk through the history of modern America, where the main hero, an innocent boy with a disability, goes through life and encounters famous figures of American history, and several times influences the country's history, among other things, being involved in the Watergate scandal. Excellent casting, situational and verbal humor. Americans like happy endings, but Zemeckis parodied the effortless achievement of happiness by his protagonist to such an extent that the whole film actually comes across as a mockery of the traditional American way of life and the American dream. Tom Hanks excels in the main role. Overall impression: 95%. (16.06.2006)

One of the most beautiful and poetic films of all time. Plus, there's Robin Wright, whom I have become outrageously fond of through this film, a brilliant Tom Hanks, and excellent music. A film full of philosophy and ideas. (08.11.2003)

Darüber, dass "das Leben wie eine Schachtel Pralinen ist und dass man nie weiß, was man kostet", bin ich ziemlich überzeugt, aber für mich füge ich hinzu, dass viele Süßigkeiten oft verdorben sind oder auf eine andere Weise schlecht sind... Wie auch immer, dieses Werk brachte mir eine absolut perfekte Erfahrung und Lektionen. Persönlich reichte mir für die mentale Erkennung die Behauptung des Hauptcharakters darüber dass: "Für einen Narren jeder dumm ist". In diesem einfachen Satz gibt es für mich viel mehr Weisheit und Nachsicht als in allen philosophischen Überlegungen zu Pralinen, und mein geistiger Frieden wurde aufgrund dieses einfachen Satzes mehr entwickelt als vom Demolition Man beim Stricken... Kurz gesagt, dank Forrest habe ich für diejenigen, die eine schlechte Meinung über mich haben, mehr Verständnis und Einsicht gewonnen und habe gelernt, darüber hinweg zu kommen. Ich würde fast sagen, dass es mich zu einem besseren Menschen gemacht hat. Wie auch immer, dieser Film ist ein echtes Juwel - nett, lustig, intelligent mit einer unglaublichen Portion Nachsicht, der euch selbst ernsthafte Dinge so beibringt, dass es einen zwar trifft, aber nicht psychisch zerstört, sondern eher stärker macht. So etwas kann man jederzeit noch mal schauen und es bleibt immer schön. (02.04.2015)

What should I write in a review of a film that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? In short, if you walk down the street and ask a hundred random people about the best movie of their lives, the most common answer will be Forrest Gump. A masterpiece in the history of cinema, funny, depressing, impressive, inspiring, with impeccable direction and performances that leave you amazed. I have a bit more distinctive film exhibitions in my top list, but this beauty still has a privileged and unshakable position in my heart... (18.04.2011)

Coincidentally, I just now saw Forrest Gump after a long time, two days after Bertolucci's The Conformist. And so I found connections between those films that I’m guessing no one who considers Zemeckis' opus a testament to the simple beauty of life, love, and everything would ever want to hear about. And since I'm still fascinated by the director's visual perfectionism, mise-en-scène, and choreography, which he was able to employ here thanks to an episodic structure tracing major turning points in American history, I had to look for ways to defend the film, because it really is terribly well made. (Note: on the first day after vaccination, I observed my brain's increasing natural resistance to writing sentences shorter than two run-on sentences, I'll continue to monitor that). Not knowing the Groom source material, the film then offered me a new reading, and that of the idiocy of 20th century American history. A century that punishes anyone who chooses to have a role in it (or idea, see the return to The Conformist) yet rewards the simpletons who can't or won't grasp its elusiveness, randomness, and complexity, and just follow the curriculum laid out by their (by no means sophisticated) mentors (Mother, Jenny, Lieutenant Dan). Thus they create a picture of a chaotic history in which a simpleton lives happily, resigned in their understanding by definition, and they reward him with a girl he loves and is unable to recognize that she is just coming to him for rehab or when her kid is at risk of going to the orphanage. (08.06.2021)

Yes, I am one of those people who love this movie. From the first shot to the last one. Unbelievable Tom Hanks, unbelievably original and imaginative story, and above all, the emotions that move me. I've had a similar experience with only a few movies. The first one that always comes to mind is "Big Fish". "Forrest Gump" is simply a legend, and when you say beautiful movie, and I mean beautiful in every way, it is this one. (09.02.2014)

There’s no movie I shed so many tears with so persistently every time I see it, and it doesn't matter if it's the 12th or the 13th time... (29.12.2009)