Within a couple minutes I had come to really enjoy Sam, a retarted father who had a relationship with his daughter Lucy that was so raw and filled with pure love that I was instantly connected emotionally. This attention grabbing emotion took me off myself and my soft pity of having a less than ideal summer.
I usually lose any self pity when I see someone who is handicapped, where I simply feel lucky not to be in their shoes. Yet Sam took me off of myself in a different way. Despite his retardation, he seemed to have so much life in the midst of what seemed so little. Maybe all the intellect he was lacking gave room for a whole lot of something else.
This is what Sam does throughout the movie – his lack of intellect carries along with it a different kind of wisdom that is eventually learned by those who are lucky enough to know him.
This is best portrayed in the relationship Sam has with his lawyer, Rita, who tries to win his kid back from the courts who feel that Sam does not have the ability to raise Lucy well. Incredibly smart, she never loses and lies compulsively to make sure things turn out this way. She artistically bends the truth and manipulates those to get her way. Yet her life is a mess and she seems incapable of having a true relationship with anyone, including her nonexistent son.
Beautifully contrasted, Sam’s autistic tendencies keep him from even being able to tell a lie. His life is filled with the love of his daughter and a group of mentally challenged friends who are at his side throughout the trial. It is his incompetence that actually provides him the patience, consistency, and love that most of us have a hard time carrying through.
And in the end, it is Sam who becomes the teacher and Rita the student. When this is fully realized, Rita finally opens up and we see the first glimpse of her experiencing a true connection when she says, “You know what I’m afraid of Sam. I’m afraid that I’ve learned more from you in this relationship.”
Sam had the brain capacity of a 7 year old. When I heard that I couldn’t help but think about reading where Jesus points to the children and says to ‘be like these.’ And I think this movie has some similar themes with the things Jesus is directing us toward in life. Maybe God did have some legitimate concerns in the beginning when He warned us about eating the tree which would then lead to knowledge. We all know the trouble that has ensued from this decision.
The movie took me back to the heart of a child, and a longing for raw, true relationships that bring so much joy to life. A longing to strip away the things that keep me from really experiencing the people I know, and encounter some of the true beauty and depth of life.
God allow me to reach a higher wisdom – one that can only be taught by you.
Give us humble hearts, that we may know the true wisdom that you give, that which can only be learned through you, that we may experience life the way that you have fully intended it to be.
Just had my registration appt and got my classes:
