Film Preview: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

There's a new movie coming to the theaters this season, and it's for both kids and adult alike. It's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and it's sure to spark your childlike imagination.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This had first appeared off the press in 1921, and from this story comes the movie we are about to watch. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most celebrated classic short story writers in America. To his name, he had written the literary great "The Great Gatsby," "Babylon Revisited," among other classic works.

This short story turned movie is not for the unimaginative. Its plot is centered around a boy who grows up backwards: he was born with a body of a man in his 70's, and dies a baby.

This is a story of life, love, and a timeless friendship that goes beyond the bounds of romance. It is a story for young and old alike, but judging from the trailer, it may require that mom, dad, big brother or big sister would watch this with you. Especially if you're 16 years old and below. There are scenes that need explaining... And eye masks.

Parents, big brothers and big sisters should take it upon themselves to explain some scenes and exhort their kids or siblings who watch this movie with them, because scenes like Benjamin straying from his wife would cause them to think that it's normal to do that.

If we view it from the rationalization of Psychology/Biology, Benjamin Button only looked for other women because his body was getting younger and his hormones were causing him to look for women who are compatible with his age. Something that's totally subject to moral scrutiny. Something that big brothers should explain as not acceptable.

How would YOU feel if your Dad suddenly got younger and left your Mom for the next girl?

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" also reminds the avid (but slightly getting older) moviegoer of the old Robin Williams film "Jack," released in 1996. Jack was about a young boy who has "Progeria," or "Werner syndrome," a disease that makes him age four times faster. It's similar in the way that both Jack and Benjamin are not the age that they should be; but different in that Jack grows up normally, only much faster, while Benjamin grows up backwards.

In this previewer's opinion, "Jack" would seem to turn out to be definitely lighter and a lot more heartwarming and funny, especially since Robin Williams played Jack. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," on the other hand, since it is a period film seemingly set in the time it written, around 1920's, it has a rather dark cinematography. Its mature themes of Benjamin's coming-of-age also leaves much to squirm for the parent who is anxious about his/her child's values formation.

However, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" also has its light, poignant and heartwarming side, through Benjamin's life-long friendship with Daisy.

If your brother, sister, or children are raring to watch this with you, prepare for a great and long discussion: about age, possibilities, the seemingly impossible, as well as about values like fidelity, and whether it's permissible to rationalize decisions based on what our hormones urge us to do.

In all, this is an interesting movie that promises that you and your kids or siblings would start thinking and talking about possibilities and even serious matters. For parents, this could be a great point of discussion for values; for siblings, let your imagination run wild, but don't forget to teach your brothers and sisters the difference between right and wrong.