It has been exactly 10 years from the day this movie was in theater in Taiwan when I wrote this post. It was in theater in Taiwan on March 18, 2011 and I am writing this post on March 18, 2021. I am shocked that it's already been 10 years. (中文)
I watched this movie in the cinema with my good girlfriends on the weekend it came out. My girlfriends wanted to see Matt Damon so we went together. I ended up hating this movie so much! How much have I been hating this movie you ask? I refused to watch it even when it was played on TV for free!
Some movies don't get my heart at the first watch and I normally would give them a second chance when they are on TV. Well, NOT this one because I just didn't like it at all. I didn't understand when people told me they loved this movie; I just couldn't be bothered! I was wondering if they'd love all the romantic movies that have a clichéd happy ending.
The reason why I hated this movie was because...it's such a cliché! A future superstar politician and a girl fall in love with each other but they are not meant to be together. However, their love is so strong and powerful that God has to let them be and change their fate.
I felt like this move really sucked! How on earth they are able to have their destiny re-written so easily? Then what are fate or destiny meant for? What a money picking sucky love story!
Until recently I have tapped into some personal development and this film has been recommended by the trainer many times. "You will know how life really works after watching this movie."
I refused to watch it again at the beginning (see, I meant it when I said I HATED this movie. Lol.). One day one of our members mentioned this film and I can recall her shares vividly "we are playing the wrong game." Well, because of it, I decided to give this movie a second chance.
What the... Netflix has taken it down right when I wanted to watch it and neither Prime Video had it. It took me a while to be able to get to it.
Watching it for the second time, I still had a hard time understanding the shares from my classmate halfway through the movie. What does it have to do with what we have been learning? Can anybody please erase the ingrained impression of a cliché in my head? Isn't it just "chance" when Matt Damon and Emily Blunt meet again? Somebody please explain to me what I got it wrong!
I finally got the point of the idea of "playing the wrong game" towards the end of the story.
I am going to express my understandings of this movie with a little bit of spirituality.
1. About "destiny." I don't know if you've ever had questions like "why do I even try if everything was all set and done from the beginning?" or "I have no choice because this is fate." It's such a cliché that Matt and Emily are able to change their life when they were meant to go on separate paths! (Exactly what I thought. Lol.)
When it comes to "everything was all set and done from the beginning", it's like having a destination set on the GPS. You need to get your driver's license, drive the car, or think of a way to get on the road so that you can get there.
Yes, we all have our fates preset, but there are multiple preset outcomes. We will end up with different stories when we make choices using our free will within a certain range. It's like the butterfly effect, a slightly change could create a completely different outcome.
2. About "chance." Matt asked the agent who are chasing after him "if we are meant to be on separate paths then why do we meet again after years?" The agent responded "it's chance."
From what I have learned lately, there is not such thing as "coincidence." Everything that has happened was all calculated. If we take a moment and think about some "chances" or "coincidences" that have come in to our lives, often times we would realize how the chances or coincidences have affect our lives at certain levels that have brought us where we are right now. Do these powerful events that can impact our lives greatly really happen "by chance?"
Are we willing to grab it when a chance appears to us? I believe that Matt Damon is able to turn his life around because he takes the chance when they meet again.
3. When an opportunity shows up, do you dare to take that leap of faith? Many of us know that we need to listen to our hearts and follow our intuition, but at the same time we feel the doubts, struggles and fears as well as other people's opinions. These are the factors that stop us from going after what we want. Just like the agents who chase after Matt Damon, their purpose is to stop him from following his heart. When they are asked why they must keep chasing after Matt, their answer is "we don't know." (So honest haha) Same as in our lives, often times we also have no idea where our fears come from and how we let them stop us from following our dreams.
4. Going back to the first point, there are multiple outcomes for our destinies and it all depends on if we can fully follow our hearts and take the leap of faith when opportunity comes and fight for it. When we make up our minds to fully trust our intuition and fight for what we really want, opportunities and good luck start to come, just like the rebel agent in the movie. The entire process may seem crazy or illogical, but no one needs to understand it as long as we are clear about this is the result that we truly want. After all everyone has his/her own path, we don't need others' approval to take our route. Similarly, there is no need for us to judge where people choose to go.
5. In the end, the "Boss" rewrite the destiny of Matt and Emily which in my opinion they just jump to one of their preset outcomes. They are able to get what they want the most because they follow their hearts and fight for it.
6. Back to the shares "playing the wrong game." We are so caught up with the idea of "being on the right path" when actually every path is the right path, and most people subconsciously keep themselves on "the safest path." But if we want to change our "destiny" and be at where we truly want to be, we must let go of our fears and step out of the comfort zone.
I would have never thought of this day that I wrote a post to talk about my new understandings of this movie I used to hate so much. On its 10th anniversary! Lol. I guess it's about time I rejustify this movie.
Have you watched The Adjustment Bureau? Did you like it? Did you hate it like the way I did?
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