Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Director: Darren Aronofsky
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The President of India, a rocket scientist and an overall good soul, once told his audience, "Dream is not that which you see while you sleep, but is that something that does not allow you to sleep." Don't jump about it; put it in action!
They also discuss the American dream, which states everyone has equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Yes, we can convince ourselves that we can do it. We should go for it, putting our minds and souls into it. However, the fact is that people win and people lose. Only some people are cut for it. A thin line exists between having the mojo to do it and not. One should recognise their shortcomings and jump on to Plan B, not forever flogging a dead horse.
Worse still, when one fails to pick up the telltale signs, one buries oneself deeper and deeper into a cesspool of self-defeating habits, hoping for a miracle to happen. When the going gets tough, one should know when it is time to get the tough going, when to retreat and live to fight another day. Failure to discern will spell disaster.
But how do we know our capability if we do not know ourselves to the limit? How do we know our breaking point unless we are stretched to the limit? The telltale sign must be when pharmacological agents get involved. Where does the concoction of ayahuasca with active ingredients like DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) and MAOIs (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors) fit in? Ayahuasca is a potent hallucinogen used to open portals inaccessible to human minds to explore one's true potential. Many ultra-marathoners in the desert of Mexico consume it to push their bodies to the possible human limits.
Some have labelled this movie as one of the most disturbing films ever produced. It is not so much of the gore factor at play here; it is much the depiction of hopelessness one experiences when one is trapped in an addiction.
Loneliness, depersonalisation and self-prescribing are the greatest bane of modern living. Human interaction is so superficial.
A widow, Sara, lives alone in her apartment. Her young adult son, a drug addict, occasionally goes AWOL, only to sell off his mother's goods for a bit of cash and a quick fix. The mother's constant companion is a TV, and her fixation with a particular game show keeps her going. Her only other human contact is when her neighbours sunbathe along the walkway.
One day, Sara receives a call that she will be a guest in a game show. She and her friends are all so excited. Sara plans to appear in a dashing red dress that she appeared in during her prom. For that, she goes on a diet spree and later gets prescription drugs. Sara loses weight, albeit slowly. So, she increases her dosage on her own, causing hallucinations and insomnia. She is finally institutionalised.
Sara's son, Harry, tries to make money by reselling heroin at an inflated cost. He and his girlfriend have big plans of starting a boutique. Things do not go as planned. Harry, his girlfriend and his business partner are all heroin addicts. They decided to test out the merchandise that they sell. Things go spiralling down from then on. Harry even pimps his girlfriend to make ends meet.
A compelling story on the reality of addiction.
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