bnorthup
11-06-2002, 12:51 AM
Tuck Everlasting (PG)
At the Gaslight
**** (four stars) Daughter
*** (three stars) Dad
Love springs eternal
By Brent and Kat Northup
Children need to learn about both life and death as they grow up. I vividly remember the loss of a beloved cat when I was a child. I recall Mr. Liebe the minister next door holding a garden-side service after we buried her.
Just last week my own daughter lost her cat, Snowbell. Kat is laying plans to spread the ashes in the wilderness to celebrate the life of her furry Siamese friend who often slept on the foot of her bed.
The passing of Snowbell comes just as “Tuck Everlasting” arrives at the Gaslight. This modern classic children’s novel by Natalie Babbitt explores life and death in a thoughtful way. The story invites families to share the joy and tears together – and then gather round the fireplace afterwards, with hot chocolate, to reflect on the message.
Like Katherine Paterson’s touching “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Tuck” looks death squarely in the eye and does not blink.
The tale revolves around a mysterious family, the Tucks, who live quietly in the wilderness, hoping no one discovers their secret. We quickly learn they have found the fountain of youth, a spring of water that provides eternal life. Young Jesse looks 17, but he is 104 years old. The entire family is frozen in time.
Inevitably, Jesse falls in love with a mortal girl, Winnie Foster. He offers her a drink from the pond, so that they may share eternal life together. Winnie reflects on the offer, remembering her dad’s wisdom that death is a special passage on life’s journey.
Like many, I cried as the decision evolved and the film ended. Although I respect the film for so sensitively transferring its message about life and death, I regretted that the script overemphasized the bad-guy subplot (a man in a yellow suit is chasing the Tucks to market the water), and I regretted that Winnie’s pivotal choice received such little screen time. But I left the theater thankful for a major film full of Oscar-winners (Sissy Spacek, William Hurt, Ben Kingsley) that respects and honors children.
My daughter Kat, 15, was touched as well. And her insights helped me appreciate the film even more deeply.
“I really adored it,” she began. “It was exactly the sweet, yet melancholy romance that makes me teary. Everything about it was beautiful, all the way from the magnificent acting, costuming, right down to the very accents on each actor’s breath.
“After Winnie is spirited off to the woods with the Tucks, she falls in love with the unhurried lifestyle. She eventually fell in love with Jesse, learned that drinking from the spring could give endless life, and that Jesse could never die.
“I enjoyed this movie because it made me think about life. What would people give to have someone who loves us forever? Jesse promised to love Winnie until the day he died, and he can never die.
“Love is precious no matter when it comes or for how long it stays. The best quote from “Tuck Everlasting” is the most prominent – ‘Do not fear death--but rather the unlived life.’
“As for me, I really don’t think one should worry so much about where one is going after death that they forget to live the life they are given. We only get this moment once, live it well.”
END
At the Gaslight
**** (four stars) Daughter
*** (three stars) Dad
Love springs eternal
By Brent and Kat Northup
Children need to learn about both life and death as they grow up. I vividly remember the loss of a beloved cat when I was a child. I recall Mr. Liebe the minister next door holding a garden-side service after we buried her.
Just last week my own daughter lost her cat, Snowbell. Kat is laying plans to spread the ashes in the wilderness to celebrate the life of her furry Siamese friend who often slept on the foot of her bed.
The passing of Snowbell comes just as “Tuck Everlasting” arrives at the Gaslight. This modern classic children’s novel by Natalie Babbitt explores life and death in a thoughtful way. The story invites families to share the joy and tears together – and then gather round the fireplace afterwards, with hot chocolate, to reflect on the message.
Like Katherine Paterson’s touching “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Tuck” looks death squarely in the eye and does not blink.
The tale revolves around a mysterious family, the Tucks, who live quietly in the wilderness, hoping no one discovers their secret. We quickly learn they have found the fountain of youth, a spring of water that provides eternal life. Young Jesse looks 17, but he is 104 years old. The entire family is frozen in time.
Inevitably, Jesse falls in love with a mortal girl, Winnie Foster. He offers her a drink from the pond, so that they may share eternal life together. Winnie reflects on the offer, remembering her dad’s wisdom that death is a special passage on life’s journey.
Like many, I cried as the decision evolved and the film ended. Although I respect the film for so sensitively transferring its message about life and death, I regretted that the script overemphasized the bad-guy subplot (a man in a yellow suit is chasing the Tucks to market the water), and I regretted that Winnie’s pivotal choice received such little screen time. But I left the theater thankful for a major film full of Oscar-winners (Sissy Spacek, William Hurt, Ben Kingsley) that respects and honors children.
My daughter Kat, 15, was touched as well. And her insights helped me appreciate the film even more deeply.
“I really adored it,” she began. “It was exactly the sweet, yet melancholy romance that makes me teary. Everything about it was beautiful, all the way from the magnificent acting, costuming, right down to the very accents on each actor’s breath.
“After Winnie is spirited off to the woods with the Tucks, she falls in love with the unhurried lifestyle. She eventually fell in love with Jesse, learned that drinking from the spring could give endless life, and that Jesse could never die.
“I enjoyed this movie because it made me think about life. What would people give to have someone who loves us forever? Jesse promised to love Winnie until the day he died, and he can never die.
“Love is precious no matter when it comes or for how long it stays. The best quote from “Tuck Everlasting” is the most prominent – ‘Do not fear death--but rather the unlived life.’
“As for me, I really don’t think one should worry so much about where one is going after death that they forget to live the life they are given. We only get this moment once, live it well.”
END