A 1993 film starring
Tom Hanks and
Denzel Washington. I had seen it when I was younger but it didn't have any real
effect on me, I didn't know what was going on. I watched it again just last year upon the insistence of a
friend. I cried, I had never really thought about things like that in such
depth.
The movie is about a
gay man with the
AIDS virus, in a time when it was simply unacceptable to be gay, and the virus was
often misunderstood entirely. He is fired from his job in a prominant law office after the
firm figures out that he is
homosexual, and has
AIDS. He decides to sue them for wrongful
termination.
Tom Hanks pulls off an amazing, brilliant, heart-wrenching performance, and
Denzel Washington follows closely behind.
The
soundtrack is also nice.. very nice. It features
Bruce Springsteen's "
Streets of Philadelphia", and the
achingly beautiful "
Philadelphia" by
Neil Young.
This film was a sort of
awakening for me.. there are a few scenes that provoked emotions far beyond words. There is a point where
Andy is walking down the street and sees his
reflection in a window, after being turned down by
lawyer after lawyer who wanted nothing to do with him. "Streets of Philadelphia" is playing in the background..
I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell
What I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
I saw my reflection in a window I didn't know
My own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
Wastin' away
On the streets of Philadelphia
I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia
Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
My clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
Just to slip this skin
The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia
It's a
beautiful movie, watch it.