It's a pleasure to be here again to share a review of my most recent cinematic experience. I confess I had never heard of this film before. However, today, while at the school where I teach physical education, I was talking with my colleagues about the recent double earthquake in Venezuela, an event that has left us all shocked and horrified. In the middle of our discussion, a colleague mentioned that many years ago she had seen a film that addresses, with great insight, the emotional and psychological impact on the survivors and those who have lost loved ones.
Currently in Venezuela, we are experiencing this tragedy firsthand. We are overcome with profound sorrow because we all have friends, family, or acquaintances who are suffering the ravages of this double earthquake right now. No one is untouched; in one way or another, it affects us all. From my perspective, I try to process so much disaster, pain, and anguish, but I find it impossible to decipher how I would react to such a devastating situation.
I have seen many interviews where survivors recount events that seem impossible to overcome. Immediately, the human mind tries to find answers, and to explain the inexplicable, we often comfort ourselves by saying, "You survived because you have a purpose in this life." It's a phrase I hear repeated often, even by the survivors themselves. Faced with this, I can't help but wonder: the thousands of children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents who lost their lives in the most atrocious way—didn't they have a purpose?
In search of some answer that would alleviate the anguish I've carried since the double earthquake, I decided to follow my colleague's suggestion and watch:
"Fearless" (1993), directed by Peter Weir.
The film shows us how a group of survivors confronts trauma from completely opposite perspectives. It all begins with a terrible plane crash from which Max Klein (Jeff Bridges), inexplicably, manages to escape alive and, moreover, save others. From the beginning, we see a strangely calm, kind, and smiling man, without a hint of fear or shock; he simply leaves the scene and continues on his way as if nothing had happened.
However, those around him immediately notice his change and his isolation. For Max, the everyday worries of life seem to have lost all meaning, and this apparent indifference begins to deeply hurt his loved ones. Little by little, the plot reveals that Max is not indifferent; he simply doesn't know how to process the fact that he survived a catastrophe where so many died. His defense mechanism to avoid the pain is, ironically, emotional numbness and withdrawal into himself.
At the opposite extreme, we find Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez). Unlike Max, she is consumed by survivor's guilt after losing her son in the accident. Carla punishes herself with the idea that she should have saved him, feels she doesn't deserve to be alive, and is incapable of processing such grief. It wasn't until Max, through an action that at first seemed absurd to me, physically demonstrated to her that there was nothing she could have done to prevent it.
In the end, both characters confront their painful reality. Despite Max's emotional numbness and Carla's paralyzing guilt, they manage to heal through acceptance and mutual recognition. They understand that the tragedy occurred and that their survival was a matter of pure probability. It is in that moment of vulnerability that they understand that only by acknowledging the fragility of life can they release the pain, heal, and ultimately move forward.
I used Google Translate (my native language is Spanish)
Rating: 90/100
