Inspiring..simply inspiring..

I just watched Gattaca on HBO for the 4th time in my life over lunch today. I still vaguely remembered the 1st time I watched it...somewhere in Secondary 2 I think. =] Anyways, I found out that as we age, the things that we pick up are different from before. These were the things that really spoke to me today:

Anton: So how did you do this Vincent?
Vincent: You want to know how I did it? I never saved anything for the swim back.

My goodness, when I heard that I was totally dumbstruck. Vincent was a 'God-child', meaning he was born naturally. His brother, Anton, was a genetically-engineered baby, 'perfect' in every aspect. Vincent and Anton always swam in the sea when they were young to compete. Anton always emerged winner. However, as they grew older, Vincent started to get better at it. Until one day, the 2 swam so far that Anton could not go any further and required rescuing. Vincent was there to save him. The above dialogue happened in the sea in the middle of the last swim before Vincent's departure into space - his ultimate dream. Anton was expressing concern that they have lost sight of the shore and that they might be lost and should turn back. Vincent however, felt that they were closer to the 'other' shore and wanted to keep going. Finally, Anton required rescuing by his brother again.

As Vincent was not 'perfect', he had to 'beat the system' in order to work in Gattaca, a space-related company. It was his dream to go into space and he never once lost focus. He assumed the identity of Jerome, another genetically-engineered person who looked almost similar to him but was crippled due to a suicide attempt gone wrong. Jerome was given another boost of life by Vincent's dream, and the 2 worked together to fulfil this seemingly impossible goal.

Vincent: Thank you for everything.
Jerome: No, thank you. I've only lent you my body, you've lent me your dreams.

Vincent's dream was the only thing that kept Jerome alive. After Vincent finally reached his goal and took to the skies, Jerome committed suicide again, this time successful.

One thing I have learnt from this show is that if you really want something bad enough, you will get it. Watch Gattaca, it will be worth your while.